Monk's Hill Ventures
2023 preview: Southeast Asia VC
Southeast Asia VC is in fair position to hobble through a global downturn and cooling appetite for all things tech despite controversial politics in the region’s largest market and a dicey IPO outlook
Singapore HR platform Glints raises $50m Series D
DCM Ventures, Lavender Hill Capital, and listed Japanese human resources business Persol Holdings have led a USD 50m Series D round for Glints, a Southeast Asia-focused recruitment and career development platform.
Southeast Asia tech: Resilient with an asterisk
Southeast Asia’s booming tech space no longer lends itself to an easy narrative. As start-up fever cools globally, the region charges forward. Cracks are beginning to show but so are counterintuitive bright spots
Singapore e-commerce aggregator gets $45m
Singapore’s Rainforest, an aggregator of Amazon marketplace sellers, has raised a USD 45m round led by Southern Capital, which provided USD 15m.
Monk's Hill names new partner in Indonesia
Singapore-based Monk’s Hill Ventures has appointed Jakarta native Susli Lie as a partner responsible for building the firm’s Indonesia business.
Singapore's Ninja Van raises $578m Series E
Singapore-based last-mile delivery start-up Ninja Van has raised a $578 million Series E round featuring Alibaba Group.
Southeast Asia's shadow capital: Out of the darkness
Shadow capital – non-traditional pools of money held by sovereigns and corporates – has become a fixture in Southeast Asia’s tech space. Start-ups stand to benefit, but they must pick partners with care
VI Group, SIG lead $15m round for Vietnam's Elsa
Vietnam-based English language education app operator Elsa has raised a $15 million Series B round co-led by local private equity firm VI Group and SIG.
Asia travel & hospitality: Ready to board?
The outlook for international tourism remains uncertain, but this hasn’t stopped some private equity and venture capital investors targeting travel and hospitality assets in Asia. It pays to be selective
Taiwan tourism platform KKday raises $75m Series C
Taipei-based online tour package vendor KKday has closed a $75 million Series C round led by Cool Japan Fund and Taiwan’s National Development Fund.
Singapore's Ninja Van raises $279m Series D
GeoPost, a logistics division of French postal services giant La Poste, has led a $279 million Series D round for Singapore last-mile delivery start-up Ninja Van.
Southeast Asia VC: Different strokes
Ahead of an expected increase in LP interest, Southeast Asian VCs vie to stand out from the crowd by fine-tuning strategies to capture the virtues of both generalists and specialists
Fund focus: Monk’s Hill rides SE Asia momentum
Southeast Asia is divided by language, culture and economic systems, but Kuo-Yi Lim of Monk's Hill Ventures contends there is now enough evidence that start-ups can go cross-border and achieve meaningful scale
Monk’s Hill raises $100m for second Southeast Asia VC fund
Singapore-based Monk’s Hill Ventures has confirmed a final close on its second Southeast Asia fund with $100 million in commitments.
Southeast Asia exits: Greener pastures
Southeast Asia’s internal growth and rising appeal among global investors in recent years have fed expectations that PE and VC exits will follow. The logic is sturdy but detailed projections are elusive
Monk's Hill leads Series A for Singapore sales tech supplier
Singapore-based Monk’s Hill Ventures has led a $5.3 million Series A round for domestic enterprise technology provider Saleswhale.
Monk's Hill appoints two Southeast Asia partners
Singapore-based Monk’s Hill Ventures has appointed Michele Daoud (pictured) and Justin Nguyen as partners to expand deal sourcing capacity and portfolio support across Southeast Asia.
Google joins $7m round for Vietnam's Elsa
Gradient Ventures, a VC arm of Google focused on artificial intelligence (AI), has led a $7 million Series A round for Vietnam-based English language education technology provider Elsa.
Alibaba, Line invest Taiwan's KKday
Alibaba Group and Line Corporation have led an extended Series B round of undisclosed size for KKday, a Taiwan-based travel services company backed by a number of venture capital firms.
Singapore’s C88 gets $28m Series C round
Data and financial services company Experian has led a group of investors, including Monk’s Hill Ventures and Telstra Ventures, in a $28 million Series C round for Singapore’s C88 Financial Technologies.
ICOs: Normalizing the future
The application of virtual tokens as investment instruments is modernizing the venture capital industry. Stakeholders are discovering a range of pitfalls and possibilities during the transition
Monk's Hill names new Malaysia venture partner
Singapore-based Monk’s Hill Ventures has engaged Mohd Ridzwan (Reez) Nordin as a Malaysia-based venture partner.
Southeast Asia VC: Growth impediment?
Southeast Asia has an abundance of local players targeting early-stage deals while foreign investors fly in to participate in the later stage rounds. The industry is looking for ways to fill the hole in the middle