Major Adopters – Singapore’s most active Fintech Series A investors

Singapore has seen an influx of startups and venture capital in recent years. Several factors have contributed to this – from the city’s pro-business environment to its highly educated workforce.

Another factor contributing to the success of startups in Singapore is the availability of capital, with more active investors willing to invest in early-stage startups. The city-state is home to several unicorns, such as Grab and Sea Limited, and is a popular destination for entrepreneurs and investors alike.

Fintech startups entered into 127 deals worth USD 2.06 billion in total revenue, corresponding to a quarter of the total deal volume in the first nine months.

This is a positive sign for the startup ecosystem in Singapore, which has grown rapidly in recent years. And with the government’s new initiative to support startups, it is expected to grow in the coming years.

Here are the eight most active Series A fintech investors in Singapore based on deals closed between January and November 2022.

SBI Group

SBI Group is a finance company based in Japan and was founded in 1999. The company operates several subsidiaries and affiliates that offer a wide range of financial products and services, including securities, investment banking, asset management and insurance.

SBI Group operates several crypto-related businesses, including a cryptocurrency exchange and a blockchain-based remittance service.

The company recently invested in Series A funding of $6.7 million for the financing platform banco (RABC Group). The firm also participated in a USD 4.5 million seed round for Crypto firm SolanaFM.

Creator Private Equity

Creador is a Southeast Asia-focused private equity firm founded in 2011 by Brahmal Vasudevan. The firm’s main focus is investing in growth-oriented companies within the consumer, healthcare and education sectors.

The firm’s investment strategy is to identify and invest in high-growth companies and to work closely with the management team to build the company into a market leader.

One of the notable Series A investments is a USD 11 million pre-Series A for Singapore-based fintech UNOAsia.

Jump crypto

Jump Crypto is a division of Jump Trading Group based in Chicago, Illinois, USA, founded in 1999. It is a research-driven quantitative trading firm and one of the largest traders, by volume, across traditional asset classes.

Jump Crypto is building a cryptocurrency infrastructure to help the blockchain and all things Web3 grow.

It recently led a $13 million Series A funding round for Singapore fintech FOMO Pay.

Tiger Global

Tiger Global is a hedge fund and private equity firm that invests in public and private companies. The firm was founded in 2001 by Chase Coleman, with offices in New York, Hong Kong and Singapore. Some of the firm’s notable investments include Fazz and WIZ.AI.

It led a US$15.75 million Series A for HitPay, a Singapore-based payment platform for SMEs.

Jam Fund

Jam Fund, founded in 2020 by Justin Mateen, is a venture capital firm based in Los Angeles, California. The firm invests in pharmaceuticals, finance, software, food, insurance, construction, health and technology.

The firm led a US$29 million Series A funding round for Singaporean fintech Volopay last year.

ParaFi Capital

ParaFi Capital, founded by Ben Forman, is a crypto-focused venture capital firm that provides financing and support to early-stage companies in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space.

Last October, it led an $18 million Series A funding round for Neo-banking crypto startup Juno to expand products and operations and launch its first tokenized loyalty program.

Yunqi Partners

Yunqi Partners specializes in early stage investments in technology companies, particularly in the software and internet sectors. The firm, founded by Hu Quan and Zhi Tao, is based in China and has a global investment focus, especially on startups in the US and Asia.

Singapore-based Safeheron secured US$7 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Yunqi Partners to make private keys safer for crypto wallets.

Accel

Accel, founded in 1983, invests in early-stage technology companies. The firm focuses on a wide range of technology sectors, including software, internet, mobile and healthcare. The company’s notable investments include Facebook, Slack, Dropbox and Spotify.

Accel invested in Finbots.AI, an AI-powered credit scoring software provider, for US$3 million in a Series A funding round.