How Malaysia aligns policy, capital and regional ties will shape its deep tech future

AS SOUTH-EAST Asia enters what many describe as its deep tech decade, global investors are reassessing how the region can unlock the next wave of innovation-driven growth.

Among them is Raisewell Ventures llc founder and managing partner Jeep Kline who believes that Malaysia is at a strategic crossroads where capital, policy and talent must align to accelerate the country’s transition from an emerging tech hub to a global innovation stakeholder.

She framed Malaysia’s journey through the lens of regional venture capital (VC) maturity, deep tech readiness and the role of cross-border collaboration in building innovation ecosystems that punch above their weight.

While VC in South-East Asia has expanded rapidly, she stressed that the region is still early in its cycle compared to innovation epicentres like Silicon Valley.

She noted that in South-East Asia, the VC industry has been around for about 10 years, so the region is quite relatively new.

“So we have to realise that in Silicon Valley, the industry has been around for 40 or 50 years. In order to learn, we need to cross-pollinate between the two regions,” she told The Malaysian Reserve (TMR).

Raisewell Ventures’ strategy reflects that belief. The fund invests in both South-East Asia and the US, enabling portfolio companies across markets to exchange operational knowledge, technological expertise and culture of risk-taking.

“We are doing this to help the region leapfrog sooner rather than later,” she said.

With the bridge, founders could learn not only from Raisewell Ventures, but also from the Silicon Valley ecosystem.

The VC company maintains presence in Silicon Valley, Washington DC, Singapore and Thailand, with Malaysia next on the pipeline as deal flows develop.

Malaysia is on Raisewell Ventures’ Radar, Yet Timing Matters

Raisewell Ventures expects to ramp investments in South-East Asia from 2026 onward. Malaysian founders, however, should not wait.

“We have started scoping and this trip is part of that. We have not signed deals yet, but we are looking broad and wide,” Kline shared.

She also clarified what Raisewell Ventures looks for, which are companies that are not too early.

“You need traction. If you are in business-to-business software as a service (B2B SaaS), for example, four to five repeated customers, product-market fit and demand you need funding to serve — that is where we come in,” she said.

Beyond funding, Kline focuses on expertise and networks as core value, where it is not just for capital.

She said founders get the knowledge and if they scale, Raisewell Ventures’ core investors in Silicon Valley may co-invest. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Madani economic narrative prioritises equitable growth, technology transfer and talent upgrading.

Raisewell Ventures’ thesis aligns, but Kline stressed that impact investing cannot mean abandoning returns.

“When people hear ‘impact’, they think you are a nonprofit, but not us. We are still in the VC asset class where we have to make money,” she clarified.

For Raisewell Ventures, impact means measurable economic advancement tied to innovation, not environmental, social and governance (ESG) box-ticking.

Besides getting financial returns, Raisewell Ventures looks at goals like job creation, intellectual property (IP) transfer and raising engineering talent.

“We call these economic returns — building next-generation innovators,” Kline added. On greenwashing concerns, she offered a pragmatic clarification, stating that Raisewell Ventures is a deep tech impact-driven VC.

Their key performance indicators (KPIs) are broader, which involves employment, academic collaboration and scalability. Kline also sees fintech as the dominant sector region-wide, driven by financial inclusion, digitisation and South-East Asia’s history as a financial hub.

“Access to banking, serving unbanked populations and driving financial mobility remain very important,” she explained.

The success of Grab Holdings Ltd highlights that momentum. However, she viewed that the next wave is emerging in health tech such as telemedicine which uses AI to assist medical professionals to connect with rural populations.

“Data and analysis in health tech is growing in our region,” she added.

She also highlighted opportunities in deep tech subsectors tied to Malaysia’s semiconductor supply chain strength including advanced manufacturing and scientific instrumentation.

Opportunities in deep tech subsectors tied to Malaysia’s semiconductor supply chain strength include advanced manufacturing and scientific instrumentation

Blended Finance for Deep Tech, Malaysia’s Innovation Readiness

Deep tech requires longer development timelines than software. Hardware, scientific research and semiconductor innovation often need academic and government collaboration.

Kline argued blended financing will be pivotal for Malaysia to compete globally.

“In deep tech you may need hardware development and manufacturing. These take longer and this is where risk capital, academic institutions and the public sector must come together,” she said. She pointed to US models where government grants support foundational stages, where companies receive non-dilutive grants from agencies like National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“That extends runway early, then VC comes in. Coordination across capital layers is the key,” she explained.

Malaysia’s reform agenda, from digital public infrastructure to industrial transition, has captured foreign investor interest.

However, Kline acknowledged that consistent policy execution, cross-ministerial alignment and sustained regulatory clarity will determine whether the country fully capitalises on the current momentum.

She said investors evaluate not just policy signals but durability and predictability.

“Consistency and institutional coordination matters. Investors need to see durability beyond cycles,” she opined.

When asked whether Malaysia has cultivated sufficient entrepreneurial risk appetite, Kline urged perspective.

Ecosystems grow through cycles, experience and international exposure.

“Because we are still early, we need cross-pollination. Founders here do not only learn from us, they learn from Silicon Valley too,” she said.

As more founders scale, raise follow-on rounds and exit, Malaysia’s culture of risk will deepen organically.

Kline said over the next five years, Malaysia’s venture ecosystem progress should be measured in tangible levers such as start-ups created, emerging fund managers and seamless regional cooperation.

“You need a lot of start-ups and a lot of early-stage funds, in which it is a two-sided market, like Grab.

“You need drivers and consumers because they grow together and that is how the economy grows,” she advised.

Just as critically, South-East Asia must present itself as a unified market. Kline said if a US company wants to scale to South-East Asia, they should not just think of Malaysia or Thailand or Singapore — they should also think of 700 million people collectively instead of singling each of the countries.

Malaysia, she added, has clear competitive strengths, alongside peers.

“Malaysia and Thailand for chips and deep tech talent, Vietnam for youthful workforce, Indonesia for manufacturing scale, Singapore for top-tier IP. Investors should not choose one but they should see the regional value chain,” she added.

She advised all Malaysian entrepreneurs to be ambitious, be ready and connect early. “If you have traction and believe you align with our thesis, reach out. We want to see founders who know their market, have product-market fit and are ready to scale,” she urged.

Raisewell Ventures may be only in year one of deployment, but its regional intent is clear — Malaysia’s window to participate in the next deep-tech-led wave is open and readiness will determine how much of it the country captures.