Wavemaker Partners, a Singapore-based venture capital firm, has on Wednesday welcomed Andy Hwang as its new General Partner, as the firm celebrates 10 years of investing in the region.
Wavemaker Partners said in a statement, Hwang is transitioning into venture capital after angel investing and coaching startup founders full-time for the past year.
He brings extensive experience in sales and marketing, risk, and scaling businesses after spending over a decade as a global leader at tech companies such as Facebook, Google, and Stripe, it added.
At Wavemaker, Hwang will join the firm’s Investment Committee and work closely with Managing Partner Paul Santos in growing the organization. He will also sit on the boards of portfolio companies.
Wavemaker is Southeast Asia’s leading venture capital investing in early-stage enterprise, deep tech, and sustainability startups.
Since 2012, the firm has backed 180+ companies and posted over $300 million in asset under management (AUM) across four funds in Southeast Asia. It has seen 24 exits and acqui-hires with a combined value of $800 million.
The firm’s thesis revolves around investing in founders with unique insights and solutions to unaddressed problems in the region, and key to uncovering those insights is keeping a curious mind.
“We’re excited to have Hwang join the team as he brings a rare combination of operational, investing, and coaching experience. His credibility—combined with his curiosity, humility, and maturity—will help strengthen the firm’s leadership as we continue to evolve and grow over our next 10 years,” said Paul Santos.
Hwang grew up in California and started his career in Silicon Valley, then moved to Singapore in 2012 as part of Facebook’s founding team in Asia.
At Facebook, he spent 10 years, first as Managing Director of the Small and Medium Business (SMB), which he grew to over 2 million customers and $6 billion in annual revenue, then later as Director of Business Integrity in asia pacific (APAC).
In the latter role, he ensured safe and trusted connections between millions of businesses and Facebook’s users, and acted as Site Lead for global operations and Executive Sponsor for diversity.
After Facebook, Hwang joined Stripe, where he led Risk Partnerships & Strategy for APAC.
Hwang has personally invested in 60+ startups, special-purpose vehicles, and funds. He has also spent the past year coaching founders, including some from Wavemaker’s portfolio, on go-to-market strategies and scaling their teams.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from The Wharton School.
“What attracted me most to Wavemaker were the testimonials from startup founders about how Wavemaker bet on them when nobody else would, and built a partnership based on curiosity and trust rather than a scripted playbook,” Hwang said.
“I’m excited to bring my experience in helping scale B2B startups both in Silicon Valley and Singapore, and support founders to build long-lasting companies that positively impact our world,
“I believe Southeast Asia’s founders are highly capable of creating solutions that can truly become global,” he added.
Wavemaker Partners closes fourth fund above goal at $136 million