Ex-McKinsey, Stripe exec joins Australian VC Square Peg as investing partner in Singapore

Square Peg, a VC firm with a focus on startups in Australia, Israel, and Southeast Asia, announced the appointment of former Stripe executive Piruze Sabuncu as its investing partner for its newly opened office in Singapore.

Piruze Sabuncu, Square Peg’s newest investing partner/ Photo credit: SquarePeg

Previously, Sabuncu had been a venture partner at Next Billion Ventures, with a focus on fintech companies. Then, as the head for Southeast Asia and Hong Kong at Stripe, she helped scale the global tech company to over 200 employees in the region. She also had a four-year stint at McKinsey & Company.

At Square Peg, Sabuncu will be looking to invest across Southeast Asia and will  deepen her knowledge on startups in Vietnam and Indonesia in particular.

“Southeast Asia has the potential to be the best startup ecosystem in the world, and our job as investors is to empower the best founders to build companies that improve the way we work, live, and play. It is a huge privilege,” she said.

The Australia-based VC firm has been investing over US$100 million in Southeast Asia over the past five years in sectors such as consumer, health, and fintech. Some of the companies it has invested in are StashAway, PropertyGuru, DoctorAnywhere, and FinAccel.

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“Sabuncu adds diversity of thought, experience, and background to our team and to the regional tech community. She will amplify Square Peg’s regional reach and impact, and deepen our relationships within the SEA tech ecosystem,” said Tushar Roy, a partner at the Singapore office.

In February 2019, the VC had raised US$235 million as part of its second fund. It claims to have a total of US$1 billion in assets under management.

Square Peg is currently in the process of raising money for its third fund for the region along with a growth-stage fund, and it expects to close by early December.