US accelerator 500 Startups launches $10m Thai fund

The new vehicle will be called 500 Tuk Tuks - after the auto rickshaws that are ubiquitous in the country. The fund has not yet closed but is an announcement - which will also include details of an investment - is expected to be made next month.

News of this latest vehicle comes around 18 months after 500 Startups launched its $10 million Asian fund - 500 Durians. 500 Durians has already backed around eight Thai companies via 500 Durians.

According to documents seen by Tech Crunch, the new fund will typically provide an average of around $75,000 for start-ups alongside over investors, it will then make follow-on commitments of of to$150,000 for follow-on the most promising startups. 500 Tuk tuks could back as many as 67 deals new start-ups with the the remaining capital being put towards follow-up investments.

"We believe the Thai market is hot, and we're seeing liquidity avenues open up for startups in the region. This makes for a valuable opportunity for early-stage investing," 500 Startups is said to have written in its pitch to investors.

The vehicle joins a family of micro-funds the 500 Startups has set up globally - others include India's 500 StartupWallah, and Mexico's 500 Luchadores. The best start-ups backed by these funds typically see follow-on investment from 500 Start-ups master fund in the US/

500 Startups currently has around $125million under management, with around 75% deployed in the US, and half of that in Silicon Valley. Its more than 100 portfolio companies based outside the US are spread across 30 different countries. The firm's 2010 vintage debut fund raised $30 million. Its successor launched in April 2013 and attracted $50 million.

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• Topics
• Early-stage
• Technology
• Funds
• Fundraising
• Southeast Asia
• Technology
• seed
• 500 Startups
• Fundraising
• Thailand