Hong Kong’s E15 VC raises $61m for third fund
Hong Kong’s E15 VC has hit a first close of USD 60.75m on its third global deep tech fund with an anchor investment from existing cornerstone LP Sun Hung Kai & Co (SHK).
SHK anchored E15’s second fund with a USD 15m commitment, helping that fund close on USD 32m early last year. Both the Fund II and Fund III commitments were made through the diversified financial services firm’s recently launched funds management arm.
E15 is one of SHK’s most significant new forays into alternatives. The largest relationship is ActusRayPartners European Alpha Fund, a hedge manager that has grown from USD 20m to USD 300m in assets under management since the firm’s investment.
The buildout of SHK’s funds program has been an exercise in internalising alternatives capacity. This has involved seeding emerging managers while providing sweeteners such as a revenue-share model – rather than taking equity stakes – and warehousing facilities to improve flexibility in accessing deals.
SHK has also invited some portfolio managers, including E15, to set up headquarters in its office space to maximize cross-communication.
“If you’re an LP, a great way of boosting returns is simply having a good portfolio and being able to do co-investments. And what better way to do that than constantly interacting with your managers and having them on site?” Philip Liang (pictured), E15’s managing partner, told AVCJ in October.
Liang, an engineer and serial entrepreneur who began his career designing concept vehicles with famed architect Frank Gehry, founded E15 in 2017 as a stage, sector, and geography-agnostic investor leveraging strong technical backgrounds. There has been a strong focus on health-tech to date.
Investees include biotech start-up Eikon Therapeutics, mental health platform Frankie, real estate portal Celebrity Agent, medical devices maker Caeli Vascular, and medical robotics developers Vicarious Surgical and Auris Health. Auris was exited in 2019 when it was acquired by Johnson & Johnson for USD 3.4bn. All are US-based outfits, except Ireland’s Frankie.
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