500 Durians is now 500 Southeast Asia
We take a break from startup updates to bring you some news of our own:
500 Durians is now 500 Southeast Asia.
Learn more about the next step in our journey: http://sea.500.co/new
We’ve also attached a copy of our press release below.
Thank you for all the support along the way.
Sincerely,
The 500 Southeast Asia team.
500 Startups Capitalizes on Early Bets in Southeast Asia’s Most Valuable Tech Companies
The global venture capital firm rebrands its Southeast Asia fund from 500 Durians to 500 Southeast Asia in a nod to the region’s growing status as a world-class innovation economy and 500 Startups’ commitment to it.
SINGAPORE, 12 August 2021 — Leading global venture capital firm 500 Startups and its regional funds 500 Southeast Asia (formerly 500 Durians) are marking a major milestone as active VCs since 2014 in a region with an ever dynamic ecosystem.
As one of the fastest-growing internet economy in the world, Southeast Asia is at an inflection point, earning global attention for its rising share of the world’s unicorns. Half of those USD$1 billion+ companies announcing plans to go public in 2021 and 2022 are 500 Southeast Asia portfolio companies. They include Grab, Bukalapak, Carsome, Prenetics, FinAccel and Carousell, all part of the firm’s first generation of investments. According to public reports, Grab could be shaping up to be the world’s biggest SPAC, and Bukalapak has become the largest IPO in Indonesia’s history.
“We began our investing practice here seven years ago with the audacious belief that Southeast Asia would birth some of the largest and most innovative startups. At the time, we chose the Durians name, because our funds had a distinctly local flavor,” said Vishal Harnal, Managing Partner at 500 Startups Southeast Asia. “Now we have multiple companies individually valued at more than USD$1 billion that have announced plans for listing on global stock exchanges. We’re incredibly proud of our founders and how far the region has come.”
500 Southeast Asia is nurturing its ‘next generation’ of portfolio companies, of which 15 have been reported to be worth more than USD$100 million each. Collectively, it has made investments in approximately 250 companies, which have gone on to raise a total of USD$20 billion.
With the accelerating growth in the ecosystem, 500 Southeast Asia is also increasing its commitment to founders. It remains dedicated to seed stage investing, cutting checks of up to USD$500,000, but is now open to larger follow-on checks of up to USD$5 million, as well as potential investments through special-purpose vehicles, such the USD$21.2 million vehicle it previously executed for Carousell.
500 Southeast Asia will continue its primary focus on Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, and may also invest in the broader Southeast Asia region. Its current investment themes include fintech, healthcare, the creator economy, the ‘All-Commerce’ ecosystem, human and machine productivity, rural digitization, and sustainable cities.
The firm believes that startups in fast-growing economies like Southeast Asia play a role not only as innovators, but as future stewards of society. To support this, it has started incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into its investment practices, guiding founders with their ESG journey.
“The relationships we have built with the broader ecosystem is the foundation for 500 Southeast Asia’s next phase of growth. There is a growing realization of societal interconnectedness and responsibility. We want our entrepreneurs to create returns on investment that drive returns to society. We’re in this together,” said Khailee Ng, Managing Partner at 500 Startups.
For details on 500 Startups’ journey and plans in Southeast Asia, visit http://sea.500.co/new
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500 Startups is a venture capital firm on a mission to discover and back the world’s most talented entrepreneurs, help them create successful companies at scale, and build thriving global ecosystems. In Southeast Asia, 500 Startups invests through the pioneering 500 Southeast Asia family of funds. The 500 Southeast Asia funds have backed over 240 companies across multiple sectors from internet to consumer to deep technology. It continues to connect founders with capital, expertise and powerful regional and global networks to help them succeed.
This post is intended solely for general informational or educational purposes only. 500 Startups Management Company, L.L.C. and its affiliates (collectively “500 Startups”) makes no representation as to the accuracy or information in this post and while reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that the information herein is accurate and up-to-date, no liability can be accepted for any error or omissions. All third party links in this post have not been independently verified by 500 Startups and the inclusion of such links should not be interpreted as an endorsement or confirmation of the content within. Information about portfolio companies’ markets, competitors, performance, and fundraising has been provided by those companies’ founders and has not been independently verified. Under no circumstances should any content in this post be construed as investment, legal, tax or accounting advice by 500 Startups, or an offer to provide any investment advisory service with regard to securities by 500 Startups. No content or information in this post should be construed as an offer to sell or solicitation of interest to purchase any securities advised by 500 Startups. Prospective investors considering an investment into any 500 Startups fund should not consider or construe this content as fund marketing material. The views expressed herein are as at the date of this post and are subject to change without notice. One or more 500 Startups fund may have a financial interest in one or more of the companies discussed.
