Tech in Asia raises $4M from SB ISAT Fund, Facebook’s Saverin and more

Vanessa Tan (Community manager at Tech in Asia)’s note:

Hi guys! Willis will be taking questions pertaining to this story. Fire away! 🙂

Since Tech in Asia began in 2011, our vision – the end-goal that never really ends, because the sky has always proven to be the limit – has always been to serve and build Asia’s tech ecosystem.

As a startup that actively seeks the road less traveled to push the frontiers of our ecosystem and community, it is always humbling to meet individuals and organizations who believe in our ambitious vision enough to invest in it. Today we are super pleased to share that we have secured a new round of financing, and more importantly welcome new investors to the Tech in Asia family. Say hello to:

• SB ISAT Fund, which counts SoftBank and Indosat as its key partners,
• Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook,
• Walden International,
• Marvelstone,
• m&s Partners, and
• Andrew James Solimine, co-founder of Nitrous.

Existing investors East Ventures, Fenox Venture Capital and Simile Venture Partners, also participated in the round.

We have updated our Statement of Ethics page accordingly to disclose our new investors, and will be doing so from now on with any editorial pieces that mention them.

Over the past few weeks, we have been making plenty of changes to our product. The community-centric website and database of startups and investors mark the beginning of Tech in Asia’s next phase, and we have a whole lot of exciting changes and new features planned for the community over the next 12 months.

The funding press release is appended below, for those who are interested in the details. Our deepest gratitude once again to every one of you who have put your trust in us. You enable us to continue doing what we do. If you have any questions, put them in comments and I’ll be happy to answer them.

If not, it’s back to work for us now!

Tech in Asia raises US$4 million to better connect Asia’s tech ecosystem

Top-notch list of new investors joined by existing investors to back ambitious vision

Singapore, 22 June 2015 – Tech in Asia, an online platform for Asia’s startup ecosystem, secured a total of US$4 million in funding to build more relevant features for its community.

Led by the SB ISAT Fund, which counts SoftBank and Indosat as its key partners, the latest financing round also includes participation from:

• Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook
• Walden International
• Marvelstone
• m&s Partners
• Andrew James Solimine, co-founder of Nitrous

Existing investors East Ventures, Fenox Venture Capital and Simile Venture Partners also participated in this round.

“We are humbled to have found a league of distinguished investors who believe in the value we want to bring to the ecosystem,” said Willis Wee, founder and CEO of Tech in Asia. “This investment will be used to evolve Tech in Asia’s businesses so that we can better serve the needs of our community.”

To date, Tech in Asia has revamped its website to encourage more discussion and content from its readers. It most recently integrated Techlist, Asia’s first platform for investors and founders to connect. More features are already in the pipeline to make Tech in Asia the definitive one-stop platform for Asia’s tech ecosystem. To that end, the team is actively looking to expand, and welcomes all who are interested to explore career opportunities with us.

“We are excited to partner with Willis and the Tech in Asia team as they solidify their position as Asia’s leading source for technology-related content and pursue other strategies to bolster Asia’s technology community,” says Teddy Himler, Vice President of the SB ISAT Fund.

Earlier this year, Tech in Asia underwent and graduated from the Winter 2015 batch of Y Combinator’s highly acclaimed accelerator program, during which it premiered its first version of Techlist.

About Tech in Asia

Tech in Asia (YC W15) is an online platform for Asia’s startup ecosystem. Right here is where you can keep abreast of Asia’s tech industry, share your thoughts alongside ours, and connect with startups and investors alike. With an ever-growing team based all across Asia and the US, spanning editorial, events and data functions, Tech in Asia is fully dedicated to bringing Asia’s tech ecosystem closer together, by providing a platform and facilitating meaningful discussions amongst all who are willing to add value to Asia’s tech community and ecosystem.