Scale Asia Ventures, a Silicon Valley–based venture firm focused on AI infrastructure and AI-native software, is expanding its cross-border investment platform to deepen connections between Asia and the United States. The firm is strengthening partnerships with institutional and corporate players across Asia, positioning itself as a bridge between the region’s manufacturing depth and global AI capital.
The expansion reflects a growing push to link Silicon Valley’s product development and go-to-market expertise with Asia’s operational scale and enterprise demand. Scale Asia Ventures operates on both sides of the Pacific and is designed to help founders build global companies from the outset, rather than expand internationally at a later stage.
The firm’s investment strategy focuses on enterprise and vertical AI software, AI agents and automation, and applied or physical AI deployed in real-world environments. These areas align closely with Asia’s strengths in manufacturing, logistics and complex enterprise operations. Scale Asia Ventures is targeting startups that can move beyond experimentation and demonstrate practical, scalable use cases.
“We believe the next decade of AI will be defined at the intersection of algorithms, devices and real-world operations,” said Wally Wang, founding managing partner of Scale Asia Ventures. He said the firm’s platform is built to give founders direct access to Asia’s manufacturing and enterprise ecosystems while connecting them to Silicon Valley capital and product culture.
As part of the expansion, Scale Asia Ventures has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Business Angels Association, which operates under South Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The partnership is intended to open channels for international AI startups to access Korean venture capital and corporate partners, while supporting Korean founders seeking to expand into the U.S., Japan and Southeast Asia.
The collaboration will also focus on accelerating pilot projects for applied and physical AI. These include deployments in industrial and enterprise settings where Korea’s manufacturing capabilities can support early validation and commercialization. Ben Eum, a partner at Scale Asia Ventures, said the agreement creates a direct pathway between Silicon Valley AI teams and Korean industrial partners.
In Japan, the firm is deepening its relationship with telecoms group KDDI. Scale Asia Ventures has been invited to participate in the KDDI Executive Innovation Forum 2025 in Tokyo, where it will connect portfolio companies with Japanese enterprises. The partnership is expected to support market access, co-creation of AI-native solutions and early customer pilots.
Japan is also seen as a gateway for broader expansion across the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in enterprise robotics and service-oriented AI applications. Robert Lau, a partner at Scale Asia Ventures, said Japanese corporates are increasingly open to collaboration with venture-backed technology firms as they seek new growth models.
The firm has also raised its profile across the wider region. It recently participated in the AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum, where it reinforced its “local to global” investment approach amid rising macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty. The strategy reflects a belief that AI companies must be built with cross-border resilience from an early stage.
Scale Asia Ventures is led by an operator-focused team with experience across product development, enterprise AI strategy and global go-to-market execution. The firm says this operational depth allows it to support founders beyond capital, particularly as AI investment shifts toward commercialization.
As competition for AI leadership intensifies, Scale Asia Ventures is betting that tighter integration between Asia’s industrial ecosystems and Silicon Valley’s innovation networks will be critical to building globally scalable AI companies.
