What SC Ventures does

SC Ventures is the wholly-owned venture building and investment arm of Standard Chartered Bank, established in 2018 and headquartered in Singapore. The organization operates across three high-conviction themes—Digital Banking & Lifestyle, Trade & Supply Chains, and Digital Assets—with regional hubs in London, Dubai, and Hong Kong. It builds 20+ portfolio ventures including Zodia Custody (digital asset custody), Zodia Markets (institutional digital asset brokerage), Libeara (asset tokenization), audax (core banking technology), TASConnect (supply chain finance), Qatalyst (carbon finance due diligence), Lexarius (AI-powered EdTech with INSEAD), Olea (digital trade finance), and myZoi (financial inclusion), while making strategic minority investments in 25+ companies such as GSR, Keyrock, Jumbotail, TruFin, and Rippl.

The underlying technology stack spans AI, blockchain, quantum computing (via Qubitra Technologies JV with Fujitsu), and tokenization, deployed across the venture portfolio. SC Ventures runs an AI Lab and the FintechBridge community platform for startup-corporate engagement. The business model relies on equity appreciation in built ventures and strategic investments, supplemented by Venture Building as a Service partnerships (e.g., DIFC Innovation Hub), with capital sourced entirely from the parent bank's balance sheet and dedicated funds such as the $100M Global Digital Asset Holdings vehicle. End customers include Standard Chartered itself as the primary internal client, plus external banks and financial institutions, SMEs in emerging markets, and digital asset institutions globally across 60+ markets.

Name

SC Ventures

Legal name

SC Ventures Master Holding Company Pte. Ltd. and SCV Holdings Limited

Website

https://scventures.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

SC Ventures is Standard Chartered Bank's Singapore-based venture building and investment arm, creating and backing 20+ fintech ventures and 25+ strategic investments across digital banking, trade finance, and digital assets in 60+ markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital & Fintech Investment

NAICS

All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Fintech / Insurtech CVC (Financial-services-led CVC) (FSANAHAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Venture Studios & Incubators (Build/launch ventures) (FSANAHAC), Corporate Strategic Partnership & Ecosystem Investment Arms (FSANAHAF), Trade Finance & Supply Chain Finance Platforms (FSAGAJAL)

Keywords

• Venture capital
• Fintech investment
• Digital banking
• Trade finance
• Digital assets

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Venture Building Returns: SC Ventures builds and invests in fintech ventures, generating returns through equity appreciation, exits, and strategic value creation for Standard Chartered
2. Strategic Value Creation: Creating new business models and revenue streams for Standard Chartered through innovation in digital banking, digital assets, and trade finance

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SC Ventures builds and invests in breakthrough fintech ventures across three high-conviction themes: Digital Banking & Lifestyle, Trade & Supply Chains, and Digital Assets. The firm operates a venture building model creating wholly-owned subsidiaries (Zodia Custody, Libeara, audax, Olea, etc.) alongside strategic minority investments in fintech companies (Keyrock, GSR, Jumbotail, TruFin). It also operates the FintechBridge community platform and AI Lab to connect startups, investors, and venture builders.

Product overview

SC Ventures is Standard Chartered's venture building and investment arm that creates and invests in breakthrough fintech ventures across three high-conviction themes: Digital Banking & Lifestyle, Trade & Supply Chains, and Digital Assets. The portfolio consists of 20+ built ventures (including Zodia Custody, Zodia Markets, Libeara, Qubitra, Olea, Qatalyst, Lexarius, and others) and 25+ strategic investments (including GSR, Keyrock, TruFin, Jumbotail, and others). The organization operates through its FintechBridge community platform for startup-corporate engagement and an AI Lab for artificial intelligence innovation in banking.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FintechBridge: A community platform connecting startups, investors, and venture builders for collaboration and co-creation.
• AI Lab
• Ventures Lab

