Vertex Ventures closes latest fund at $420m

This article is more than 12 months old

Sep 20, 2019 06:00 am

Venture capital firm Vertex Ventures, the first major backer of ride-hailing giant Grab, said yesterday it has completed the final close of its latest fund at US$305 million (S$420 million) to invest in South-east Asian and Indian technology start-ups.

The firm, a wholly owned unit of Temasek, aims to start deploying the fund before the year end and will continue its strategy of investing in early-stage companies in the region across enterprise technology, financial technology and consumer internet.

BACKERS

The Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India Fund IV was backed by both existing and new limited partners, including sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, corporates and family offices across Asia and Europe, it said in a statement.

Vertex had invested in Grab when it was a start-up.

Seven-year-old Grab has grown to become the region's biggest ride-hailing operation, valued at an estimated US$14 billion, sources said.

It is one of six major funds in Vertex's global network spread across China, Southeast Asia and India, the US and Israel.