Early-Stage Venture Capital in Asia: 15 Active Seed and Series A Investors and How to Pitch Them
Asia is not one venture market. A seed-stage founder in Jakarta, Bengaluru, Tokyo and Seoul will meet different investors, different round sizes and different ways in. This guide lists 15 venture capital firms that back early-stage startups in Southeast Asia, India, Greater China, Japan and South Korea. We checked every firm on its own website in October 2026: where it invests, which stage and sectors it backs, how founders can pitch it and one recent, dated sign that it is still investing. Firms that were renamed, changed focus or could not be verified are listed in a separate section.
Quick answer: in Southeast Asia, start with East Ventures, Jungle Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures, Wavemaker Ventures and Monk's Hill Ventures; in India, with Peak XV (Surge), Accel (Atoms), Elevation Capital and Kalaari Capital; in Japan, with Coral Capital; in South Korea, with Kakao Ventures. If you only have an idea or a pre-seed team, the most open doors are Antler, Accel Atoms, Surge by Peak XV and First Cheque@Jungle.
Write FREE SEO-optimized Blog Articles! Our Article Writer ensures your blog is loved by both Google and your readers, turning those clicks into customers.
👉 Write your article here
Early-Stage VCs in Asia Compared
Sources: each firm's own website, checked 27 October 2026. Stages and amounts are what the firms publish; read their pages before you pitch.
The 15 Early-Stage VCs in Asia for 2027
The firms are grouped by region: Southeast Asia first, then pan-Asian, India, Japan and Korea. Each entry links the firm's own site; the "recent signal" is a dated item published on that site.
Southeast Asia
1. East Ventures (Singapore and Indonesia)
East Ventures was founded in 2009 and calls itself a pioneering, sector-agnostic venture capital firm that provides multi-stage investments, from seed to growth stage, for tech companies across Southeast Asia. It has offices in Singapore and Jakarta and says it uses a "2P" test, people and potential market, which lets it decide on deals within 24 to 48 hours. How to pitch: the pitch form on its contact page. Recent signal: on 7 October 2026 it announced the winners of its Climate Impact Innovations Challenge, which awarded Rp15 billion in catalytic funding to Indonesian climate startups together with Temasek Foundation and Tencent.
2. Jungle Ventures (Singapore, India and Southeast Asia)
Jungle Ventures describes itself as Singapore's largest independent VC investing across Southeast Asia and India, with more than $1 billion under management, and as "idea to IPO" partners for B2C and B2B technology companies. Its First Cheque@Jungle track backs second-time founders and seasoned operators at the idea, pre-seed and seed stages: it leads and invests $2 million to $5 million, split as equity and a no-cap convertible note, and intends to lead the Series A with $3 million to $10 million. How to pitch: firstcheque@jungle.vc for early rounds, reviewed on a rolling basis. Recent signal: on 14 January 2026 it published an update on strengthening its leadership across India and Southeast Asia; its First Cheque deals include a $2 million pre-seed round in agritech company KisaanSay.
3. Golden Gate Ventures (Singapore)
Golden Gate Ventures is an early-stage firm founded in 2011, headquartered in Singapore with offices in Indonesia and Vietnam, and it now also lists offices in New York and Doha. It has funded 90+ companies and focuses on Southeast Asia (Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines), backing everything from consumer apps to B2B SaaS. How to pitch: it prefers an introduction from a portfolio founder or an investor in its network, or a 60-second pitch at an event; the general address is hello@goldengate.vc. Recent signal: its news page lists a lead of I.W.G.'s US$1.8M pre-Series A round and a new office in Uzbekistan.
4. Wavemaker Ventures (Singapore)
Wavemaker Ventures, the early-stage fund of Wavemaker Partners, calls itself Southeast Asia's leading early-stage VC, backing enterprise, deep tech and sustainability startups. It reports 200+ companies invested and US$500 million in total assets under management. Its seed and pre-A focus goes back to its fourth fund, which it describes as the largest fund focused on early-stage (Seed/Pre-A) enterprise, deep tech and sustainability startups in Southeast Asia when it closed. How to pitch: an introduction through a mutual contact, or the form on its contact page. Recent signal: on 19 August 2026 it led a US$3.5 million round in Neocrete, and on 22 June 2026 it led ChemT Biotechnology's seed round with SEEDS, an arm of SG Growth Capital.
