Cathay Innovation, a venture capital fund affiliated with Cathay Capital, has closed a $1-billion fund dedicated to artificial intelligence in Europe, the US, and Asia, according to a company announcement.
Cathay Innovation Fund III, launched in July 2022, invests in vertical AI solutions across four key sectors: digital health, fintech, consumer, and mobility/energy. To date, the fund has already made 14 investments across the US, Europe, and Asia.
The fund is backed by more than 20 multinational corporations, including Sanofi, TotalEnergies, Valeo, BNP Paribas Cardif, and Groupe ADP, reflecting growing institutional demand for AI-driven transformation.
The firm said the fund’s structure emphasizes strategic synergies between startups and established industry players, with Cathay positioning itself as a conduit for collaboration at scale.
Cathay Capital has already deployed capital to 14 startups across its target markets, including Nabla (an AI co-pilot for physicians), Flowdesk (digital asset infrastructure), and David Energy (a next-generation retail energy platform).
“The benefits of the Cathay platform go far beyond capital, it’s rooted in providing solutions that are useful to our investors, corporate partners, and founders,” said Mingpo Cai, founder and chairman of Cathay Capital and Cathay Innovation.
In Asia, Cathay Innovation has invested in names such as China’s Pinduoduo and Laiye, Indonesian fintech platform FinAccel, Singapore-based insurtech startup Igloo, Google-backed KaiOS, Singapore SaaS platform LeadIQ, Hong Kong’s Momenta, and Singapore electronics retailer Reebelo.
The venture capital fund has been investing in Asia since 2015. It opened its Singapore office to look into Southeast Asia investments in 2020.
Fund III will lead or co-lead Series A to late-stage rounds with check sizes ranging from $5 million to $100 million, with capital reserved for follow-on investments, per the announcement.
Denis Barrier, co-founder of Cathay Innovation, described Fund III as a new type of venture capital vehicle designed specifically for the AI era, combining significant capital with a robust ecosystem to enable large-scale industrial and societal transformation.
“Over the past decade, we’ve built the world’s largest venture capital platform that can connect startups and corporate innovation under one roof to drive this transformation together,” Barrier said.
Founded in 2015 and affiliated with Cathay Capital, Cathay Innovation now manages over €2.5 billion AUM with additional offices in San Francisco, Berlin, Madrid, Shanghai, and Singapore and has invested in over 120 startups, including Chime, Pinduoduo, Glovo, Wallbox, Owkin, Getaround, Ledger, ZenBusiness, Alma, Descartes Underwriting, and more.
