Venture Capital

Spark, Peak XV’s fellowship for female founders, has announced their latest cohort with 14 companies and 16 female founders. This cohort includes four companies building AI solutions in travel, fraud detection, wholesale trade and ecommerce.

Malaysia's pension fund Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) [KWAP] has on Friday announced the first batch of investments made under its Dana Perintis strategy. The investments, which amount to MYR 100 million ($21 million), comprise two direct investments in Malaysian startups and two venture capital fund commitments.

East Ventures, a sector-agnostic venture capital firm in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, has announced Sang Han as a Partner for East Ventures South Korea fund. East Ventures said in a statement on Thursday that Sang will leverage his extensive experience to manage the fund operation of East Ventures in South Korea.

Australia-based farm to fork innovation venture fund Mandalay Venture Partners has secured Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) as an investor, deepening its position in Australia’s growing agrifood tech sector. The fund, which is also backed by Australia’s largest member-owned organization the NRMA, has hit $26.74 million in committed capital.

Netherlands-based Orient Growth Ventures said Thursday it has completed final closing of second fund at $90 million for Southeast Asia and India.

Malaysia Venture Capital Management Berhad (MAVCAP), has appointed Ter Leong Yap as its new Chairman, effective December 15, 2023. Ter joins its family with a wealth of experience through his current roles as the Founder and Executive Chairman, Sunsuria Group.

Antler, the global early-stage venture capital firmbased in Singapore, has on Wednesday announced its largest pre-seed investment round to date, committing $5.1 million to 37 startups across Southeast Asia.

SoftBank Ventures Asia is officially changing its company name to SBVA after closing $150 million fund. SBVA, through this fund, aims to actively discover early to mid-stage startups that capitalize on technological innovations in ICT, such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and computing, and create new business opportunities.

InnoVen Capital, an Asian provider of venture debt for high growth, venture-backed technology companies, has unveiled the launch of its second China fund — InnoVen China Fund II, a USD-RMB Dual Currency Fund. The fund targets a total size of $250 million, and an initial close of approximately $130 million has been completed.

Bursa Malaysia Berhad has on Thursday launched the SME X Platform in collaboration with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM), to further support corporate fundraising and business investment opportunities.