Products and services

• FintechBridge A community platform connecting startups, investors, and venture builders to exchange knowledge, explore opportunities, and co-create fintech solutions. Provides access to challenges, pitch arena, and networking features for fintech ecosystem participants.
• AI Lab An AI innovation initiative focused on unlocking the power of AI to transform banking and build the future of finance, aligned with SC Ventures' venture building and investment activities. Includes a S$15 million three-year partnership with A*STAR for the AI for Banking Innovation Lab.
• Zodia Custody Digital asset custody provider offering regulated custody and transfer services for stablecoins and cryptocurrencies to institutional clients. Licensed as a Payment Institution in Luxembourg under the EU's MiCA framework.
• Zodia Markets Institutional digital asset platform enabling capital movement through stablecoins for wholesale trading, settlement, and cross-border payments. Granted Financial Services Permission by ADGM FSRA.
• Libeara Regulated real-world asset tokenization platform enabling financial institutions and asset managers to issue tokenised assets on-chain, with focus on tokenized money market funds and compliant on-chain tokenization infrastructure.
• Qubitra Technologies Joint venture with Fujitsu developing quantum-enabled applications and marketplace platform for quantum ecosystem targeting financial services, including fraud detection, derivatives pricing, and financial markets trading.
• Lexarius AI-powered experiential learning platform developed with INSEAD, designed to unlock human potential through immersive conversational learning and development.
• Olea Digital trade finance platform leveraging AI and Web3 technologies for supply chain finance solutions and tokenized trade flows. Facilitates $3 billion in financing with 30 institutional funders.
• Qatalyst Due diligence platform for carbon finance markets providing transparent investment processes to support global climate goals and net-zero transition.
• audax Digital banking technology solutions provider enabling banks to efficiently modernize technology infrastructure with core banking agnostic systems. Strategic partnership with FPT targeting USD 100 million revenue over three years.
• TASConnect Bank-agnostic supply chain finance platform co-created with Lenovo, facilitating trade finance operations.
• myZoi Financial inclusion technology platform focused on serving underbanked and unbanked communities, starting with migrant workers.
• Furaha Financial Purpose-driven lending platform offering education, gender and responsible lending products for African markets.
• Labamu Invoicing and billing platform designed to increase prosperity of small businesses across Asia Pacific markets.
• Appro