Boost Your SEO by listing your startup and get a FREE backlink.
Create a profile in the F/MS Startup Game, add the link to your website and submit.
👉 List your startup now!
5. Alpha JWC Ventures (Indonesia)
Alpha JWC Ventures is a Southeast Asian early-to-growth stage investment firm that debuted in Indonesia in 2015, with deep Indonesian roots and an office in Singapore. Its portfolio includes Kopi Kenangan and Ajaib. How to pitch: the contact form accepts a deck or one-pager as an attachment. Recent signal: on 24 September 2026 it announced that it had increased its stake in Kopi Kenangan.
6. Antler (Singapore, across Asia-Pacific)
Antler is a global early-stage venture capital firm headquartered in Singapore. In Asia-Pacific it runs programmes in Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. In Singapore it backs founders with up to $400k at inception, starting with a $150K ticket after a 6-week residency; the next Singapore residency started on 5 October 2026. Later-stage companies (Series A to C) can pitch its Antler Elevate growth fund. How to pitch: apply online and choose your city. Recent signal: on 13 August 2025 it reported US$7.4 million invested in Southeast Asian startups in the first half of 2025, including seven AI startups from its AI Disrupt residency.
7. Monk's Hill Ventures (Singapore)
Monk's Hill Ventures is a Singapore-registered firm that says it has invested in over 50 fast-growing tech companies in Southeast Asia over the past decade. Its own announcements show it leading pre-Series A and Series A rounds, such as Radiant1, Saladin and Hannah Life. How to pitch: the contact form on its website. Recent signal: on 3 July 2026 it announced that it led the USD7.7M Series A of BeeX, a Singapore maker of autonomous underwater drones, alongside SEEDS and others.
8. Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India (Singapore)
Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India describes itself as a leading early-stage venture capital firm for Southeast Asia and India and is part of the Vertex global network, which has affiliates in China, Israel, Japan and the US. It reports $1.5 billion under management and offices in Singapore and Bangalore; its portfolio spans consumer, enterprise, fintech, sustainability and healthtech. How to pitch: the "Pitch to us" form on its website. Recent signal: on 13 October 2026 it led the US$3 million seed round of Drylab AI, and on 16 October 2026 it led a $29 million Series B in RapidCanvas.
Pan-Asia and Greater China
9. Gobi Partners (Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur)
Gobi Partners was founded in 2002 and is an Asia-centric venture capital firm based in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. It calls itself an early to growth investor and runs separate fund mandates, for example in Malaysia, Pakistan and the Philippines. Its portfolio includes Airwallex, Carsome and companies in Hong Kong and mainland China. How to pitch: its contact form has an "Investment Pitch" option and asks for your primary market, from Greater China to Southeast Asia. Recent signal: on 13 July 2026 it announced a strategic collaboration with NTT, and on 22 June 2026 its Gobi Dana Impak Ventures fund backed Malaysian chip designer GreatAsic.
India
10. Peak XV Partners, formerly Sequoia Capital India and Southeast Asia
Peak XV Partners began in 2006 as Sequoia Capital India and later expanded into Southeast Asia; in 2023 Sequoia Capital restructured into independent entities, which created Peak XV. It now invests across India, APAC and the United States, from seed to growth, and reports $10B+ under management. Its seed programme Surge invests from $500k up to $5M in seed capital, with room for co-investors. How to pitch: the Surge application, which asks for your sector, customer location and any funding raised. Recent signal: on 12 August 2026 it published its investment note on Blacksmith, a compute platform for autonomous coding.
11. Accel in India (Accel Atoms)
Accel has an office in Bangalore and runs Accel Atoms, a pre-seed scaling programme for Indian and Indian-origin founders building from anywhere. For its Atoms AI Cohort 2026, run with Google's AI Futures Fund, each selected founder could receive up to $2 million in co-investment. How to pitch: apply through the Atoms website. Recent signal: on 11 August 2026 Accel announced a $3.5 billion fundraise across four vehicles for its early-stage strategies in the US, Europe, Israel and India.
