Venture studio · SingaporeIndonesia

We operate in the market and build the ventures it reveals.

A discovery-driven venture studio. We build AI-native ventures from the problems we find in-market.

Request an introHow the studio works

The edge

We're operators, not outsiders. And we've already shipped.

Anyone can build software now. The edge is knowing what to build, and being able to. We operate on the ground in both Singapore and Indonesia, so we find ventures from inside the market, not off a whiteboard. We've done it once already: on the ground in Jakarta we saw a real problem and built AutoKon into a validated product (5 paying developers, roughly 149× growth in three months). Proven execution, not a thesis deck.

How the studio works

Operate, so we discover what to build.

01

Operate

Be on the ground in Singapore and Indonesia. Offices in both.

02

Discover

Repeatable, already-paid-for problems reveal themselves.

03

Build

Stand up an AI-native venture around the sharpest one.

04

Repeat

Each venture's network opens the next discovery.

Two pillars, one machine

One flywheel. Two ways it turns.

Pillar 1 · in-market radar

Operate

We operate across the Singapore ⇄ Indonesia corridor, a live cross-border business (in stealth). Being in the market, in both countries, is how the real, repeatable problems surface first.

Pillar 2 · the upside

Build

We turn the sharpest problems into ventures where AI is the multiplier, selling the outcome, not the technology. Deliberately in discovery mode.

Ventures

What we've built so far.

Pillar 1 · in stealth

Cross-border business

A new business between Singapore and Indonesia. Our radar for the next venture. Details in conversation.

First venture · Jakarta · 2025–26

AutoKon

Found on the ground in Jakarta. AI progress management, WhatsApp-native. Concept to a validated product in under a year: 5 paying developers, ~2,300 subsidised landed-housing units, ~149× growth in three months. When the evidence showed demand wouldn't compound, we wound it down and kept the playbook. Proof we can build, and the judgment to know when not to.

Pillar 2 · in discovery

The next one

Sourced from a problem the corridor surfaces. Built with AI as the multiplier.

Track record

We didn't start yesterday.

6+
clients · 🇸🇬 🇹🇭 🇵🇭
1
venture built · validated
~149×
AutoKon growth · 3 mo
Where we've operated

Backed by

Angel-backed by partners at Kreation Ventures & Kristal Investments

Why us

Operators, not spectators.

    01
    We run the business, not a thesis deck.
    Our ideas come from real work in-market, not a whiteboard.
    02
    We've done it, not just theorized it.
    AutoKon went concept to validated in under a year. We know how one gets adopted and paid for.
    03
    In-market across SG ⇄ ID.
    Two of Southeast Asia's most connected markets, with the network to move in both.
    04
    AI as the multiplier, not the pitch.
    We sell outcomes and run the AI quietly behind them.
Dickson Lai, Founder & Managing Director of Navv Studio

The founder

Dickson Lai

Founder & Managing Director

LinkedIn ↗

Dickson founded Navv Studio in 2024 to build AI-native ventures across the Singapore and Indonesia corridor. A mechanical engineer by training (NUS, Highest Distinction; BCA scholar) who crossed into venture-building, he took his first venture, AutoKon, from concept to a validated product in under a year, prototyping the first versions himself, then leading the team that shipped it. Earlier: venture research and data at Spartan Group and Bybit, and M&E engineering at Surbana Jurong. He works between Singapore and Jakarta.

Work with us

If this is your kind of studio, let's talk.

We're selective about who we build and partner with: investors and operators who get operating-led venture building. There's no pitch deck on this page. Request an intro and we'll take it from there.

Request an intro

Our offices