SC Ventures is the innovation, fintech investment and ventures unit of Standard Chartered Bank, one of the world's largest international banks with a primary focus on Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Established in 2018, SC Ventures operates with a dual mandate: it invests in external early-stage fintech and digital asset companies, and it incubates new businesses internally, spinning them out as independent ventures. The unit is headquartered in Singapore and operates across Standard Chartered's global footprint, spanning roughly 59 markets.
Unlike a standalone venture fund, SC Ventures draws on the balance sheet and strategic resources of Standard Chartered rather than raising committed capital from external limited partners. No separate AUM figure has been publicly disclosed. Its investment thesis centres on financial infrastructure – payments, digital assets custody, tokenisation and digital banking – with a strong bias toward markets in Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Africa where Standard Chartered has deep banking roots. Portfolio companies often benefit directly from Standard Chartered's banking licence, regulatory relationships and client distribution.
Notable investments and ventures
- Zodia Custody – institutional-grade cryptocurrency custody, co-founded by SC Ventures and Northern Trust in 2020. Zodia Custody holds regulatory approvals in the UK and Ireland and targets banks, asset managers and hedge funds seeking compliant crypto storage.
- Zodia Markets – a regulated crypto spot and OTC trading platform for institutional clients, built as a sister entity to Zodia Custody. It received FCA registration and expanded into Hong Kong.
- Mox Bank – a virtual bank launched in Hong Kong in 2020 as a joint venture with PCCW, HKT and Trip.com. Mox reached one million customers within three years, making it one of the fastest-growing digital banks in Asia.
- Partior – a blockchain-based interbank settlement network co-founded with JPMorgan, DBS Bank and Temasek. Partior targets real-time, cross-border wholesale payments and attracted additional bank shareholders through 2023 and 2024.
- Audax – a private credit marketplace built for emerging market lending, incubated inside SC Ventures.
Public information on the full list of external minority investments beyond these ventures is limited. The unit does not publish a portfolio page with deal-level detail.
Team
Alex Manson serves as Group Head of SC Ventures. He joined Standard Chartered in 2007 and has led the unit since its founding in 2018. Manson has spoken publicly on tokenisation, digital assets regulation and the role of incumbent banks in fintech at forums including the World Economic Forum. He is based in Singapore. The broader SC Ventures team spans investment professionals, operators and engineers embedded across Standard Chartered's key hubs. Named partner-level investment staff are not regularly disclosed in public filings.
Recent activity
Through 2024 and into 2025, SC Ventures continued pushing Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets toward profitability and broader geographic licences, including efforts to secure approvals in the UAE and Singapore under MAS digital payment token frameworks. Partior added new member banks and extended its settlement rails beyond USD and EUR. SC Ventures also participated in industry working groups on tokenised deposits and programmable money alongside central banks in Singapore and the UK.
Standard Chartered as a group made a public commitment to grow its digital asset business, which gives SC Ventures continued internal mandate. The ventures arm faces the same headwind as all bank-affiliated innovation units: decision cycles are slower than pure venture funds, and portfolio companies must navigate Standard Chartered's compliance requirements as a condition of the relationship. That said, the ability to plug directly into a global banking network is a genuine advantage for infrastructure plays like Zodia and Partior, where regulatory credibility and institutional trust matter more than speed.
For additional context on SC Ventures' announced deals and statements, see coverage from Reuters and the official SC Ventures page on Standard Chartered's website.