Analysis

January 16, 2025

European tech’s most active East Asian investors

Spoiler: SoftBank's no longer number one


Freya Pratty

3 min read

This picture taken on February 6, 2023 shows a logo of Japan's SoftBank at their mobile shop in Tokyo. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP)

Japanese investment giant SoftBank backed just four European companies in 2024, half the number it backed the year prior.

This dip is in line with a wider retreat from Europe from East Asian investment firms. Investment is yet to return to the levels seen in 2021, with $11.1bn coming from East Asian investors into European tech in 2024, down 66% compared to 2021, according to data platform Dealroom.

Investment firms in the Gulf region also cooled on European startups last year, with funding dropping by almost 50%. 

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So which East Asian investors did crack out the cheque book in 2024? Here are those that backed the most European tech companies last year, according to Sifted data – including a notable number of crypto and gaming investments. 

1/ Antler

HQ: Singapore
Deal count in Europe in past year: 83
Notable investments: productivity app Sona, powerline inspection AI tool Arkion

Antler makes it onto the list because its HQ is Singapore but it's a slight outlier as its footprint is global and it has offices around the world.

Antler invests in a wide range of companies, from B2B and healthtech to property tech and consumer. The firm most recently raised a $285m growth-focused fund last July to invest in companies from Series A and later. Last year, Antler raised a new €150m specifically dedicated to Nordic startups.

2/ Temasek

HQ: Singapore
Deal count in Europe in past year: 9
Notable investments: legal tech RobinAI, heat pump installer Aira

Temasek invests the sovereign wealth of Singapore. In 2024, it backed companies across fintech, healthtech, SaaS and climate tech.

3/ Animoca Brands

HQ: Hong Kong
Deal count in Europe in past year: 5
Notable investments: game startup Cross the Ages, metaverse game AOFverse

Animoca Brands is a Hong Kong-based company that develops games and blockchain tech. Its VC arm backs companies across web3, the metaverse, crypto and esports in particular. 

4/ Marubeni Corporation 

HQ: Japan
Deal count in Europe in past year: 5
Notable investments: metals recycling startup Altilium, biomass and waste startup AquaGreen

Marubeni is a Japanese conglomerate which works on paper pulp trading and electrical and industrial plants. Its European investments in 2024 were focused on climate tech.

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5/ Sony Innovation Fund

HQ: Japan
Deal count in Europe in past year: 4
Notable investments: smart materials startup Cambridge Mechatronics, energy software startup Flower

The venture arm of Sony, the fund invests in early-stage companies “shaping the future of business, entertainment and society”.

6/ SoftBank

HQ: Japan
Deal count in Europe in past year: 4
Notable investments: autonomous vehicle startup Wayve, fintech Zopa

SoftBank was an early backer of Yahoo and Chinese company Alibaba.  It launched the world’s largest tech fund — its $100bn Vision Fund — in 2017, and then launched a second Vision Fund, targeting $108bn, in 2019. It went on a deal-making spree in Europe in 2021, backing 37 companies but has cooled off its focus on the continent in recent years. 

7/ KRAFTON

HQ: South Korea
Deal count in Europe in past year: 4
Notable investments: gaming startups Red Rover and Far From Home

KRAFTON is a South Korean video game publisher.

8/ HashKey Capital

HQ: Singapore
Deal count in Europe in past year: 4
Notable investments: web3 startups Lava Network and Compute Labs

Hashkey invests in digital assets and blockchain technologies. 

9/ Horizons Ventures

HQ: Hong Kong
Deal count in Europe in past year: 4
Notable investments: next-gen plastic startup Xampla

Horizons Ventures backs deeptech companies. It’s headquartered in Hong Kong with offices in London, San Francisco and Singapore.

10/ Amber Group

HQ: Singapore
Deal count in Europe in past year: 4
Notable investments: web3 startup Entangle and Compute Labs

Amber Group is a digital assets company based in Singapore.

Freya Pratty

Freya Pratty is a senior reporter at Sifted. She covers climate tech, writes our weekly Climate Tech newsletter and works on investigations. Follow her on X , LinkedIn and Bluesky