These venture capital firms are doubling down on Southeast Asia

It has never been a better time to be a startup founder in Southeast Asia (“SEA”). At least, this statement is true when it comes to calling for investments from venture capitalists. Since the past 3 months, venture capital firms in SEA have been actively launching new funds.

The first name on the list is CyberAgent Ventures (“CAV”). In June, CAV announced a $50M second fund for SEA market with a strong focus on Indonesia. Within the same month, they participated in series A funding for Ralali, a B2B marketplace. In the past, CAV’s CA Asia Internet Fund I, L.P. has been also very active in the Indonesian market. During 2011 – 2014, they made 6 investments to startups in the country, ranging from ecommerce (Bilna, Tokopedia, VIP Plaza), edtech (HarukaEdu), mobile game (TouchTen), to app (PT Kurio). With the new fund opened and even a co-working space in Jakarta, CAV is definitely one of most prominent players in the region.

Golden Gate Ventures (“GGV”) comes next with a $50M fund launched in July named Golden Gate Ventures Fund II LP. Well known for its strong tie with Silicon Valley and reputable backers like Temasek and Eduardo Saverin, GGV currently has 19 companies in 9 countries (Japan, U.S. and 7 others in SEA) under its portfolio. This second fund of GGV was contributed by mixed partners with new joiners are Singapore’s National Research Foundation, NAVER and Far East Ventures. Redmart, the Singapore-based online groceries marketplace is probably the first investment where old and new investors of GGV worked together in the bridge round to support the expansion of the company.

Jungle Ventures launched the $100M (or even bigger) fund Jungle Ventures II, L.P this month. Temasek and World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (“IFC”) are believed to be among investors with IFC contributed $10M and may invest more money after that. In a recent investment, Jungle Ventures joined big names like Bessemer Venture Partners and Helion Venture Partners to invest in Livspace, a Bengaluru-based home design service provider.

Meanwhile, $80M is the size of their new fund backed by Temasek (yes, again) and Cisco that Monk’s Hill Ventures (“MHV”) has been raising. It is noticeable that all 3 current companies under MHV’s portfolio (Ninja Van, Compare88, and ZipMatch) announced investments from the fund in March this year. Given the potential size of the new fund, MHV should totally aim for more investments in SEA startups for the months to come.

Last but not least, there’s 500 Startups. After launching the $10M fund 500 TukTuks in Thailand in April and adding $5M more to 500 Durians in July, 500 Startups chose Vietnam to be the next destination with a new fund announced earlier this month. In Vietnam, 500 Startups has invested in several companies including Tappy, Weeby.co, Babyme, Ticketbox, and pose.com.vn and may add up to 20 more in their portfolio within the next 12 month. Outside Vietnam, the VC firm also provided $350K seed funding for Carsome, a Kuala Lumpur-based automobile portal just a couple days ago.

So what does this mean for the startup community in SEA? Definitely more funding and mentoring opportunities will come when investors are bullish. For VCs, especially small funds, the market is getting more and more competitive. Seeking for co-investment opportunities, focusing on competitive advances and planning for fund raising activities in the near future might be the best strategy. Given the current market situation, we all know the big game is just beginning.