1337 Ventures

1337 Ventures is Malaysia's leading early-stage venture capital firm and startup accelerator, founded in 2012 by Bikesh Lakhmichand and headquartered in Kuala Lumpur at KL Trillion. A pioneer of design thinking strategy in Malaysia, the firm became the country's first Microsoft for Startups Champion Network. 1337 Ventures invests at pre-seed and seed stages across Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand, leading rounds with checks up to $1 million and deploying smaller accelerator capital from $2,000 to $50,000 through its flagship Alpha Startups Pre-Accelerator program, now in its 64th cohort. The firm has backed 64 portfolio companies across fintech, e-commerce, healthtech, agritech, and AI. Notable investments include Coins.ph, the leading Philippine crypto wallet acquired in a major exit; ParkEasy, acquired by Shell in June 2022; Cashku, which raised $10 million for digital financial planning; and Vircle, a neo-banking platform for children. Additional portfolio companies include BloomThis, Kakitangan, JomParking, and Arus Oil. The firm has recorded two acquisition exits, including one within one year of investment. 1337 Ventures brings capital alongside corporate innovation programming and the Leet Launchpad program, giving founders structured pathways to scale. Partners Bikesh Lakhmichand, Shireen Ng, and Sherman Chin work closely with founders across Southeast Asia, leveraging the firm's decade-plus network in the regional startup ecosystem.