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Zodia CustodycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 May 2026Standard Chartered preparing to acquire Zodia Custody's custody business. Creating new entity Zodia Solutions under SC Ventures for technology and infrastructure operations. Crypto custody market projected to reach $7 trillion by 2035.
• Solowin Holdings (AXG)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 April 2026MoU signed at Global Web 4.0 conference in Hong Kong Cyberport to jointly incubate AGENPAY, an AI-powered payments initiative. Combines AXG's AI/blockchain expertise with SC Ventures' global network for intelligent payment systems.
• A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 April 2026Three-year S$15 million partnership establishing AI for Banking Innovation Lab for portfolio optimization, fraud detection, and NLP applications. Operated with A*STAR Institute of High Performance Computing. Projects may progress into commercial spin-offs.
• FujitsucoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 January 2026Joint venture Qubitra Technologies combining Fujitsu's quantum hardware and software with SC Ventures' financial services expertise. Initial deployments expected in early 2026 targeting fraud detection, derivatives pricing, and financial markets trading. Based in UK with operations in Kawasaki, Japan, London, and Singapore.
• Comera Financial HoldingsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 December 2025Strategic collaboration to develop innovative financial solutions targeting SME sector in UAE. Aims to enhance digital finance infrastructure through investment and financial model co-creation.
• MicrosoftcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 November 2025Partnership to develop Project Hal, an AI-driven B2B SME platform in UAE leveraging Microsoft AI and cloud solutions. Aims to improve SME access to finance, data sharing, and cross-border trade support in GCC region.
• Sanabil StudiocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 November 2025MoU signed to establish strategic partnership focused on building and scaling high-impact SME-focused fintech ventures in Saudi Arabia. Collaborative framework bringing together venture building capabilities.
• VisacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 November 2025MoU signed to develop solutions supporting SME growth and innovation across MENA region. Combines SC Ventures' venture building with Visa's payment infrastructure and regional presence.
• Anchorpoint (HKT, Animoca Brands)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 November 2025Joint venture established by SCBHK, HKT, and Animoca Brands. Granted Hong Kong's first stablecoin issuer license by HKMA. Launching regulated HKD stablecoin HKDAP for settlement applications.
• INSEADcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 September 2025Launched Lexarius, an AI-powered EdTech venture with vision to unlock human potential through experiential learning. Grounded in INSEAD's academic rigour with AI-powered conversational platform.
• FPTcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 July 2025Strategic partnership with audax targeting USD 100 million revenue over three years. FPT provides cloud-native development, testing, and long-term support across Asia Pacific and Middle East.
• Solv IndiaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 June 2025SC Ventures-incubated B2B commerce and financial services platform acquired by Jumbotail. Deal approved by Competition Commission of India. Combined entity serving over 500,000 small retailers across 400+ cities.
• FourTwoThreeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2025Investment alongside NatWest Group and NAB in climate action platform. PointSource, a SC Ventures venture making climate data usable, merging with FourTwoThree for broader climate transition support.
• DIFC Innovation HubcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2025Launching MENA's First National Venture Building Programme. SC Ventures providing Venture Building as a Service to accelerate innovation and support venture creation across the region.
• Emirates NBDcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 May 2025MoU to explore strategic opportunities for collaboration in MENAT region. Joint exploration of innovation-led initiatives combining SC Ventures' venture building with Emirates NBD's regional banking leadership.
• Qatalyst (ENGIE Factory)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 April 2025Launched Qatalyst, a due diligence platform for carbon finance markets. Collaboration between SC Ventures and ENGIE Factory's startup studio supporting net-zero transition through transparent carbon market processes.
• Yabx (Tech Mahindra Group)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 March 2025$10 million investment to setup Furaha for purpose-driven lending in Africa. Furaha combines SC Ventures' expertise with Yabx's alternate lending platform for education, gender, and responsible lending.
• LuLu Financial HoldingscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 January 2025MoU to co-create transformative startups across UAE and Middle East. Leveraging SC Ventures' global expertise and LuLuFin's regional financial expertise and network.
• KiyaAIminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 January 2025Launched Akashaverse, entertainment, social, ecommerce and lifestyle hub using immersive VR, AR and AI technologies. Exploring immersive digital environments and transforming user experience.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Citi Ventures: Corporate venture capital arm of Citigroup investing in and partnering with fintech, enterprise, and consumer technology startups. Direct peer as a major US-headquartered bank's CVC with a global thesis similar to SC Ventures.
• HSBC Innovation Banking: HSBC's venture and innovation banking unit providing banking, lending, and venture services to tech and fintech startups globally. Closely comparable as a fellow global bank's combined venture-building and financial-services platform.
• BBVA Spark: BBVA's venture arm focused on fintech and digital banking investments, including trade finance (Olea) and digital asset participation. Direct peer as a bank's CVC with overlapping themes in fintech and digital assets.
• ING Ventures: ING Bank's strategic investment and venture arm backing fintech and platform plays globally. Direct peer as a European bank's CVC investing across similar themes including SME finance and digital banking.
• Visa Ventures: Corporate venture capital arm of Visa investing in payments, commerce, and fintech (Visa is also an SC Ventures partner for MENA). Direct peer as a financial-services corporate CVC with overlapping portfolio categories.
• Mastercard Foundry: Mastercard's innovation and venture arm partnering with and investing in fintech, digital banking, and commerce startups. Direct peer as a payments network's CVC with comparable venture-building and partnership model.
• Anthemis: Venture capital and advisory firm focused on financial services and fintech investments. Direct peer as a specialist fintech VC with similar investment focus in digital banking, embedded finance, and digital assets.
• QED Investors: Fintech-focused venture capital firm backing early and growth-stage financial services companies globally. Direct peer as a leading specialist fintech VC with thematic overlap in digital banking, lending, and emerging markets.

Broad incumbents

• JPMorgan Corporate Development: JPMorgan Chase's corporate venture and M&A function, investing across fintech and emerging technology. Broad incumbent as a much larger US bank with overlapping fintech CVC activity.

Emerging players

• Rainmaking: Global venture builder and corporate innovation firm partnering with banks and corporates to build and launch new ventures. Comparable as a venture-building-as-a-service specialist addressing similar corporate clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@scventuresbystandardcharte2959
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sc-ventures
• Xx.com/scventuresdna

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments38 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SC Ventures