Global VC firm 500 Startups made a few announcements related to its Thailand-based fund 500 Tuktuks. It has closed at $15.4 million hiking up from its initial size of $10 million.
The fund since its launch has gained massive attention from corporate individuals and high net-worth individuals. Led by Krating Poonpol and Natavudh Moo Pungcharoenpong, it is named after Thailand’s moto taxis. Krating in a statement says,
We have reached the 30th investment in our portfolio, which we believe marked the status of the most active seed investor in Thailand and in Southeast Asia.
He further states they want to double their investments in the coming years and fund more 30 companies. While Moo adds, 10 of the 30 companies in the VC’s portfolio have received follow-on investment or are about to finalize the deals.
There are plans to unveil a second fund, with name 500 Tuktuks II. They will focus on seed and series A investments in Thai startups.
Thailand has been catching up with other active startup ecosystems of Southeast Asia, namely, Singapore and Indonesia.
500 Tuktuks also revealed its third batch of startups, which have received about a total of $2 million –
Pomelo: Fashion-focused e-commerce platform. In October 2016, it had completed its follow-on on series A round, raising the capital from Jungle Ventures. It will be focusing on further expansion from the funds of latest round.
FinAccel: A financing technology company, the startup provides instant credit-financing for the e-commerce sector.
FavStay: Travel startup that lets people rent condominiums in Thailand’s popular travel spots.
Tourkrub.co: An outbound tour package booking company, offering flights, hotel and full day activity planning in the cities it operates in.
TrustingSocial: A credit scoring company which aims to help banks connect to people who may not have required financial tools.
Perrobox: An online dog-focussed pet store with a few distinct website specializing in different business models.
Gnowbe: A mobile platform which provides a template to help build application-based spaces to share information.
Asiola: A crowdfunding platform especially curated for Thailand.
Cookly: Lets one do bookings for culinary activities and tourism, most of its platform is based in Thailand, but it has services in Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Ubud and Hanoi.
Freshket: An online food supplier/marketplace for restaurants.
