Vietnam’s VC funding rebounds despite no IPO exits: report

A high-rise building in Ho Chi Minh City / Photo credit: 123rf

Vietnam’s private equity (PE) investments reached a record high, and VC funding rebounded last year, according to a newly released report.

The Vietnam Innovation & Private Capital Report 2026, jointly launched by the Vietnam Private Capital Agency (VPCA), Vietnam National Innovation Center, and Boston Consulting Group on May 28, found that total private capital deployment doubled to about US$4.5 billion across 149 deals in 2025.

This was driven by a stronger appetite for buyouts and growth equity, alongside a recovery in early-stage startup funding, particularly in AI.

Yet, the industry is facing a contradiction. Despite the growing investor appetite, not a single VC or PE-backed company has exited through a formal IPO, at least in the last five years.

VC funding up 28%

The report highlighted that VC funding recovered from its 2024 low with a 28% year-on-year jump to US$509 million in 2025. This was even as deal count declined 13% to 103.

Meanwhile, the number of investors fell 19% to 119, signaling a clear shift in investor behavior toward fewer but larger, higher-conviction bets across the ecosystem.

The US$3 million to US$10 million deal size range recorded its strongest deal volume in three years, said the report. The bracket for US$50 million and above also had a revival, with two deals amounting to US$235 million after two years of sharp contractions.

Early-stage pipelines remained resilient. Series A activity held steady with 23 deals, with a median ticket size of US$3 million. The figure surpassed the 2024 level of US$2 million.

Pre-series A activity also stayed healthy. However, it was still down 12.5% year on year with 70 deals, with a median size of about US$200,000.

AI emerged as Vietnam’s fastest-growing VC investment theme in 2025, attracting US$130 million. It was 13x higher than the amount recorded in 2023. This underscored deepening investor conviction in the country’s growing pool of AI startups, the report said.

Another notable development was the rise of Vietnam-founded startups with global operations, which pulled in a record US$51 million in funding.

Consumer and healthcare in the spotlight