Invest

Investment Strategy

As a corporate venture of StarHub Ltd, i3 will make investments with both strategic and financial considerations.

Strategically, the investments will be used to drive revenues/business development opportunities, or enable us to explore new market and business models via our investees. Financially, we will be looking out for performance that is comparable with other venture capital funds. Investments made will have to have both the strategic and financial elements broadly aligned.

The Fund’s close association with StarHub Ltd gives it two unique and core advantages in the venture investing space: firstly, tapping into StarHub Ltd’s existing sales channels and networks, the Fund can provide market access for its investees in Singapore as well as in the APAC region. Secondly, the Fund is also able to leverage on privileged market information and technology know-how privy only to StarHub’s affiliates to guide its investment decisions.

Prospective Areas of Investment

Digital Life: Digital consumption and digital communication are playing increasingly key roles in the lives of both consumers and enterprises. We would like to invest in the next generation of start-ups that have the potential to profoundly change the way people live, work and communicate.

Advertising Technology: On the Internet, companies are modelled on two main revenue sources: Advertising dollars (Facebook, Google, Twitter), and transaction based commissions/fees (Amazon, Angry Birds, Taobao). Adtech is the bread and butter of the Internet, where transaction based companies (who charge consumers) pay advertising supported companies (who charge brands) to generate leads and views in a mutually reinforcing growth model. We would like to invest in companies who are able to offer brands and advertising an edge in digital advertising.

M/E - Commerce: Mobile and Electronic commerce are changing the way people experience retail and shopping, disrupting the traditional brick-and-mortar shop based consumption model. We see a big opportunity for companies to innovate, and are keen to support and grow the best players.

Big Data: Every event can be measured and analysed. But we believe that the true potential of Big Data lies beyond crunching GBs or TBs of data. We are seeking out companies or teams working on significant Big Data problems that encompass large scale or complex challenges in quality, quantity, heterogeneity or speed.