Wealthy Asians pour $30.9 billion into AI start-ups

Hong Kong – Asia’s wealthiest investors are flooding the artificial intelligence sector with billions in private capital, undeterred by intensifying scrutiny over sky-high valuations in the United States.

High-net-worth individuals and family offices across the region poured US$24.3 billion (S$30.9 billion) into global AI private rounds in 2025, an almost threefold increase from the previous year, according to PitchBook data. The momentum has carried into 2026, with an additional US$950 million committed as at April 8.

The surge comes as industry titans such as SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic continue to command massive valuations in funding rounds. For Asia’s elite, the allure of generational tech gains is outweighing the risks of a potential bubble.

“We see interest from wealthy individuals picking up,” said Mr Nick Xiao, chief executive officer of Annum Capital, a Hong Kong-based multi-family office overseeing some US$1.5 billion.

Mr Xiao, who facilitates capital deployment into private tech firms across the US and China, said the appetite for exposure remains robust despite the deals’ high-stakes nature.

While the upside potential is significant, the path to entry is increasingly complex, with opaque structures such as special purpose vehicles and high management fees. Despite these hurdles, the capital deployed into private AI suggests that for Asia’s wealthy, the risk of missing the next technological shift is far greater than the risk of overpaying.

The push is increasingly fuelled by smaller family offices seeking “trophy assets” in the world’s most recognisable private unicorns.

Mr Nick Wong, CEO of Turoid, an AI-driven wealth management platform, said: “There’s been increased participation from smaller family offices.”

He has facilitated more than US$1 billion in private tech investments over the last five years, providing clients access to high-profile names like SpaceX and Anthropic through partnerships with venture capital firms and general partners. 

According to Annum Capital’s Mr Xiao, these investors typically commit US$5 million to US$10 million from a US$100 million to US$200 million portfolio for strategic private placements. 

However, the prestige of owning a piece of the next tech giant comes with significant structural headwinds, including a lack of financial information, a lack of liquidity and the risk of so-called “down rounds”, when a start-up raises new capital at lower valuations than the previous round. 

“It’s a highly brokered, opaque market,” Mr Xiao said. “Due diligence is very, very important.”

In 2025, more than 90 per cent of private AI investment from wealthy Asians flowed into US companies, according to PitchBook. However, the sheer scale of valuations for industry leaders like OpenAI is creating a barrier to entry for even the most affluent family offices.

Much harder

For some, the risk-reward in the US no longer adds up. Mr Kenny Ho, managing partner and founder of Carret Private Investments, said: “Valuations for high-profile US AI companies are so expensive, it’s much harder to take that leap compared to only a year ago.”

Mr Ho’s firm, run by former private bankers, is increasingly targeting pre-seed rounds for smaller AI start-ups in Asia. The goal for these bets is a return of 10 to 20 times the initial capital, a multiple that becomes statistically harder to achieve as US valuations climb.

Asian AI companies that wealthy individuals have put money into include China’s DeepRoute.AI and Singapore’s Advance.AI, according to PitchBook.

A Hong Kong-based family office said it is shifting a bit more attention to China because the tech capability of the companies is high and they are competitive, but the US is still going to have a much bigger allocation. 

Mr Bhavik Vashi, managing director for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East at Carta, a platform that tracks ownership stakes in start-ups, said: “US AI continues to attract the bulk of capital, but high valuations are prompting some Asian family offices to explore selectively priced AI opportunities closer to home.” BLOOMBERG