(Bloomberg) — Wavemaker Partners LLC, an early-stage venture capital firm, closed its fourth fund at $136 million to back startups in Southeast Asia’s fast-growing technology industry.
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The firm exceeded its initial target of $120 million, with existing backers Temasek Holdings Pte, Pavilion Capital, International Finance Corp. and Vulcan Capital participating, the Singapore-based company said in a statement on Tuesday.
It also drew in institutional investors, university endowment funds, funds of funds, family offices, corporates and high net worth individuals, it said. The fourth fund will bring its total assets under management to $300 million.
Read more: Singapore’s Wavemaker Closes Venture Fund at $111 Million
One of Singapore’s earliest venture firms, Wavemaker has invested in over 170 companies since 2012. About 150 of these are working on sustainable technologies, enterprise-related ventures or scientific and engineering challenges. So far, the firm has had 13 exits, including Singapore software startup TradeGecko, according to its website.
Wavemaker’s portfolio companies include laser communications startup Transcelestial, agriculture technology startup EFishery and business-to-business marketplace GudangAda. Melissa Ho, who previously served as vice president of investments, has been promoted to lead the firm’s investment team.
Southeast Asia, a region with about 650 million people, is seeing rising interest from investors scouting for companies that can capture the surge of online activity amid the pandemic. Southeast Asia’s booming internet economy is set to double to $363 billion by 2025, research from Google, Temasek Holdings and Bain & Co. shows.
The region’s publicly listed consumer tech darlings — including Sea Ltd. and Grab Holdings Ltd. — have been floundering in the stock market after a disappointing earnings season. Yet, private market investors like Wavemaker are still optimistic that the emerging region has the potential to birth a swell of companies that might be worth billions in the future.
The firm focuses on areas including early-stage enterprise, deep tech and sustainability. Managing Partner Paul Santos said in an email that these sectors aren’t popular as consumer tech startups and tend to grow more slowly, but have they “natural paths to creating moats and profitability.”
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