SINGAPORE, March 19, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Golden Gate
Ventures, a leading venture capital firm in Southeast Asia, and Hanwha Asset Management, a
global asset manager headquartered in Seoul, have announced a partnership to invest
together in Southeast Asia's
"Series B" stage startups.
Golden Gate Ventures is an investment firm headquartered in
Singapore. Since 2012 they have
been investing in early-stage consumer-focused technology companies
in Southeast Asia. Hanwha Asset
Management is a leading global asset management company with
US$80B in AUM and has been investing
in growth stage deals globally. The firms will invest together on
consumer-centric platforms and services, such as marketplaces,
financial inclusion technologies, tech-enabled healthcare, and
logistics-as-a-service platforms.
Why Now
According to Preqin's data (See Figure 1), Southeast Asia startups are facing a Series B
funding gap. Even as the number of regional startups searching for
Series B funding grows, there is still little to no venture capital
funds capable of filling that gap. Startups seeking Series B
financing often find themselves in the difficult position of
syndicating rounds from multiple Series A investors or appealing to
alternative, often unconventional sources of later- stage capital,
such as family offices and global PE buyout firms.
In the US and Europe, according
to SVCA, 50% Series A-funded companies receive Series B funding. In
contrast, the rate of follow-on financing in SEA was less than a
third for the same cohort. This meaningful decline can be largely
attributed to a lack of growth-stage funding within the region (see
Figure 2).
Golden Gates Ventures' proprietary database of deal tracking
shows over 215 Series A deals in the past 24 months. Based on the
aforementioned historical trends, Golden Gate Ventures and Hanwha
Asset Management expect anywhere from 80-110 Series B investment
opportunities to be available over the next 2 years alone and
believe this number may double within four years.
Golden Gate Ventures + Hanwha Asset Management
The partnership of Golden Gate Ventures and Hanwha Asset Management
stems from their five-year history of investing together, beginning
in 2014 and the earliest days of the emergent Southeast Asian
startup ecosystem.
The two firms bring unique and complementary assets to the
table. The partnership will access Hanwha Asset Management's global
network of corporate and investment partners, as well as its
experience and resources of managing US$80B in assets. Golden Gate Ventures brings its
operational expertise and top-tier brand as one of the region's
oldest and most-respected investment funds.
Golden Gate Ventures has invested in such regional powerhouses
as Redmart, Carousell, Carro, Funding Societies, and Ruma (now
Go-Pay); equally significant, large US technology companies, such
as Stripe and AngelList, have also sought partnerships with Golden
Gate Ventures, for regional expertise, market intelligence, and
direct investment. Across the globe, Hanwha Asset Management has
been equally active especially in the venture growth stages,
investing in notable startups such as Zymergen, N26, Yanolja, and
Grab.
Together, they will invest in technology platforms that can take
advantage of the region's rapidly growing middle class;
accelerating rates of internet, mobile phone, and technology
penetration; and ballooning online consumer spending. These
consumer platforms and services, whether in mobility, commerce, or
logistics, are capturing unique data on the long tail of consumers
and micro-merchants, and will serve as the starting point for
financial inclusion, technology-enabled healthcare, and other new,
innovative industries across Southeast
Asia.
###
About Golden Gate Ventures
Golden Gate Ventures is an early-stage VC fund in Southeast Asia (SEA) founded by Silicon Valley
natives. Since 2011, Golden Gate Ventures has launched three funds
with over US$175 AUM. The firm
focuses on investing in consumer internet and mobile startups in
Southeast Asia. Breakout companies
include Carousell ("Mobile Classifieds 3.0"), Alodokter
(HealthTech), Carro (Auto Marketplace), Funding Societies (P2P
Lending), and Omise (Payment Processing).
http://goldengate.vc
About Hanwha Asset Management
Hanwha Asset Management is a leading global asset management
company that offers a full range of financial investment products
in equities, fixed income, alternatives and multi- asset strategies
targeting the capital markets globally and manages $80 billion in AUM as at March 2019 with offices in Korea, China, Singapore, Vietnam, and the US. Hanwha Asset Management
is a subsidiary of Hanwha Group, a Fortune 500 Company with 61
domestic affiliates and 325 global networks in three major sectors:
financial services, manufacturing and construction, and services
and leisure.
http://eng.hanwhafund.co.kr
Press Contact
press@goldengate.vc
SOURCE Golden Gate Ventures