Jungle Ventures makes $175m first close of new fund

Singapore-based venture capital firm Jungle Ventures has closed US$175 million in initial capital for its third fund, sources familiar with the development said.

According to them, the VC expects its new fund to be oversubscribed in the next few months, to raise as much as US$220 million.

The Jungle Ventures team / Photo credit: Jungle Ventures

Investors in the fund include institutions like Germany’s DEG, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, and Cisco Investments, they said. John Kim, president of vacation rental site HomeAway, and the family office of Khoon Hong Kuok also reportedly participated.

Jungle Ventures’ new fund would target startups catering to millennials in Southeast Asia, as well as software firms helping small and medium-sized businesses adopt technology, said our sources.

They added that the VC has done five series A and B deals out of the new fund: two in Indonesia, one in Malaysia, a first investment in Vietnam, and an investment in India’s custom software creator Engineer.ai.

Previously, Jungle Ventures raised US$100 million for its second fund (2016), and US$12 million for its first (2012).

Its last eight investments in Southeast Asia have supposedly raised over US$500 million capital combined.

Its most recent exits include its investment in Malaysia’s video streaming platform iflix after African pay TV company Kwese bought a significant stake  last year, according to PitchBook.

The VC has also sold portfolio startups to the likes of HomeAway, Twitter, and Rakuten.