Singapore-based VC firm Beenext announced today that it has closed a US$110 million fund, which will be focused on “empowering early-stage startups and founders in India and Southeast Asia”.
This marks VC company’s 4th consecutive fund focused on the emerging markets in Asia.
The newly-launched fund, called Beenext Emerging Asia Fund, aims to back startups in the e-commerce, fintech, healthtech, agritech, edutech and AI/data-driven technology domains.
About 50 per cent of the fund will be allocated for the Indian startup ecosystem.
Additionally, the VC firm has announced the closing of a US$50 million fund, which will be exclusively invested in SaaS businesses in Japan to accelerate digital transformation in each industry.
Teruhide Sato, Founder and Managing Partner, said: “COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of global business, but we continue to see startup founders pushing the boundaries to not only survive but thrive in this environment. The relentless attitude of founders will mean that solutions for a post-COVID world will also come from them.
Now more than ever, we feel the need to nurture the entrepreneurial ecosystem to ensure we bounce back as a strong community of founders. Beenext has always believed in “building businesses together with founders and fellow local co-investors to have a lasting impact,” he added.
The backers of these two funds include major institutional investors in the US, along with Japanese corporations, global family offices and entrepreneurs.
Beenext has been active crossing the region since its inception in 2015 having invested in 72 Indian startups and 45 in Southeast Asia. In total, it has invested in more than 180 startups globally.
Some of its notable investments in Southeast Asia and Japan include Zilingo, Sendo, Trusting Social, Ralali, Amartha, Dekoruma, Mekari, Zenius, Sentient, and Japan’s largest HR SaaS company, SmartHR.
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Image Credit: BEENEXT
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