SBI Holdings invests $270 million in Ajaib, taking 20% stake amid Asia digital asset push

Japanese financial services group SBI Holdings has invested $270 million in Indonesian multi-asset investment platform Ajaib Group, acquiring an approximately 20% minority stake. Jakarta-based Ajaib confirmed the strategic investment in a Friday LinkedIn post, calling it the largest tech funding round in Indonesia since 2022.

SBI did not disclose the investment amount in its own announcement, but confirmed the roughly 20% holding, which makes Ajaib an equity-method affiliate of the Japanese firm. Ajaib said the deal lifts its total funding raised since 2019 to more than $500 million.

Digital asset push across Asia

Ajaib gives retail and institutional users access to domestic and international equities, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, crypto assets, stablecoins, commodities and foreign exchange, alongside payments and savings services. The company also provides over-the-counter stablecoin settlement and liquidity to companies and institutional investors in Indonesia.

SBI said the partnership is intended to promote digital asset adoption in Asia as it broadens its regional footprint. The group already operates crypto exchange SBI VC Trade in Japan and Coinhako in Singapore, as well as UK-based crypto market maker B2C2. Its other digital asset initiatives include the JPYSC yen stablecoin and Strium, a Layer 1 blockchain under development for financial applications.

"In this era of tokenization, the importance of global infrastructure for digital assets is greater than ever," SBI Holdings Chairman and President Yoshitaka Kitao said in a statement.

Kitao said SBI is building a network of digital asset exchanges focused on Southeast Asia as part of its "SBI APAC Digital Economic Zone" initiative, and described Ajaib's mix of traditional financial products and digital assets as a good fit for that strategy.