ZUNZUNSTARTUPS
In 2025, Vietnam's Venture Capital landscape transitioned into a "discipline-first" era, marked by selective investment and a focus on fundamental business health over aggressive growth. I see this tightening not as a setback, but as a natural sign of ecosystem maturity—a "flight to quality" that raises the bar for conviction and creates more disciplined portfolios. P/s: Special thanks to DealStreetAsia for featuring my perspectives on Flight to Quality and our Disciplined Investment Principle, which align closely with the maturity of Vietnam's startup ecosystem.
Please kindly read the key takeaways from my sharing on the article below!
Total VC investment reached $355 million by November 2025, with a dominant $273 million focused on later-stage deals, signaling a "flight to quality."
Flight to Quality: Dzung views the current tightening not as a setback, but as a "natural sign of ecosystem maturity" where a "flight to quality" results in higher bars for conviction and more disciplined portfolios.
Founder-Market Fit: Dzung emphasized that the "chicken-and-egg" problem of fundraising has intensified. Founders must now prove "Founder (Team)-Market Fit" demonstrating credible execution capability and a feasible go-to-market strategy rather than just a good product idea.
Credibility over Narrative: In this selective era, Dzung notes that "quality capital will still deploy," but only to founders who can make their credibility undeniable in the early stages.
IPO as the Ultimate Goal: While M&A and secondary transactions are currently the most realistic liquidity routes (especially with interest from Japan, Korea, and Singapore), she identifies IPO as the "most complete exit" capable of turning a startup into a long-lived public company with national impact.