SBI Holdings and Kyobo Life Insurance Group recommits on Southeast Asian tech, launches Fund II
SINGAPORE, 10 April 2026 – SBI Holdings, Japan’s largest fintech conglomerate, announced the launch of SBI-Kyobo Digital Innovation Fund II, in collaboration with Kyobo Life Insurance Group, one of South Korea’s top three life insurance groups. The fund, targeted at US$50 million, will be managed by the venture capital arm of SBI Holdings, SBI Ven Capital, based in Singapore.
The launch builds on the momentum of a previous joint fund, which was launched in 2022 to invest in early-stage Southeast Asian technology startups. Drawing on the learnings from this previous fund, Fund II focuses on fintech, insurtech, and healthtech, which are high-growth and critical sectors in the region.
Beyond capital, the fund also stands as a testament to the strong, group-wide ongoing partnership between SBI Holdings and Kyobo Life Insurance Group— two of Asia’s leading financial services groups. The fund offers access to a global network, deep domain expertise in financial infrastructure and insurance, and capital market capabilities.
“The launch of the second fund deepens our partnership with Kyobo based on our shared conviction on where Southeast Asia is heading. The region is producing world-class founders and businesses that require focused capital, and that is what we believe this fund can bring. By concentrating sector expertise where it matters, we aim to build a platform that creates differentiated value for investors and the founders driving that growth,” said Eiichiro So, Managing Director and CEO of SBI Ven Capital.
“Through this fund, Kyobo aims to support innovation and contribute to the broader fintech ecosystem across Southeast Asia” Heejin Shin, Director and Head of New Business Development, Ventures & Digital Assets of Kyobo Securities said. “The fund is expected to serve as a platform bridging East and Southeast Asia, supporting deeper collaboration and regional connectivity.”
Fund II comes during a transformational period for Southeast Asia’s digital economy. In today’s rapidly evolving market, the rise of vertical AI integration and next generation financial infrastructure presents a significant opportunity to modernize essential services at scale. Leveraging the region’s dynamic growth, Fund II is committed to backing the fintech and healthcare innovations that will drive this next phase of regional development.
[About the SBI Group]
Founded in 1999, the SBI Group is a comprehensive internet financial group that operates Financial Services Business, centring on securities, banking, and insurance, as the pioneer of internet-based financial services in Japan. The Group is committed to providing lower-cost and highly convenient products and services through the internet. In addition to its core financial services operations, the SBI Group also engages in Asset Management Business, Private Equity Investment Business, Crypto-asset Business, and Next Gen Business on a global scale.
[About SBI Ven Capital]
SBI Ven Capital, the Singapore subsidiary of SBI Group, is a leading private equity and private credit firm that invests in financial services, technology sectors and private credit market across Asia. It is a MAS Capital Market Services (CMS) license holder for fund management activities and has an AUM of US$590M as of the end of December 2025.
[About the Kyobo Life Insurance Group]
Established in 1958, Kyobo Life Insurance Group has pioneered the development of Korea’s life insurance industry for over six decades, including the introduction of the world’s first education insurance product. Today, Kyobo Life Insurance Group stands as one of Korea’s leading financial institutions, with a diversified portfolio spanning life insurance, securities, asset management, real estate trust, healthcare services, and, more recently, banking.
[About Kyobo Securities]
Kyobo Securities, established in 1949, is Korea’s first brokerage firm with a long-standing track record across multiple market cycles. The firm’s strength lies in its balanced business portfolio spanning brokerage, investment banking, and sales & trading. Its venture capital business, launched in 2020, has grown to approximately US$315 million in AUM, pursuing a geography/sector/stage-agnostic investment strategy.