Japan’s SBI Holdings has taken an approximately 20% stake in Jakarta-based investment platform Ajaib Group through a $270 million strategic investment, marking Indonesia’s largest technology funding round in more than four years. The deal makes Ajaib an equity-method affiliate of SBI and gives the Tokyo-listed financial group a direct foothold in one of Southeast Asia’s largest retail-investing markets.
Key Facts At A Glance
- SBI Holdings invested $270 million for an approximately 20% stake in Ajaib Group.
- The round is described as Indonesia’s largest tech funding round since 2022.
- Ajaib’s total funding raised since its 2019 founding now exceeds $500 million.
- The company was previously valued at approximately $1 billion following its 2021 unicorn round; its current valuation was not disclosed.
- Ajaib serves more than 20 million retail investors, according to industry reporting.
- The deal follows SBI’s roughly $100 million acquisition of Singapore crypto exchange Coinhako in July 2026 and a related investment in Singapore’s DigiFT.
- Indonesia’s broader startup funding fell to about $340 million in 2025, down from $440 million in 2024 and well below 2021 levels.
A Rare Bright Spot For Indonesian Tech Funding
Ajaib, founded in 2019 by Stanford MBA Program classmates Anderson Sumarli and Yada Piyajomkwan, operates as an online investment platform spanning domestic and international equities, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, crypto assets, stablecoins, commodities, and foreign exchange. The company also offers over-the-counter stablecoin settlement services and liquidity to corporate and institutional clients in Indonesia.
The Series C round was priced at a premium to Ajaib’s 2021 unicorn valuation, when the company raised $153 million in a Series B round backed by DST Global, Horizons Ventures, and Alpha JWC Ventures. SBI did not disclose the investment amount in its own announcement, though Ajaib confirmed the $270 million figure in a statement.
The round arrives against a difficult backdrop for Indonesian technology fundraising. The country’s startups raised approximately $340 million in the past year, down from $440 million in 2024 and a fraction of the $9.44 billion raised in 2021, underscoring the scale of the pullback in regional venture activity.
SBI’s Regional Digital-Asset Strategy
SBI Holdings, chaired by founder Yoshitaka Kitao, framed the Ajaib deal as part of a broader push to build regulated digital-asset infrastructure across Southeast Asia. The group already operates crypto exchange SBI VC Trade in Japan and, following its July 2026 acquisition of Coinhako, now controls a Monetary Authority of Singapore-licensed exchange in Singapore as well. SBI also holds an investment in Singapore’s DigiFT, a digital securities trading platform, through a joint venture.
The company has outlined a concept it calls an “SBI APAC Digital Economic Zone,” intended to link regulated digital-asset exchanges across the region into a single network that could eventually support cross-border stablecoin payments and tokenised-asset trading. As part of that strategy, SBI said it plans to work with Ajaib to expand distribution of its yen-denominated stablecoin, JPYSC, into Indonesia.
Deal Structure And Next Steps
The transaction was carried out through an SBI subsidiary and is expected to close by the end of August 2026, according to reporting on the deal. Ajaib said it plans to use the new capital to expand its business and increase headcount in Indonesia and across the wider region. SBI’s public statement did not detail how the two companies’ products, services, or technology would be integrated following the investment.