INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
It seems like everyone is out there raising new funds in Southeast Asia
Weeks after we reported Golden Gate Ventures hit a first close on its third fund aimed at $100 million, so Openspace Ventures — the
Singapore-based firm formerly known as NSI — has announced a final close of $135 million for its second fund.
Founded in 2014 by
entrepreneurHian Goh andfinance exec Shane Chesson,Openspaceis best known for being an early backer of Indonesian ride-hailing unicorn
A selection of its other investments includes fintech startup FinAccel, e-commerce player Love Bonito, restaurant booking service Chope,
health-focused insurance brokerage CXA Group, and bread maker Rotimatic.
Openspace specializes in Series A with a typical check size of $3
million to $5 million, and capital for follow-on deals
Goh told TechCrunch around the time of the first close that the plan is toexpand the focus onstartups operating marketplaces and/or the
e-commerce space to cover emerging verticals such as fintech, health tech and education.
Chesson, his partner, said that in areas like
healthcare, progress from startups has been &remarkable& while he sees &great opportunities& to develop new kinds of consumer-centric brands
in e-commerce, both B2C and B2B.
Beyond vertical expansion,the firm may also seek opportunities in new geographies — it invested alongside
Go-Jek in Bangladesh-based on-demand service Pathao, for example
It also plans to utilize local teams in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam and perhaps expand its network to more markets, too.
The target for
the capital is Southeast Asia, a region of more than 650 million consumers where rising internet access is creating new opportunities for
tech startups and internet-based businesses.
A report co-authored by Google last year forecast the region internet economy reaching $200
billion per year by 2025, up from $31 million in 2015
Already, Southeast Asia has more internet users than the United States population, and the total value of its digital economy was said to
reach $50 million in 2017.
Between 2016 and 2017, investors pumped over $12 billion into Southeast Asia-based startups
It an impressive stat, but most of the capital was captured by the largest businesses and that why more seed and early-stage funds are
needed — and are arriving — in the region.
The Openspace Ventures team
At investor level, there certainly seems to be a growing
appetite among global LPs, the investors who fund the funds.
Openspace, for example,was originally targeting a $125 million raise, but the
firm said it saw significantinterest and so raised the additional figure to &embed deeper regional and operatingcapabilities& into its
team.
Singapore sovereign fund Temasek and United States PE firm StepStone Group are among the named LPs
Openspace said others includepension funds, university endowments, insurance companies and familyoffices across the United States , Europe,
Japan, China and Australia.
For most of these LPs,Openspace is their first and only investment in this region
For some, they have returned and increased their commitment since fund one,& Chesson told TechCrunch via email
&It has taken some time for LPs of this caliber to get comfortable with the region, but we are pleased that we now have the track record at
the fund and the interest in the region to bring them on board.
This is a big change from a few years back and is a testament to all the
entrepreneurs and ecosystem partners who have developed this market so rapidly
There is still much work to be done though in fulfilling the promise, realizing gains, filling in gaps in the regional capability set and we
look forward to being part of this,& he added.
This second pot has already been open and, combined with a $90 million debut fund, the firm
has backed 19 startups to date
That portfolio, it said, has raised over $2.6 billion in follow-on capital which, even without $2 billion from Go-Jek, is pretty impressive
Indeed, Openspace says its inaugural fund is ranked the third best performingVC fund in the 2003-2015 bracket, according to investment
