Singapore's 100x100 Launches a $100m Second Fund to Build 50 Climate Companies Across Southeast Asia and India
100x100, a Singapore-based climate company builder founded by members of the Wavemaker Impact team, said on June 17 it is launching Fund II with a $100 million target to build 50 high-impact companies from scratch across Southeast Asia and India. Unlike a conventional venture fund, 100x100 co-founds companies alongside entrepreneurs rather than backing existing startups, concentrating on energy, food, materials and supply chains — the sectors where emissions reductions are largest.
Fund II roughly doubles the firm's inaugural $60 million vehicle, which hit its hard cap in 2023 and co-founded 27 companies across eight countries; those portfolio companies have since raised more than $28 million from 16 external investors, at what the firm says is a survival rate near double the venture-capital median. Backers of the new fund include the US International Development Finance Corporation, Singapore's Economic Development Board, British International Investment and Triple Jump.
Vietnam Weighs a State-Backed Venture Fund as Foreign Capital Pushes Startups to Incorporate Abroad
At a June 19 discussion, ThinkZone Ventures founder and chief executive Bui Thanh Do warned that the dominance of foreign capital in Vietnam's startup market is pushing domestic founders to set up holding companies offshore to access funding more easily — a structural "flip" that leaves Vietnam exposed to losses of tax revenue and of the intellectual assets of companies that originated there. Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi established local venture funds worth VND500 billion ($19 million) and VND230 billion respectively in April 2026, but the scale remains modest against the offshore pull.
ThinkZone proposed three directions for a national venture fund: the state acting as catalytic capital through a fund-of-funds model, evaluating portfolios over a 10-to-15-year horizon rather than scrutinising individual deals, and clearer tax incentives paired with a dedicated stock exchange for startups. Science and Technology Minister Vu Hai Quan framed the public funds' objective as promoting the ecosystem rather than maximising profit.
Longbridge Makes Singapore Its Regional Headquarters as the Brokerage-and-AI Fintech Pushes Into Southeast Asia
Longbridge Group, a fintech firm spanning retail brokerage, institutional trading (LONGPORT Whale) and an AI infrastructure arm (LongbridgeAI), opened its first Singapore office on June 19, designating the city-state as its regional headquarters and base. The office sits at Asia Square in the Marina Bay financial district, and the company said it plans to open a second Singapore office in Q4 2026 — which it described as a first among online brokerages in the city.
Chief executive Nowa Zhu said Singapore was "not a new market" for the firm, but that the physical base lets it tell clients to "come find us," citing the city's role as Asia's financial hub, its regulatory framework and its capital-markets access. The announcement disclosed no user numbers, headcount or new licences.
Eyes on the Day Ahead
Nothing firm is docketed for the next 24–48 hours, so look out over the next few days instead. On the policy track, watch for any follow-through on Vietnam's national venture-fund proposal as the National Assembly and Ministry of Science and Technology weigh startup-capital measures. On the deal track, keep an eye on TNGlobal and DealStreetAsia for 100x100's first named Fund II ventures and for whether other regional brokerages mirror Longbridge's Singapore-HQ move — and on Bank Negara Malaysia's Digital Asset Innovation Hub, whose stablecoin and tokenised-deposit guidance is still flagged for later in 2026.
Layer 7 Ventures is a research-driven firm focused on AI and cryptocurrency in Southeast Asia. Views expressed are those of the firm and do not constitute investment advice.
