3 IPOs and 6 exits later, this VC reloads with $20m to fund US and Asian startups

Anis Uzzaman, CEO of Fenox.

With ecommerce in Asia pretty much dominated by Jack and Jeff, the region’s startup scene has begun looking for the next big thing.

Venture capital firm Fenox wants to be in the thick of it. The US-Japan-Southeast Asia firm recently launched a US$20 million fund to invest in what it calls “core tech” startups.

It’s an alphabet soup of catchphrases: robotics, artificial intelligence, big data, internet of things, healthtech, fintech, and more. That said, it’ll still seek out B2B and B2C platforms.

A notable limited partner (LP) in this fund is Wistron. It’s essentially a lesser-known Foxconn, a Taiwanese contract manufacturer that’s still pretty massive, employing 60,000 people and making US$18.8 billion in annual revenue. It has assembled some of Apple’s iPhones.

“Unlike other VC funds, Fenox’s funds are 100 percent invested by major large corporations,” said CEO Anis Uzzaman.

“With the Wistron partnership, Fenox will be able to help its portfolio startups connect to a reliable manufacturing and technology partner who can help them not only with manufacturing but also with technology and business expansion.”

Fenox focuses on assisting corporates with sourcing for startups to invest in, work with, and even acquire. Fenox has partnered 20 corporates to date, including Sega and Bandai.

The firm, which has been in business for five years, did not share specific details on how its funds are doing, but did say its portfolio saw six acquisitions and three IPOs:

IPOs

2014: Dream Link Entertainment
2015: Metaps
2016: Evolable Asia

Acquisitions

• Sidecar acquired by General Motors
• Roximity acquired by Verve
• Bop.fm acquired by LifeLock
• Circa acquired by Sinclair Group
• Socialize acquired by ShareThis
• Schematic Labs acquired by Rhapsody

Fenox did not give exact figures on much it made out of these deals. Its most prominent win is probably Metaps, billed as one of Japan’s hottest startups. Anis says it invested US$5 million into Metaps and US$6 million into Evolable Asia, and made “significant returns per share” on both.