SeedPlus Singapore closes debut fund at $18m
SeedPlus Singapore, a Southeast Asia-focused seed fund run by Jungle Ventures, has closed its debut fund at S$25 million ($18 million).
LPs in the fund include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Accel Partners India, Eight Roads Ventures and Cisco Investments. The vehicle will primarily provide seed investments for start-ups in the artificial intelligence (AI), financial technology, cybersecurity and software-as-a-service (SaaS) fields, with up to S$1 million committed to each company.
“The goals of SeedPlus align with Cisco Investments’ mission of supporting startups with disruptive technology and unique business models. Asia has tremendous potential, and our investment in SeedPlus will give us additional access to the vibrant growth of the region,” said Rajiv Menon, managing director of corporate development at Cisco and head of Cisco Investments for Asia Pacific & Japan, in a statement.
SeedPlus, launched in 2015, is part of an accelerator program run by Jungle in partnership with Accel, Infocomm Investments, Google and PwC. It looks for companies with the potential for industry disruption on a global scale and a willingness to work closely with mentors.
The fund made its first investment last August, committing an undisclosed amount to Singapore-based AI-enabled electronic assistant Mimetica. SeedPlus has also supported Indian B2B e-commerce platform Moglix with a INR280 million ($4.4 million) round alongside Jungle and Accel, and invested $1.2 million in home healthcare booking service Homage with 500 Startups and Golden Gate Ventures.
The fund’s close comes amid a slowdown in seed and early-stage VC deals in Southeast Asia. AVCJ Research data for the first quarter of 2017 shows 11 early-stage transactions and no seed rounds, significantly below last year’s figures of 28 and three respectively. Capital invested across both categories is also down, from $78 million last year to $32 million this year.
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