12 Best Venture Capital in Southeast Asia

What are the best venture capital in Southeast Asia right now? — Venture capital is a form of financing provided by venture capital firms to early or late-stage companies based on the firm’s specialization. Venture capital firms invest in these companies in exchange for shares. Venture capital proved to be high-risk because it invests in emerging products or technologies with huge scale potential but has not yet made a profit, and the probability of failure is two-thirds. At the same time, VCs can also receive awards, depending on the success of the startups in their portfolio.

Southeast Asia is a strong market for venture capital (VC) and private equity investment, with an announced transaction value of US$14.1 billion in 2018. With the development of the technology industry, startup investors are paying more and more attention to technology-based companies.

After Southeast Asia was hit hard by the pandemic in 2020, there has been a slow rise in the ranking of the region, and an increase in fundraising opportunities and outing activities. This recovery can also be attributed to the growing interest in financial technology and e-commerce companies.

Read also: What is Venture Capital? Definition, Benefits, How It Works

Listed below are some of the most active, top and best venture capital in Southeast Asia that focus in the technology sector. These venture capital are active in doing funding in Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and many other countries in SEA.

1. Alpha JWC Ventures

Alpha JWC Ventures, one of Southeast Asia’ best VC

Active Portfolio, including portofolios in Southeast Asia : 60+

Example portfolios from this top venture capital firms in Southeast Asia:

1. Kopi Kenangan (Indonesia)
2. Finaccel (Singapore)
3. Carro (Singapore)
4. Ajaib (Indonesia)
5. Super (Indonesia)

Founded in 2015, Alpha JWC is an Indonesia-based and one of the best venture capital companies in Southeast Asia. Its debut fund of USD 50mn was launched in 2016 as Indonesia’s first independent and institutional early-stage venture capital fund.

Alpha JWC invests mostly in Indonesia and supports innovative technology entrepreneurs not only through initial and follow-on financial investment but also with long-term support.

This top venture capital company in Southeast Asia mainly invests in Fintech and Sustainable Consumer companies.

Read also: Goola Secures $5m Funding from Alpha JWC Ventures

2. WaveMaker Partners

Number of investments: 441 (Crunchbase, June 2021)

Example portfolio:

1. Moka (Indonesia)
2. Snapcart (Indonesia)
3. Microsec (Singapore)
4. KrASIA (Singapore)
5. Kalibrr (Philippines)

Wavemaker Partners is an international initial capital company that is dual headquartered in Los Angeles and Singapore. In Southeast Asia, invested mainly in the B2B, consumer, and deep tech sectors. More than 20% of the investment is in deep techs, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual and augmented reality, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

It is part of the Draper Venture Network (DVN), an international VC group that includes 10 companies in 5 continents. WaveMaker is a DVN regional partner for South California and Southeast Asia.

3. Partech

Number of investments: 424 (Crunchbase, June 2021)

Example portfolio:

1. Zenyum (Singapore)
2. Beam (Malaysia)
3. US2.ai (Singapore)
4. Xendit (Indonesia)
5. Popmeals (Malaysia)

Partech is a top global venture capital company focused on digital and technology companies. Its main investment focus is on software, digital brands, and services, hardware deep tech. It is also one of the most successful venture capitalists in Southeast Asia.

Being founded in 1982, they have supported 180 portfolio companies in 30 countries on 4 continents. In Southeast Asia countries, they have invested in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The company also supports companies in India and South Korea. This company usually supports financing in early and late-stage companies, private equity, and seed stages.

4. Insignia Ventures Partners

Number of investments: 67 (Crunchbase, June 2021)

Example portfolio:

1. Tonik (Singapore)
2. Edmicro (Vietnam)
3. Shipper (Indonesia)
4. Super (Indonesia)
5. Rainforest (Singapore)

Insignia Ventures Partners is one of the top venture capital firms in Southeast Asia that specializes in investing in startup companies. It is committed to investing in technology companies in Southeast Asia, and its portfolio spans across countries such as Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Read also: Top 24 Venture Capitals & Angel Investors in Singapore

5.500 Startup

Number of investments: 2,543 (Crunchbase, June 2021)

Example portfolio:

1. BukaLapak (Indonesia)
2. HappyFresh (Indonesia)
3. Carousell (Singapore)
4. Grab (Singapore)
5. Revolution Precrafted (Philippines)

500 Startup is US-based venture capital founded in 2010. It was established by the businessman Dave McClure and Christine Tsai. Since its establishment, 500 Startups have supported more than 2,200 startups in 74 countries. With 2,543 investments, it is one of the top 10 venture capital firms in Southeast Asia.

