$1M and a Growing Pipeline Lay the Groundwork for A-Star’s Venture Builder Ambitions

A-Star Group quickly made its mark with innovative products and industry recognition, backed by a young, highly skilled, and energetic team among Vietnam’s top tech talents. Yet, like many ambitious innovators, their early venture-building activities were driven more by instinct than by a formal structure, which limited their ability to attract significant outside investment.

With strategic guidance and hands-on support from the Swiss EP team, and enriched by insights from our Entrepreneur-in-Residence David Feldsott, A-Star strengthened its approach to venture building. We supported them in shaping a Venture Builder model that is agile, scalable, and structured to inspire investor confidence. David shared international best practices, real-world case studies, and a clear framework for how successful Venture Builders operate, enabling A-Star to establish a dedicated Venture Team, define processes, and align their operations with proven global Venture Studio practices adapted to the Vietnamese context.

David’s insights and encouragement not only helped us define a proper Venture Builder model for A-Star, but also inspired the creation of our Venture Team, a change that transformed the way we work.
— Thang Nguyen - CEO & Co-Founder of A-Star Group

A Strategic Waterfall Approach to Venture Ideation
At the heart of A-Star’s capital mobilization capability is a disciplined idea-sourcing strategy that works like a waterfall — casting a wide net, then progressively refining to ensure only the strongest concepts enter the venture pipeline:

1. University Competitions – The widest funnel, inspiring entrepreneurial spirit and fresh ideas among students, knowing only a small percentage will be investment-ready.
2. Experienced Talent Pools – Targeting individuals with proven startup execution experience, including alumni of A-Star’s programs, where success rates are higher.
3. Research Partnerships – Collaborating with universities and high-performing teams to tackle real market problems through joint R&D.
4. VC & Ecosystem Demand – Developing ventures directly in response to specific gaps identified by investors or ecosystem partners, ensuring immediate market relevance.

This method blends volume for creativity with filters for quality, guaranteeing that by the time ventures reach development, they are already primed for scalability, market fit, and investor interest.

A Venture Builder Designed to Attract Capital
This stronger foundation paved the way for A-Star Venture Builder 2025, a three-month program to generate investment-ready ventures.

• 32 teams developed bold business ideas through intensive training and mentorship
• The program culminated in an MVP Demo Day, where winning teams received $2,000 in seed funding and the chance to secure up to $50,000 from A-Star, with co-investment opportunities for external investors.

Among the standout teams now developing MVPs with A-Star investment, two have also earned recognition in other industry-related competitions:

• SkyDust – Simplifying airdrop access for Web3 users
• TraceHub – A strategic, data-driven blockchain analytics platform; reached the semi-finals of VietChain Talents 2025
• KreAgent – An AI agent reimagining investment in the Web3 era
• Hedos Finance – 2nd Prize at the Vietnam Aptos Hackathon (GMVietnam 2025)

From Pipeline to $1 Million in Capital
By shaping a clearer Venture Builder model, A-Star is positioning itself with the ambition to mobilize capital at scale, turning its growing venture pipeline into investor-ready opportunities supported by shared resources and structured governance. They have already secured $1 million and are now establishing a Venture Fund Management firm to operate their first $1 million Sidecar Fund, bringing together external VCs, angel investors, and industry experts, matched with A-Star’s own capital.

This blended model not only mobilizes substantial external funding but also demonstrates A-Star’s commitment by putting in their own ‘skin in the game.’ Structured for milestone-based disbursement, with an average investment size of $40,000 per deal over three years, the fund is designed to be far more than financing. It is a curated network of committed ecosystem players, each contributing not only capital but also expertise, industry connections, and a shared reputation that strengthens the ventures it backs. This approach ensures that every investment is anchored in both resources and relationships, creating a foundation for sustainable growth. The A-Star team is optimistic that this path will lead to a sustainable venture-building model.

Fueling the Next Generation
To ensure a continuous flow of talent and ideas, A-Star is piloting its venture-building processes with students at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, with plans to expand to organizations such as Swiss EP’s FIIS and Phenikaa. This approach nurtures a generation of innovators who can both create and scale ventures, ensuring the sustainability of the capital mobilization model.

Capital Mobilization with a Ripple Effect
A-Star’s journey shows how targeted guidance, global insights, and a strong local leadership team can turn instinctive innovation into a system that actively mobilizes capital for startups. By working with Swiss EP’s EIR network to refine their Venture Builder model, A-Star gained the credibility and operational capacity to attract investors, pool resources, and deploy $1 million to fuel Vietnam’s next wave of tech ventures.

Swiss EP’s guidance refined our Venture Builder mindset, small tweaks at the top that transformed our whole team’s structure and the way we work. Swiss EP team, Mr. Hub, Mr. Dũng, and Mr. Chương have been incredibly supportive, bringing real value to the A-Star team.
— Thang Nguyen - CEO & Co-Founder of A-Star Group

From mindset to model, from model to fund, A-Star has shown that building the right venture-building structure is not just about creating startups, it is a powerful mechanism for mobilizing capital. And this $1 million milestone is just the beginning of a larger ambition: to channel more capital, talent, and innovation into Vietnam’s fast-growing tech ecosystem.