Rocket Capital — Funding Asian Expansion of Audacious Founders
Rocket Capital is an early-stage VC fund dedicated to new media technology
Last week we announced our first investment in Admix, an in-game advertising software provider (article). We would like to take this opportunity to formally introduce Rocket Capital, share our story and the idea behind the fund, and commit to our long-term goals and values.
Why we launched Rocket Capital?
The story of Rocket Capital started long before its launch in 2020 and is deeply rooted in our team’s background and experience in Asia.
Akarsh & Mark met 8 years ago in LiteForex, a global social trading platform that pioneered micro trading globally, similar to Softbank-backed eToro and BlackRock-backed Plus500. Akarsh led the company’s finance & corporate development for 6 years where he acquired & divested strategic investments and expanded the platform in 15 countries. He came across Mark in the Philippines, one of the fastest-growing markets of the brokerage in Southeast Asia due to the demand for alternative investments. During that time, Mark was leading the operations in the Philippines and eventually in Southeast Asia, alongside finding payment solutions such as cryptocurrencies to assist clients.
Around 2017, he moved to the US and joined New York Bay Capital, an investment boutique firm experienced in providing financial advisory services including cross-border M&A and capital raising totaling over US$ 3B.
Around 2018, Akarsh joined VentureBuilders Capital (now known as Knight Capital), one of the leading VCs in Amsterdam focusing on SaaS and Deep Tech investments.
After gaining experience in both Investment Banking & Venture Capital, Akarsh and Mark teamed up again in 2018 to start Rocket Equities, a corporate finance firm based out of Manila, Philippines, with regional operations in Southeast Asia. Currently working with Market Leaders in Ecommerce, Fintech and Technology in the region to Raise Capital.
While serving clients in Asia, our team built a very strong network and deep knowledge in the region, and also spotted a big opportunity. There is high demand for technology by corporate companies in Asia, as well as high investment appetite from CVCs and strategic investors. Yet, talent shortage and still emerging ecosystem are the main hurdles for tech startups. Meanwhile, Asia is more than ever on the expansion radar of international startups.
This is essentially the backbone of Rocket Capital’s investment thesis — we support start-up founders on their expansion plans in Asia.
What is Rocket Capital?
Rocket Capital is an early-stage VC fund investing in New Media Technology start-ups.
We invest at pre-Series A, Series A and Series B stages, but we are open to investing earlier/later if we have strong conviction in the idea and founders. We have deep respect for all founders and the products they are building, and believe in creating long-lasting relationships in the industries we invest in.
Initially when we started Rocket Capital in 2020, our regional focus was on Europe only as majority of our team is based here and we strongly believe in the growth of the EU start-up ecosystem. And yet, good founders can come from everywhere so after the initial months of deal sourcing, we came to the conclusion that we should broaden our scope and invest worldwide.
If you have followed our publications and presence on social media, you probably have deduced that we are an esports and gaming only VC fund. You would be partially right as our initial focus for the fund was on gaming, which we still believe is a market with enormous growth potential. Yet, during the past year of deal sourcing, deep dives and interesting discussions with experts in the field, we realised that gaming technology has wider application in our everyday lives and is on track to change the way we communicate, consume content, shop, get entertained and create relationships.
Enters New Media Technology.
Our strong belief in New Media Technologies
We expanded our investment thesis to cover New Media Technologies, which we define by the following six verticals: Advertising, Gaming & Esports, Social and Video Commerce, Livestreaming Tech, AR & VR and Metaverse.
[1] Advertising — We are entering an age where brands shift their focus from reaching to engaging audiences via technologies such as livestreaming, AR and VR.
[2] Gaming & Esports — There is no question that gaming is no longer just a means of entertainment but has become an integral part of the way we spend our free time. We see wider applications of gamification in other verticals such as remote work, education, social media, and e-commerce.
[3] Social and Video Commerce — As consumers demand a more personal and yet social shopping experiences, we expect to see wider adoption of livestreaming, gamification, and AR / VR tech in the field.
[4] Livestreaming Tech — Livestreaming has become the new way to consume content across various industries such as gaming, esports, advertising and e-commerce and we are excited to make a bet in this space.
[5] AR & VR — AR and VR have been around for a little more than 20 years now, but we think that we are at the tipping point of early mass market adoption and will see more application of these technologies in gaming and commerce.
[6] Metaverse — It is hard to be a founder or investor nowadays and not have come across the Metaverse agitation. Our long-term vision is that metaverse indeed could become the new social medium where we create personal and professional relationships, and we are excited to explore the space.
We truly believe that we are living in very interesting times where technology is just at the beginning of redefining the way we socialise, work, consume content, shop, get entertained and create relationships, and we are very excited to be at the forefront of the innovations in the space.
If you are a founder in the field or an enthusiast who shares our passion, please reach out!
What makes Rocket Capital different?
It has been a great year for the VC ecosystem, which has emphasised the importance of value-add as a VC investor. We can talk a lot about our experience, track record, and network, but what really differentiates us is our commitment to help the founders we invest in. We are firm believers in global expansion, and we are here to support our founders on their ambitions to scale internationally.
The Team
Last, but not least, we would like to briefly introduce the team behind the Rocket capital’s vision. Between the two partners there is more than 25 years of experience in investing, fundraising and business development across Europe and Asia.
Akarsh — Having been an investment banker for over 10 years across Eurasia, APAC, and the US, Akarsh has a deep-rooted understanding of the global investment landscape. Tech-enabled businesses have been a huge draw for him but as an investor he wants to place his bets on the promise of new media tech. He also has strong expertise in business expansion.
Mark —Always on a lookout for revolutionising technology, Mark brings with him a strong investor network in APAC and has a great eye for identifying investment opportunities across Southeast Asia.
Viktoria — After a brief detour in investment banking, Viktoria transitioned from investing in public equities to early-stage ventures. She is really passionate about backing founders who have bold ambitions to disrupt and innovate the world we live in. In addition to new media tech, she is excited about mobility services and climate tech.
Finally, we would like to thank our investors, founders, advisors, and friends who have made Rocket Capital’s vision turn into reality. Our long-term vision is to create a brand which adds value to all stakeholders in the start-ups ecosystem and plays a key role in venture innovation down the road. If you are a founder, fellow investor, industry expert or just a passionate enthusiast, feel free to contact us at rocket.capital
Read about our latest investment — Admix raises $25M Series B to scale up in-game ads, and prep for metaverse gaming
