Temasek’s Vertex preps new $150m-plus fund for Southeast Asia, India

Photo credit: Pixabay.

Vertex Ventures, the venture capital arm of Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings, has exceeded its target size of US$150 million for its third fund for Southeast Asia and India, the firm said today. The fund will close toward the end of the year.

Vertex also added Thailand’s Kasikornbank (KBank) as one of the limited partners for the new fund. This marks the first time that the VC firm has raised money from an external investor. The previous funds were fully backed by Temasek.

“We have seen a sharp increase in capital being deployed in startups in this region, growing from US$100 million in 2008 to US$2.5 billion in 2015. Over 50 percent of this is invested through Singapore-incorporated startups,” said Kee Lock Chua, managing partner of Vertex SEA/India, in a statement.

“With more countries like Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia accelerating their support for the startup and VC ecosystem, we are confident that this region will continue to see significant growth.”

Vertex tells Tech in Asia the new fund will invest mainly in series A rounds, with the check size amounting to US$3 million to US$5 million.

The new fund comes on the heels of several successful investments in Vertex’s previous portfolios, most notably Grab, which was raising US$2.5 billion in its latest round.

The new fund will focus primarily on fintech, with the aim of tapping on KBank’s expertise and network. KBank has been keen on the tech industry, recently setting up Beacon Venture Capital to invest in VC funds and startups.