Investor Profile: IOSG Ventures — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Thesis

IOSG Ventures is one of Asia's earliest venture firms dedicated to the future of finance, founded in 2017. It invests in fintech, Web3 and artificial intelligence, with a research-driven approach: it publishes hundreds of reports and backs protocols reshaping finance, from DeFi to tokenised assets. It takes a long-term view, staying close to portfolio teams well beyond the first cheque.

Sectors and stages

It focuses on early-stage DeFi, infrastructure, cross-chain ecosystems, gaming, social finance, tokenised assets and AI. It invests globally, with a network across China, the United States and Singapore, and a portfolio spanning Asia, Europe and North America. Its network of 2,000+ enterprises and institutions offers portfolio companies reach to exchanges, custodians and developers.

It typically leads or joins seed and Series A rounds, and follows on as companies grow.

Fund size and cheque size

IOSG says it has invested in more than 150 companies since 2017, over 10 of which have grown into unicorns, and that it has published more than 300 research reports. Total fund size and a standard cheque size are not publicly disclosed; tickets vary by round. One illustrative deal is its lead investment in a $3 million seed round for Interlay, the cross-chain Bitcoin platform, which shows the scale of its early-stage bets.

Notable portfolio

Its portfolio features some of the best-known names in crypto infrastructure and DeFi, including 1inch, Arbitrum, StarkWare, Illuvium, Near, Polkadot and Cosmos at the Layer-1 level, middleware such as Celer, and applications including MakerDAO, Synthetix and UMA. Recent work includes Centrifuge, where IOSG was an early investor, joined its $15 million 2024 round, and later bought more tokens. Other recent investments include GOMBLE, Superfluid Finance and Shaga.

Partners and team

IOSG was founded by Jocy Lin, its founding partner, and is led alongside managing partner Momir Amidzic. The wider team includes principals, senior investors, data scientists and venture partners, and its network extends to founders such as Dawn Song, founder and chief executive of Oasis Labs. Its analysts publish regular research, and its summits convene founders, developers and institutions.

Programs, credits and perks

IOSG does not run an accelerator with a fixed cohort or a published cloud-credits programme. Its programmes are research and community events: the IOSG DeFi Summit series, research publications, and ecosystem initiatives such as its work with Centrifuge on expanding real-world asset tokenisation across Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and South Korea, including institutional roundtables, regulator meetings and exchange collaborations. For founders, the perks are research support, tokenomics advice and introductions across its network.

How to apply for funding

IOSG invites founders to send a project summary with a pitch deck or white paper to [email protected], and learning how to get funding from IOSG Ventures starts there, with a research-grade pitch: the problem, the protocol design, the token model if any, and why the team can ship it. The firm is thesis-driven, so a deck that shows familiarity with its published research on your sector will stand out. There is no published application window or accelerator deadline, so outreach is year-round, and a warm introduction can help.