Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong is the chairman and founder of Vingroup.
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Automotive and real estate mogul Pham Nhat Vuong and his conglomerate Vingroup aim to expand their technology business by launching a venture capital firm to fund artificial intelligence and digital startups in Vietnam and the region. .
Vinventures Capital Fund, jointly financed by Pham and Vingroup, will focus on AI, semiconductors, cloud computing and other high-tech products, the conglomerate said in a statement. He said the fund has $150 million in assets under management. , two-thirds of which are “inherited investments” from Vingroup’s existing portfolio. The remaining $50 million will be spent over the next three to five years, Vingroup said.
“VinVentures offers startups a unique advantage by not only providing capital but also facilitating connections within the Vingroup ecosystem,” Le Han tu Lam, managing director of VinVentures, said in a statement.
According to the managing director, VinVentures will initially target the Vietnamese market, focusing on startups with local founding teams in the early stages. He said they aim to expand the scope to include startups from regional markets with similar development characteristics to Vietnam, such as Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Vingroup has been funding technology startups amid Mr Pham’s ambitious goal to make the company one of Vietnam’s leading technology conglomerates. Vingroup said it has already invested in several technology startups, including VinBigData and VinAI, through its Vingroup Ventures and VinTech City funds.
Pham, who has a real-time net worth of $4.1 billion, started his career in Ukraine in 1993 by manufacturing and selling instant noodles. He sold the business to Nestle in 2010 and invested the proceeds to form Vingroup. Vingroup has since grown into a conglomerate with interests in real estate, retail, healthcare, education, automotive, and technology.
