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Hello reader,
It might seem bizarre, but I think some of the most successful people on this planet get bored with their success.
Or more accurately, they get bored with repeating the same method that brought them success. The best example is probably Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola, who is notorious for tinkering with a winning formula at inopportune times.
There’s a fine line between innovating to stay ahead of the competition and deviating from what made you successful in the first place for no good reason. This is why it’s so impressive when leaders are able to fight off boredom to repeat their winning formula.
VC firm Square Peg Capital seems to have a formula that works for the company, with a solid internal rate of return of 44%. As today’s featured piece explores, for Square Peg’s sixth fund, the firm is sticking to a tried-and-tested recipe in terms of size and the sectors it’s targeting.
Today we look at:
- Square Peg Capital setting sights on a sixth fund
- Vietnam-based VNG missing revenue target for 2023 despite the growth of its gaming unit
- Other newsy highlights such as the US government considering more tariffs on key Chinese industries and an Indonesia regulator revoking lending platform TaniFund’s business license.
Premium summary
Square Peg looks for the right fit with new fund
Image credit: Timmy Loen
VC firm Square Peg Capital is planning to raise its sixth fund, and similar to its fifth, it’s aiming for US$550 million.
Fundraising is expected to start at some point in the second half of this year.
- More of the same: Tushar Roy, partner at Square Peg, told The Business Times that the firm saw no need to aim for a larger fund size than its previous fund given the market environment. He added that the company plans to double down on markets across Australia, Southeast Asia, and Israel.
- Game plan: For this fund, Square Peg will still focus on investing in companies in fintech, AI, software as a service, and climate tech, especially those with the potential to give above-average returns. So far, Square Peg has returned over S$1 billion (US$738.8 million) to investors from 16 exits.
- No stock answer: To make exits easier to come by in Southeast Asia, Roy said it was important to improve the attractiveness of local stock markets as listing venues for tech firms. In his opinion, the best stock market for a tech company in this part of the world is the Australian Securities Exchange.
Read more: Square Peg to raise another $550m fund in second half of 2024
2023 in review for VNG
From starting up to getting acquired, we’ve been there, done that
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