Vingroup sets up $150 million technology investment fund

Vingroup Corporation announced the launch of the VinVentures technology investment fund on October 28, with total assets of 150 million USD.

VinVentures' investment focus is artificial intelligence, semiconductors... and high-tech products. In photo: at Vingroup's factory - Photo: D.H.

The Fund focuses on highly innovative technology startups with the desire to promote and develop the startup ecosystem, contributing to the creation of digital technology enterprises in Vietnam and the region.

VinVentures hunts for technology "unicorns"

VinVentures is a technology investment fund sponsored by billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong and Vingroup. The total assets under management of the fund are 150 million USD, of which 100 million USD is the investment portfolio inherited from Vingroup and 50 million USD is expected to be disbursed in the next 3-5 years.

According to Vingroup, VinVentures' investment focus is on artificial intelligence, semiconductors, cloud computing and high-tech products. In addition, the fund also opens opportunities for startups in other fields if they have growth potential and are able to provide quality products and services, not limited to startups related to Vingroup.

The group’s representative said that the fund’s investment scope is currently the Vietnamese market. In the future, the fund will expand its reach to start-ups in the region, especially in markets with similar development characteristics to Vietnam such as Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines.

The time from when a start-up submits its application until it receives disbursement can last from 2 to 3 months and up to 6 months for large-scale deals.

Launch pad for Vietnamese start-ups to reach out to the world

Vingroup said the conditions for VinVentures to invest are start-ups with potential for sustainable development, good growth rates, products and services with high commercialization and practical application potential, and a founding team with prestige and experience.

The deals will be implemented on the basis of professional investment principles, in which VinVentures will purchase shares and become a shareholder of the company with specific profit expectations. The Fund will create the best conditions for ideas and technological innovations to be realized, reaching out to the Vietnamese and regional markets.

Ms. Le Han Tue Lam, CEO of VinVentures Fund (Vingroup Corporation), said that besides capital contribution, the special value that VinVentures brings to startups is the ability to connect with companies in Vingroup's ecosystem in both roles: an environment for evaluating and testing product quality and potential customers.

"We are also willing to advise and support start-ups to connect with major partners in the market and be a "launch pad" for potential start-ups in the future," said Ms. Lam.

Before VinVentures, Vingroup had invested in many technology startups through funds such as Vingroup Ventures and VinTech City. According to Ms. Lam, the startups have all developed successfully and brought products to the market, even rising to leading positions in their fields of operation such as VinBigData, VinAI, VinBrain, VinCSS...

According to the Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GESER 2023) by Start-up Genome, Vietnam's startup ecosystem currently ranks third in Southeast Asia, with an estimated economic impact of up to 5.22 billion USD. The number of startups in Vietnam has also increased sharply, from about 1,600 at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic to more than 3,800 at present, of which AI startups account for nearly 10% of the total number.

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