12. Elevation Capital (Bengaluru and Gurugram)
Elevation Capital has backed Indian founders since 2003 and says it remains sharply focused on seed and Series A. It invests in consumer tech, consumer brands, fintech and financial services, enterprise AI, frontier tech and healthcare, does not make competing investments, and says it is never too early to reach out. How to pitch: the pitch form on its website. Recent signal: on 14 July 2026 it announced its $500 million Fund IX for Indian founders.
13. Kalaari Capital (Bengaluru)
Kalaari Capital describes its work as early-stage investing in India and has backed founders for two decades from its Bengaluru office. Its CXXO programme supports women-led startups with dedicated capital and support. It says most investment journeys complete in about 4 to 6 weeks from the first call. How to pitch: the Seek Funding application. Recent signal: on 11 May 2026 it explained why it led a $3M seed round in NudgeBee, an AI platform for cloud operations.
Boost Your SEO by Getting Featured in Our Blogs and get a backlink.
We publish content about startups, education, tech, funding, etc. that ranks well not only in Google but also in Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.
👉 Get featured now!
Japan and South Korea
14. Coral Capital (Japan)
Coral Capital was started in March 2019 by the former 500 Startups Japan team with a JPY 5 billion fund focused on seed-stage startups in Japan. Today it says it can invest from seed to Series D, from ¥50 million to ¥3 billion, and reports more than ¥60 billion under management. Its 2026 thesis names semiconductors, nuclear energy, robotics and defence among the industries it is funding. Its contact page says the earlier founders get in touch the better: it rarely decides before a company is incorporated, but it has invested right after founding in companies it started talking to earlier. How to pitch: the founders' form on its contact page. Recent signal: on 21 October 2026 it announced that economist Noah Smith joined as a Venture Partner.
15. Kakao Ventures (South Korea)
Kakao Ventures was founded in April 2012 as K Cube Ventures and joined the Kakao group in March 2015. It invests mainly from seed to Series A in ICT and software companies in deep tech, services and games, and also digital healthcare. It reports 280+ portfolio companies and more than 11 funds. It is based in Pangyo, near Seoul. How to pitch: the business plan form linked from its homepage (in Korean). Recent signal: on 15 September 2026 it announced a seed investment in cardiovascular AI startup Korologic.
Renamed, Changed or Left Out
The 2025 version of this list included firms that have since changed name, focus or website:
- Sequoia Capital India (Surge) is now Peak XV Partners, and Surge is "Surge by Peak XV".
- 500 Global (formerly 500 Startups): its website now says it focuses on the U.S. and global markets, so it is no longer a Southeast Asia pick here. The 500 Startups Japan team became Coral Capital.
- Openspace Ventures now presents itself as Openspace Capital, a multi-strategy asset manager for Southeast Asia investing at the early and growth stage.
- Wavemaker Partners: its Southeast Asian early-stage fund now operates as Wavemaker Ventures.
- Primer Sazze Partners: its old domain now redirects to Sazze Partners, which invests across East Asia and North America.
- Global Founders Capital: the globalfounders.vc domain now shows an unrelated page, so we could not verify the firm and left it out.
- Insignia Ventures Partners and Blume Ventures: their websites could not be read (a JavaScript-only page and a bot check), so their details are not verified here.
- Qualgro invests mainly at Series A and B, and Lightspeed is a global multi-stage firm; both are later or broader than this list.
- Removed claims: rankings and numbers quoted from third-party blogs (portfolio counts, fund totals and a forecast of Asia's venture market) that the firms' own sites do not confirm.
How to Pitch an Early-Stage VC in Asia in 5 Steps
- Match market and stage. Most Asian VCs invest in one country or region. Check the firm's market, the round it backs and its sectors before you write.
- Find the right door. Programmes such as Antler, Accel Atoms and Surge have applications; firms such as Golden Gate Ventures and Wavemaker Ventures prefer a warm introduction. Our guide to finding a lead investor helps.
- Send a short deck. Problem, traction, team, round size and use of funds. Use a deck that tells a story.
- Partner meetings and data room. Expect deep dives with several partners; Kalaari, for example, says most journeys complete in about 4 to 6 weeks from the first call.
- Term sheet and close. Read up on term sheet negotiation before you sign.
Which Early-Stage VC in Asia Should You Choose?
