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

MDI Ventures funding flows from one of Southeast Asia's most active corporate VCs: the venture arm of Telkom Indonesia, the country's state-owned telecom giant. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Jakarta, MDI Ventures backs founders who can plug into the Telkom Group ecosystem — and, increasingly, into Indonesia's other state-owned enterprises. With roughly $830 million in committed assets under management across multiple funds, 90+ portfolio companies in 12 countries and 19 exits to date, it is the heavyweight route to getting funding from MDI Ventures.

Investment thesis at MDI Ventures

The firm describes itself as a VC that creates new business opportunities and revenue through collaboration between its startups and anchor limited partners — from Telkom to other large Indonesian corporates. That synergy thesis is real: recent investments such as Singapore's Whale and CYFIRMA are being integrated with Telkom's core businesses. After a pause on new deals in 2024 while Telkom reviewed strategy and governance, MDI resumed deploying capital in 2025 with a revamped thesis centred on enterprise AI, AI infrastructure and regulated digital assets, with Singapore as its first sourcing market.

Sectors, stages and MDI Ventures fund vehicles

Historically the firm has backed fintech, cybersecurity, enterprise software and digital services across Seed to Series D — its track record skews toward Series A and B, but it operates several specialist vehicles. The Arise Fund, a joint venture with European VC Finch Capital, targets $40 million in assets with tickets of $250,000 to $3 million for post-seed to Series A startups. The KB-MDI Centauri Fund, run with South Korea's KB Investment, builds a Korea–ASEAN investment corridor. A $500 million fund closed in 2020 is dedicated to companies that can digitise Indonesia's state-owned enterprises. The 2026 strategy adds enterprise AI applications, AI infrastructure, governance software and real-world asset tokenisation.

Notable portfolio companies

Standout names include Kredivo (Finaccel), Cermati, SiCepat, KoinWorks, Qoala, Amartha, Alodokter, Privy, Kata.ai, Whale and CYFIRMA. Exits include Wavecell, Geniee, Whispir, Red Dot Payment and Loft Orbital, most via acquisition or listing.

Key people

The firm is led by CEO Donald Wihardja, with Singapore coverage under investment director Shannon Lee Chaluangco, director Ronaldi and VP of strategy Alvin Evander.

Programs and initiatives

MDI runs Nex-BE Fest, its flagship startup–SOE business matchmaking event (the 2023 edition with HUB.ID produced 750 potential synergies), and Explorise Pulse 2025 to deepen startup–state-enterprise collaboration. It co-launched the Merah Putih Fund with four other state-backed VCs — Rp 4.3 trillion earmarked for Indonesian startups — and runs the eMerge angel network plus the Digibiz programme with edtech portfolio company Cakap. No publicly listed founder credit or perk programme was found.

How to apply for funding

MDI Ventures does not publish a formal pitch application portal or submission form. The firm's stated route is direct contact: its contact page lists the Jakarta headquarters (Telkom Landmark Tower, 21st Floor, phone +6221 2793 7910), plus representative offices in Los Angeles and Singapore, and the general inbox [email protected] is published on its official materials. Founders targeting the enterprise-AI and digital-asset thesis — or Southeast Asian startups seeking Indonesian expansion through Telkom's network — should reach out there with a concise deck.