HSBC Ventures

Catherine Zhou serves as Global Head of Ventures, Digital Innovation & Partnerships. She leads a team across London, Hong Kong, and San Francisco. Investment committee decisions typically involve both Ventures principals and senior commercial banking executives, given the unit's emphasis on strategic alignment.

The unit leverages HSBC's global corporate and institutional banking relationships across 50-plus markets. Relationship managers refer startups that are already providing services to HSBC's wholesale clients. The acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank UK in 2023 added a new early-stage sourcing channel.

It operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings, funded entirely from the bank's balance sheet. There is no external capital and no finite fund life, giving the team flexibility to hold positions without LP-driven exit pressure. This structure also permits engagement structures — such as revenue-share pilots — that are difficult in a traditional fund.

HSBC Ventures makes both direct equity investments and fund commitments as a limited partner. The direct portfolio targets early-stage companies that can integrate with HSBC's operations. The LP portfolio extends into climate technology and supply-chain finance funds where direct minority stakes are less practical.

The mandate spans seed through Series B, with check sizes typically ranging from $1 million to $15 million. The stage focus weights toward companies with a working product that can be piloted inside HSBC's banking divisions, though pre-revenue seed investments occur when a foundational technology aligns with the bank's infrastructure roadmap.

The unit avoids direct consumer fintech investments — neobanks, personal lending apps, retail crypto wallets — because HSBC's wholesale banking focus limits the strategic utility of such holdings. Hardtech and biotech are also outside scope, as they have no integration pathway into a commercial bank's operations.

HSBC acquired SVB UK in March 2023 for £1 after its parent's collapse. Post-acquisition, HSBC Ventures began engaging SVB UK's startup client base as a sourcing pipeline, offering continuity to companies that had lost their US banking relationship. The Ventures team does not manage SVB UK's loan book, but coordinates on client referrals.