Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup announced in an email statement that it is launching a $150 million fund to support technology startups in Southeast Asia, with a focus on areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and cloud computing.
The company stated that Vingroup will allocate $100 million from its previous investment portfolio to fund VinVentures. According to the company, Vingroup founder and Vietnam's richest man Pham Nhat Vuong will gradually inject an additional $50 million from his personal wealth into the fund.
The statement stated that VinVentures will initially target startups in Vietnam and later expand its scope to provide support to companies in countries/regions such as Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
The company stated in a statement that investing in technology startups is a "strategic focus" for Vingroup's transformation into a technology conglomerate, and Vingroup has invested in numerous technology startups through its funds such as Vingroup Ventures and VinTech City.
Vingroup's profits mainly come from its real estate division Vinhomes JSC, which is also the parent company of electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast Auto Ltd.
According to a joint report by Google, Temasek Holdings Pty Ltd, and Bain&Company, Vietnam attracted a record breaking $2.6 billion in funding for startups in 2021, up from $700 million the previous year. But according to another report by Do Ventures and the Vietnam National Innovation Center, the total amount of investment in Vietnamese startups plummeted to 529 million US dollars last year, ranking third among Southeast Asian countries.
