SEA founders, some news! 500 Global just announced the close of $143M for its 500 SEA III fund and its growth investment vehicle for Southeast Asia. 

• They’ll use the $$$ to invest in early-stage and growth-stage startups across industries. Yes, from pre-seed to pre-IPO!

LP check. Sovereign wealth funds, public and private funds (like Khazanah Nasional Berhad), a university endowment, family offices of prominent global investors, and some portfolio unicorns invested as Limited Partners!

‍

⏪ Backtrack

This is 500 Global’s third SEA-focused early-stage fund. 

• And they claim that each successive fund has doubled in size since 2014!

‍

💰 Where’s the $$$ going

For the early-stage fund. They’re planning to invest in 100 pre-seed to Series A startups in Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia. 

• Startups can receive anywhere from $250K to $500K.
• Looking for? Companies and AI tech that ‘advance rural digitalization, sustainable cities, human and machine productivity, healthcare, food security, and financial inclusivity’.

For the growth fund? They’re going to invest $5M to $20M in Series C to D rounds. They’ll be sector-agnostic and investing across SEA.

‍

👀 About their portfolio

500 Global has backed more than 2.8K startups in 80 countries–including Canva, Ironclad, and GitLab.

Oh, and they've invested in over 340 startups in SEA, including Indonesia's eFishery, Malaysia’s Carsome, and Singapore’s Carousell.