MDI merges SE Asia programmes, launches $200m fund
MDI Ventures, an investment firm supported by Telkom Indonesia, has merged two existing programmes to form Ascent Venture Group, which is looking to raise USD 200m for deployment in Southeast Asia.
The two constituent parts of Ascent are Arise, a seed-stage specialist established in conjunction with financial technology-focused Finch Capital, and Centauri Fund, which was launched with Korea’s KB Investments to participate in Series A and B rounds. The combined entity has four partners, 10 investment professionals, and an operations team based in Jakarta, Singapore, and Seoul.
Aldi Adrian Hartanto, Hans De Back, Kenneth Li, and Eric Yoo will serve as managing partners and lead the new fund, described as a successor to the two prior funds. The first Centauri vehicle was established in 2019 with a USD 150m commitment from KB. Arise launched a fund the following year, targeting USD 40m. LPs include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and corporates.
The predecessor funds invested in 30 companies, with 70% of them going on to raise follow-on funding from third-party investors. Two companies have been exited through trade sales and one completed an IPO. Portfolio companies include Agriaku, Evermos, Qoala, Paxel, and Fishlog.
Ascent will make early-stage investments in technology-enabled start-ups, focusing on themes such as micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) enablement, the digitalisation of financial services, and consumer-oriented plays in climate and healthcare. In addition to the resources of MDI and KB, the firm works with BCA-backed Central Capital Ventura as an ecosystem partner.
“Our goal was to consolidate our resources and network of ecosystems to build a platform of exponential value that can strengthen our ‘thesis-driven’ strategy and provide significant product-market fit support to our portfolio Founders as they seed and scale successful businesses across Indonesia – the largest market in Southeast Asia,” Hartanto said in a statement.
“In addition, Ascent’s close relationship with prominent growth-stage investment groups like KB Investment and MDI Ventures enables additional support for portfolios with later-stage capital as the companies enter marginal profit or business-model fit.”
MDI was established in 2015 and initially deployed capital allocated by Telkom. While Telkom still accounts for the bulk of the USD 800m in assets under management, its share of the more recent funds – which have a GP-LP structure – is no more than 40%. Most external investors are corporates.
Arise, Emerge, and Indigo are MDI’s primary early-stage investment programmes. MDI100, Centauri, and TMI participate in Series A and B rounds, and then MDI500 does Series C and beyond.
KB is a Korea-based venture capital firm that makes venture and growth investments as well as some traditional private equity. It is active in the US, Southeast Asia, India, South Korea, and Israel.
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