Vertex hits first close of late stage-focused fund at $290m

Singapore-based Vertex Venture Holdings has hit the first close of its new venture capital fund, which is aimed at backing high-growth tech companies in their later stages, at US$290 million.

Photo credit: Vertex Holdings

The Vertex Growth Fund, the sixth and newest member of Vertex Holding’s network of funds, exceeded its initial target of US$250 million, the company said in a statement.

It secured commitments from limited partners across the region, including a sovereign wealth fund, institutional investors such as Cathay Life Insurance, corporates across various industries like Elan Microelectronics, and family offices.

It will invest US$10 million to US$15 million per company in the third and fourth funding rounds, according to a report by Reuters.

“Digital transformation has accelerated across industries, and technology continues to spawn new businesses,” said Vertex Growth managing director James Lee. “Vertex Growth aims to capitalize on these opportunities, mainly those emerging from the strong early-stage portfolio across the Vertex network.”

Since the start of the year, the new fund has already invested in several companies such as behavior-based bot protection solution provider PerimeterX, US-based healthtech firm Nuvaira, Southeast Asian digital cross-border payments company InstaRem, and trans-Atlantic biotech firm Bicycle Therapeutics.

Other previous investments from the Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India fund include Grab and BinanceAsia, a crypto-to-fiat exchange stemming from global cryptocurrency giant Binance.

Vertex Holdings’ network has also invested in startups such as Waze, Mobike, Twelve, and Desktop Metal.