Singapore based venture capital firm Beenext, has announced the closure of two of its funds, which have raised $160 million in total. A large chunk of this fund will go towards making bets in the Indian market, a place where the firm has been an avid participant.
As mentioned earlier, the amount was raised in two different funds, for two different purposes. The first fund-Beenext Emerging Asia Fund closed in at $110 million, for making investments in sectors such as ecommerce, fintech, health-tech, agri-tech, edtech, artificial intelligence and data-driven technology domains. 50% of this capital, that is $55 million, will go towards making bets in India, with the rest being dispatched to various parts of Southeast Asia.
The investment comes from multiple sources, including US institutional investors, Japanese corporations global family offices and entrepreneurs.
Teruhide Sato, Founder & Managing Partner, BEENEXT said, “We have not paused our engagement with potential founders, and are continuing to increase our momentum to find talented leaders in India and elsewhere, building the next great products and solutions.”
The firm has already established itself as a key player in the Indian startup ecosystem, having invested in Droom, realty portal NoBroker and fashion and lifestyle e-tailer Zilingo, among others. Teruhide, who also founded Beenos, has invested in various other Indian companies like BharatPe, Open and Instamojo, and many others, totalling to about 72 bets in the country.
The second fund, which accounts for the rest of the $50 million, will solely focus on Japan. Investments will be made in SAAS startups, to accelerate digital transformation.
This comes at a time when COVID 19 has ravished the global economy, ushering in a worldwide recession. Thus, the firm is placing some huge gambles, which can yield very ‘SoftBank-ish’ results. Nonetheless, it seems like Teruhide has accounted for the situation at hand, and will continue to invest heavily in SouthEast Asia.
Teruhide 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.”