500 Startups invests mainly through their regional affiliate, 500 Durians in Southeast Asia—which was awarded as the most active tech investor in the region (2017). It has invested in multiple sectors, including some Unicorns in the region.

6. SG Innovate

Number of investments: 71 (Crunchbase, June 2021)

Example portfolio:

1. Whitecoat (Singapore)
2. Funding Societies (Singapore)
3. Eureka AI (Singapore)
4. Biofourmis (Singapore)

Founded in 2016, SGInnovate is one of the best venture capital based in Singapore focuses on establishing deep tech startups. The company’s main focus is on B2B companies in MedTech, Quantum Tech, Finance, and AI – B2B companies.

7. Openspace Ventures

Number of investments: 61 (Crunchbase, June 2021)

Example portfolio:

1. GoTo Group (Indonesia)
2. Biofourmis (Singapore)
3. SensorFlow (Singapore)
4. Finnomena (Thailand)
5. Nano (VUI) (Vietnam)

Openspace Ventures invests in early-stage technology companies in Southeast Asia. Its existing investment portfolio includes B2C and B2B technology companies. The type of financing the company supports entrepreneurs is in its seed and early venture stage.

This top venture capital company in Southeast Asia generally invests in Series A or Series B, with committed funds of approximately US$500 million.

Read also: Investing Indonesia : The Importance Of Infrastructure

8. Gobi Partners

Number of investments: 163 (Crunchbase, June 2021)

Example portfolio:

1. Orami (Indonesia)
2. Deliveree (Indonesia)
3. Fastwork (Indonesia)
4. Carsome (Malaysia)
5. Glints (Singapore)

Gobi Partners is an early to late-stage venture capital firm based in Shanghai. It was originally established to take advantage of China’s boom in technology, media, and telecommunications. It has expanded to nine branches in China, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

The company focuses on China and Southeast Asia, and its mission statement is to help support emerging markets underestimated by venture capital and business support networks.

Also read: Best Venture Capital in The World

9. Citeragent Capital

Number of investments: 226 (Crunchbase, June 2021)

Example portfolio:

1. Tokopedia (Indonesia)
2. Ralali (Indonesia)
3. Viddsee (Singapore)
4. Tiki.VN (Vietnam)
5. VNG (Vietnam)

Founded in Japan in 2006, CyberAgent Capital is a venture capital company that invests mainly in Asian technology companies. The portfolio includes companies in East Asia, such as Korea, China, Taiwan, as well as Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam made it one of the best venture capital in Southeast Asia.

CyberAgent invested in a wide range of companies, such as mobile applications, electronic commerce, mobile games, advertising, social media, and the Internet. These companies include unicorns in areas such as Tokopedia in Indonesia and VNG in Vietnam.

10. Golden Gate Ventures

Number of investments: 96 (Crunchbase, June 2021)

Example portfolio:

1. Go-Jek (Indonesia)
2. Printerous (Indonesia)
3. Ayannah (Philippines)
4. Carousell (Singapore)
5. Baokim.VN (Vietnam)

Golden Gate Ventures is an early-stage venture capital in Southeast Asia that headquartered in Singapore, mainly focusing on Southeast Asia. As of 2019, its portfolio companies are active in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

This top venture capital company invests in consumer Internet products and services in multiple industries, including e-commerce, payment, marketing, mobile applications, and SaaS.

11. Global Founders Capital

Number of investments: 151 (Crunchbase, June 2021)

Example portfolio:

1. Traveloka (Indonesia)
2. Lazada (Singapore)
3. Klikdaily (Indonesia)
4. UnaBrands (Singapore)
5. Naluri (Malaysia)

The Global Founders Capital was established in Germany. It is a seed and growth investor-oriented to governments that activate entrepreneurs. The investment covers Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The company invests in artificial intelligence, reinforced reality, great data, commerce, finance, and game. The type of funds that are committed early is the first times and the younger adventure, and the seeds.

Read also: Fintech Investment: Definition, Tips, and Risks

12. Qualgro

Number of investments: 33 (Crunchbase, June 2021)

Example portfolio:

1. Ralali (Indonesia)
2. Funding Societies (Singapore)
3. EngageRocket (Singapore)
4. Edmicro (Vietnam)
5. Shopback (Singapore)

Qualgro is a Singapore-based best venture capital company that supports talented entrepreneurs who are interested in regional or global growth. Qualgro invests in Southeast Asia, Australia/New Zealand, and mainly invests in seeds, A and B rounds.

This best venture capital in Southeast Asia mainly invests in B2B data, SaaS, and artificial intelligence companies.

That’s our list for top venture capital firms in Southeast Asia that actively doing funding in Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and many other countries in SEA.