SC Ventures is the innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm of Standard Chartered, set up in January 2018 and headquartered in Singapore. Led by chief executive Alex Manson, this fully owned subsidiary has a dual mandate: building new ventures and selectively investing in partners it has worked with directly, across three themes — Digital Banking & Lifestyle, Trade & Supply Chains, and Digital Assets.
On the investing side, its public profile is unusually specific for a corporate venture arm: a global mandate targeting revenue-generating companies with market-ready products, typically at Series B to pre-IPO stage (Series A by exception), writing tickets of $1-10 million for minority, strategic stakes. It manages three vehicles — the SC Ventures Innovation Fund (since April 2019), the Strategic Tech Investment Portfolio (since August 2016) and the Digital Asset SBI Holdings JV (since April 2024) — and lists more than 20 portfolio companies. Total assets under management are not publicly disclosed.
India is now firmly in its sights. In June 2025, SC Ventures led a $120 million Series D round for Jumbotail, the Bengaluru-based B2B marketplace serving kirana stores, with Artal Asia also participating. The round took Jumbotail's total funding to $263 million and its valuation past $1 billion, into unicorn territory. The same transaction completed Jumbotail's acquisition of Solv India — the B2B commerce and supply-chain finance platform for MSMEs that SC Ventures had incubated since 2019 — after CCI clearance. Gautam Jain, the SC Ventures member who chaired Solv, joined Jumbotail's board. It also launched Akashaverse, a VR/AR/AI experience hub, with Indian digital-solutions firm KiyaAI in January 2025.
Globally, the portfolio is a who's who of institutional fintech: Ripple, Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets in digital assets; audax, the digital-banking technology provider spun out of the bank; Nium in cross-border payments; plus stakes in Digital Asset, Keyrock, Hidden Road, DataRobot, Instabase, Callsign and Thought Machine. In 2023 it formed a $100 million digital-asset joint venture with SBI Holdings in the UAE, and its earlier exit from custody-tech firm Metaco — acquired by Ripple for $250 million — remains its most visible return.
For founders, the most useful door in is the FinTech Bridge programme, the firm's platform connecting startups, investors and accelerators to the bank. Startups can pitch to challenges posted by bank business units or request investment directly; the programme moves from application to selection within three months, guarantees funding for proof-of-concept work, and lets startups test across the bank's markets, with the possibility of further partnership investment. The investment team includes Gautam Jain, Gakim Solomons, Alex Toh and Mark Dymock, with Manson himself now on Standard Chartered's group management team.
Fund-size figures, though, are dated and partial. A 2022 profile cited a $100 million venture capital fund, and in September 2025 Bloomberg reported plans — announced by Jain at Money20/20 Riyadh — for a $250 million digital-asset fund launching in 2026 with Middle East backing, plus a $100 million Africa vehicle and a first venture-debt fund. These are plans, not launched funds, so current AUM remains not publicly disclosed.
Why it matters for founders
SC Ventures is a rare corporate investor that both builds and backs — and it prefers partners it has worked with directly, so entering via a paid pilot or the FinTech Bridge materially improves the odds of a cheque. Its $1-10 million sweet spot, Series B-to-pre-IPO focus and guaranteed PoC funding suit revenue-generating Indian fintech, trade and SME-commerce startups — and the Jumbotail deal proves it will lead large India rounds when the strategic fit is right.