- You have an idea or a pre-seed team: Antler, Accel Atoms (Indian and Indian-origin founders), Surge by Peak XV, or First Cheque@Jungle if you are a repeat founder or senior operator.
- You are in Indonesia: East Ventures and Alpha JWC Ventures, then Golden Gate Ventures and Monk's Hill Ventures for Southeast Asia-wide rounds.
- You build enterprise, deep tech or climate tech in Southeast Asia: Wavemaker Ventures, and Vertex Ventures for seed to Series B.
- You are in India: Elevation Capital and Kalaari Capital for seed and Series A, Peak XV and Accel for a path from seed to growth. Women-led startups should look at Kalaari's CXXO.
- You are in Malaysia, Hong Kong or Greater China: Gobi Partners.
- You are in Japan: Coral Capital. You are in South Korea: Kakao Ventures.
- You are raising outside Asia: see our list of early-stage VC firms worldwide and our guide to angel investor groups in North America.
Join F/MS: Startup Facilitator & Incubator and unlock your startup dreams today! Get your first customers, register you company in the Netherlands and get startup visas for the team.
How Founders Raise Early-Stage Capital in Asia
VCs in Asia want proof that customers care, so validate first: our 30-day validation sprint shows how, or you can validate your startup idea with our content-driven service. Know where seed money for startups comes from, avoid the common pre-seed fundraising mistakes, and plan a focused 6-week fundraise sprint. Women founders can find more in our guide to venture capital for female entrepreneurs. Many of the firms above meet founders at events, so check our guides to startup events in Singapore, Bangalore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul, and our list of fundraising and investor events. Building an AI company? See our list of VCs for AI startups in Asia.
Boost Your SEO with 1,500+ Free Business Directories: increase your DA, get backlinks and traffic.
We've compiled an exclusive list of directories and websites where you can submit your business and start building high-quality backlinks to boost your website traffic and get your SEO snowball rolling.
👉 Submit your startup now!
FAQ About Early-Stage VCs in Asia
Which VCs invest in pre-seed startups in Asia?
Antler backs founders from the idea stage in eight Asia-Pacific markets, Accel Atoms is a pre-seed programme for Indian and Indian-origin founders, Surge by Peak XV invests $500k to $5M in seed capital, and First Cheque@Jungle backs repeat founders and operators at the idea, pre-seed and seed stages.
What happened to Sequoia Capital India?
In 2023 Sequoia Capital restructured into independent entities, and Sequoia Capital India and Southeast Asia became Peak XV Partners. Its seed programme is now called Surge by Peak XV.
Which early-stage VCs focus on Southeast Asia?
East Ventures, Jungle Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures, Wavemaker Ventures, Alpha JWC Ventures, Monk's Hill Ventures and Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India all publish a Southeast Asia focus on their websites.
Which VCs back seed-stage startups in India?
Elevation Capital says it is sharply focused on seed and Series A, Kalaari Capital describes itself as an early-stage investor, Peak XV invests in seed rounds through Surge and Accel runs the Atoms pre-seed programme.
Which early-stage VCs invest in Japan and South Korea?
Coral Capital, started by the former 500 Startups Japan team, invests in Japanese startups from seed to Series D. Kakao Ventures invests mainly from seed to Series A in Korean ICT and software startups.
Do I need a warm introduction to pitch a VC in Asia?
Not always. East Ventures, Elevation Capital, Kalaari Capital, Vertex Ventures and Gobi Partners have pitch forms, and Antler and Accel Atoms take applications. Golden Gate Ventures and Wavemaker Ventures say an introduction is the preferred route.
How long does it take to raise from an Asian VC?
It varies. Kalaari Capital says most journeys take about 4 to 6 weeks from the first call, and East Ventures says it can decide within 24 to 48 hours, but plan for a few months of fundraising overall.
Is 500 Global still investing in Southeast Asia?
500 Global's website now says it focuses on the U.S. and global markets. Check its site for current programmes before you pitch.
Which Asian VCs support women-led startups?
Kalaari Capital's CXXO programme supports women-led startups with dedicated capital and support. For more options, see our guide to angel investors for women founders.
How can I get my startup in front of more investors?
Get covered where investors and AI assistants look: you can publish a guest post in the Fe/male Switch startup blogs. Get featured and earn a backlink.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
