#57: Inside Singapore's Leading Venture Capital Firm - Chua Kee Lock, CEO of Vertex Holdings

Oct 8, 2025

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Thank you for checking out The Front Row Podcast and my interview with Kee Lock. Here's what the podcast sponsor, Revolut is offering: 💰Get S$50 cashback when you sign up to Revolut Business at https://www.revolut.com/rb/tfr/ before 30 Nov 2025 and top up your account. T&Cs and end date apply.This is the 57th episode Of The Front Row PodcastChua Kee Lock is the Group President and Chief Executive Officer of Vertex Holdings, a Singapore-headquartered global venture capital investment holding company. He also serves as Managing Partner of Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India and as Chairman of the Vertex Growth Fund.Under his leadership, Vertex has grown into a global network of venture capital funds investing in early-stage and growth-stage technology and healthcare companies.As of today - Vertex Holdings has USD 6.8B assets under management and 300+ active portfolio companies. Some of the notable startup successes under their belt include Grab, Patsnap, Nium and Instarem. TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Intro & Trailer01:11 Kee Lock's Exposure to US Tech Ecosystem05:55 Importance of Technical Expertise in VC07:56 Revolut Ad09:22 Revitalizing Vertex Ventures13:34 Why Was Kee Lock Chosen To Run Vertex?14:46 Avoiding the Traps of Silicon Valley17:57 The Importance of Discipline in Venture Capital21:10 The Decentralized Model of Vertex Ventures26:40 Advantage of Decentralization28:42 How It Was Like To Invest In Grab31:15 How To Evaluate Founders35:48 Grading Anthony of Grab39:58 How VCs Value-Add42:47 Future of Startups in SEA46:03 Where Can Singapore Innovate And Lead?49:10 Future of Technology52:33 Disruptive Technologies On The Horizon54:34 How Singapore Can Prepare 55:10 Preparing for a Globalized Future56:12 Advice To A Fresh GraduateFull transcripts of episodes can be found here: https://www.ykeith.com/tag/podcast/Feel free to mingle in the comments below or head to...Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrow.65/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yap/Website: www.ykeith.comEmail: keith@frontrow65.coGet access to every episode by subscribing for free on Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/keith-yap8 or Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/front-row/id1771599400