500 Global Closes US$143M Across Early-Stage and Growth Vehicles for Southeast Asia

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SINGAPORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sep. 06, 2023

Venture capital firm 500 Global today announced the successful close of US$143 million¹ across its largest Southeast Asian early-stage fund to date, 500 Southeast Asia III, L.P. (500 SEA III), and its growth investment vehicle for Southeast Asia. The new early-stage and growth vehicles demonstrate the team’s commitment to supporting founders in Southeast Asia from pre-seed to pre-IPO.

Limited partners (LPs) across its early-stage and growth investment vehicles include a sovereign wealth fund, public and private pension funds like Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) [KWAP], and Employees Provident Fund (EPF). A university endowment, family offices of prominent global investors, and portfolio companies valued at over US$1 billion from 500 Global’s first Southeast Asia early-stage fund have invested as LPs as well.

500 SEA III is 500 Global’s third Southeast Asia-focused early-stage fund, with each successive fund having nearly doubled in size since 2014. Originally targeted for US$75 million, 500 SEA III closed at US$100 million with over half of the fund coming from returning LPs. The early-stage fund will focus on investing in businesses and AI-enabled technologies that advance rural digitalization, sustainable cities, human and machine productivity, healthcare, food security and financial inclusivity. 500 SEA III aims to invest in 100 pre-seed to Series A startups, providing first checks between US$250,000 – US$500,000 across Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia.

“KWAP’s investment in 500 Global began in the latter’s early days through its second Southeast Asia early-stage fund. 500 Global has since grown considerably in strength to a multi-stage investment platform, and remains instrumental in securing co-investment opportunities for KWAP. We are encouraged by its efforts in developing the regional venture capital ecosystem, and look forward to the successes that our ongoing collaboration will bring in optimizing KWAP’s investment returns.” – Hazman Hilmi Sallahuddin, Chief Investment Officer, KWAP.

“We are pleased to continue our partnership with 500 Global, a venture capital manager with an extensive investment track record globally. Additionally, in line with Khazanah’s Future Malaysia Programme, an initiative under our Dana Impak (Impact Fund) mandate, we are excited about their potential to facilitate the market expansion of start-ups via their Southeast Asia platform, with the anticipation of creating new global champions.” – Dato’ Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir, Managing Director, Khazanah Nasional Berhad.

500 Global’s past Southeast Asia investments have included US$5 million – US$20 million checks in Series C to D rounds of portfolio companies such as Carousell (2018), Carsome (2021), and most recently eFishery (2023), and has in the past invited their LPs to co-invest alongside them in select opportunities. The team is expanding its growth investing capabilities with the new vehicle. Most recently, 500 Global announced the appointment of the firm’s Partners in Southeast Asia – Saemin Ahn, Shahril Ibrahim and Martin Cu – who currently lead 500 Global’s growth equity practice across the region, supporting and nurturing startups at every stage of their growth.

“We have seen our platform produce a pipeline of high-quality growth stage opportunities which we can underwrite with the added diligence of knowing the companies and founders over the years. While we developed our growth stage capability investing over the years, we have also added resources and new partners in line with our aim to support founders from pre-seed to pre-IPO.” – Vishal Harnal, Managing Partner, 500 Global.

“We believe the next technology giants are being built now. History shows us that cyclical downturns are typically succeeded by periods of high growth surpassing the preceding cycles. Having been investing in Southeast Asia now for over a decade, we learned a thing or two about supporting outstanding founders and companies to ride the next 10 years, to generate highly competitive returns for our institutional investors and portfolio companies.” – Khailee Ng, Managing Partner, 500 Global.

“We continue to believe in the strong potential and opportunities in Southeast Asia. With a global portfolio of over 2,800 companies across more than 80 countries, we believe that the founders in Southeast Asia will benefit from one of the few truly global venture platforms with deep local roots and in-market expertise. We’re confident that with access to insights, connections, and capital, this can help the next generation of Southeast Asian founders build global tech giants.” – Christine Tsai, CEO & Founding Partner, 500 Global.

Over the past decade, 500 Global has backed over 340 companies across Southeast Asia. The firm is recognized as a leading technology investor in the region, having invested early in companies valued at over US$1 billion such as Grab, Bukalapak, Carsome, Carousell, FinAccel², and eFishery³. 500 Global has a rich history of supporting early-stage founders in Southeast Asia, bolstered by its deep in-market expertise that forms the foundation of the firm’s multi-stage platform.

About 500 Global

500 Global is a multi-stage venture capital firm with US$2.4 billion in assets under management as of 30 June 2023 that invests in founders building fast-growing technology companies. We focus on markets where technology, innovation, and capital can unlock long-term value and drive economic growth. We work closely with key stakeholders and advise governments on how best to support entrepreneurial ecosystems so startups can thrive. 500 Global has backed over 5,000 founders representing more than 2,800 companies operating in 80+ countries. We have invested in 35+ companies valued at over US$1 billion and 160+ companies valued at over US$100 million (including private, public, and exited companies). Our 190+ team members are located in over 25 countries and bring experience as entrepreneurs, investors, and operators from some of the world’s leading technology companies.

Disclaimers

This press release is intended solely to provide information regarding 500 Global, and for general informational or educational purposes only. No representations are made as to the accuracy or information contained in this press release, and whilst reasonable steps may be taken to ensure that the information contained in this press release is accurate and up-to-date, no liability can be accepted for any error or omissions.

Information about portfolio companies’ markets, competitors, performance and fundraising has been provided by those companies and has not been independently verified. All content in any third party links included in this press release have not been independently verified by 500 Global and the inclusion of such links should not be interpreted as an endorsement or confirmation of the content within. Under no circumstances should any content be construed as investment, legal, tax or accounting advice by 500 Global or any of its affiliates.

Under no circumstances should any information or content in this press release be considered as an offer to sell or solicitation of interest to purchase any securities advised by 500 Global or any of its affiliates or representatives. Under no circumstances should anything herein be construed as fund marketing materials by prospective investors considering an investment into any 500 Global investment fund. Under no circumstances should anything herein be used as the basis for any investment decision.

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¹ Per the currency rate at Bank Negara Malaysia’s Exchange rates (https://www.bnm.gov.my/exchange-rates) as at [22 August 2023]

² Tech in Asia: List of Southeast Asia unicorns and their early investors

³ TechCrunch: Indonesian aquaculture startup eFishery nets $200M at unicorn valuation

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