Cradle Fund, a Malaysian government-backed early-stage startup enabler, is preparing to launch a new fund that will be managed under its venture arm Cradle Seed Ventures (CSV).
According to a report in The Edge Malaysia, this will be CSV’s first new vehicle since CSV Fund 1 was set up in 2015 and is targeting a launch in 2026. The team is still engaged with prospective limited partners (LPs), while the size and focus remain contingent on the LPs’ priorities.
“We’re planning to set up our next fund and several investors have already expressed an interest. We’re hoping to close it out next year but are still open to any other LPs that want to come in. It can be one of the other channels that we can flow from the grant programme itself into this one,” said Cradle CEO Norman Matthieu Vanhaecke.
CSV Fund 1 was designed to inject 1-3 million ringgit into promising, scalable Malaysian early-stage startups. The initial fund is said to have delivered results “above course,” though full financial return metrics remain under wraps until the fund lifecycle concludes.
Among its active portfolios are Involve Asia, a digital marketing platform; HealthMetrics, a healthtech firm offering SaaS solutions for employee benefits management; and StoreHub, a cloud-based point-of-sale system for retailers.
The Edge report said the first fund has achieved several exits, including one through acquisition: PouchNATION, an event management platform, was acquired by Singapore-based Lantern.ai in August 2023. Another exit was SUPA, a data-labelling firm leveraging AI for image, text, and video annotation, which was acquired by TDCX.
Beyond venture funding, Cradle is well known for its non-dilutive grant programmes: CIP Spark and CIP Sprint. These grant schemes help early-stage ventures move from concept to commercial readiness without diluting ownership. Over the past two decades, Cradle has disbursed over 255 million ringgit in grants; the projects supported have contributed over 1 billion ringgit in GDP value, with a commercialisation success rate of 76.2%.
Normally, each year Cradle receives 500-600 grant applications, yet only about 100 are approved. Once a startup completes the grant period, it enters a three-year monitoring phase during which Cradle continues to offer mentorship and support, helping them connect with investors, raise further funding, or join growth-oriented networks.
Cradle also functions as a “deal-flow engine” for the broader venture ecosystem in Malaysia — channeling promising ventures to angel investors, crowdfunding platforms, or early-stage funds when appropriate. It has been engaging with family offices and institutional investors to broaden its pool of funding sources.
Moreover, Cradle is developing cross-border collaboration via a programme named MyStartup VentureX — in partnership with MRANTI (Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology and Innovation). The initiative aims to connect foreign innovators with Malaysia-based firms, facilitating technology commercialisation, company formation, and intellectual-property registration — all part of Cradle’s push to build Southeast Asia-born tech champions.
