Wavemaker closes third Southeast Asia fund at $111m

LPs include US private equity firm Concentric Equity Partners, Temasek Holdings and its affiliate Pavilion Capital, the International Finance Corporation, Keppel Corporation, Aglaia Family Office, and Lance Gokongwei, CEO of Philippine conglomerate JG Summit Holdings. They were joined by Vulcan Capital, a US-based VC set up by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen that launched a Singapore office last year with a $100 million mandate for the region.

Wavemaker raised $66 million for its second Southeast Asia fund in 2017, beating a target of $50 million. The firm aims to differentiate itself through a strong focus on enterprise and deep tech, which it sees as underpenetrated in Southeast Asian VC versus consumer-oriented digitization plays. It claims to have backed more than 130 start-ups since 2012, 32% of which are in deep tech categories, including artificial intelligence.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has helped to further strengthen the firm’s conviction that start-ups that serve businesses represent a tremendous yet underserved and undervalued investment opportunity,” Wavemaker said in a release. “Technology is one of the key resources that companies can use to help them get through this crisis and start-ups that serve them well will be rewarded.”

Recent investments include Structo, a 3D printing company focused on the dental industry, household devices maker Igloohome, cybersecurity provider CashShield, marketing tech supplier Saleswhale, and Open Data Exchange, a blockchain-based service that facilitates internet access in emerging markets controlled by Philippines-based consumer technology company Xurpas. All five start-ups are based in Singapore.

Xurpas, which is active across a range of mobile and enterprise software domains, acquired Wavemaker’s US-based operations last year. The deal did not include Wavemaker’s Southeast Asia operation, also known as Wavemaker SEA, which remains an independent entity. In 2016, Xurpas provided an exit for Wavemaker SEA by acquiring Singapore-based mobile marketing company Art of Click in a $45 million deal. 

Wavemaker SEA claims to have realized six exits in the past two years, representing a combined enterprise value of more than $400 million. These include Indonesian mobile point-of-sale system Moka, which was acquired by Gojek, cloud communications software company Wavecell, acquired by 8×8, and regional payments solutions provider Red Dot Payment, acquired by PayU and Naspers.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Fundraising
• Venture
• Technology
• Singapore
• Wavemaker Partners
• Temasek Holdings
• IFC
• Vulcan Capital