American VC firm raised US$4 billion for its global funds to extend into Southeast Asia.
Headquartered in Singapore, Lightspeed Southeast Asia will search for possibilities in the region’s enterprise and consumer sectors, in keeping with a statement. It targets to observe up on Lightspeed’s preceding investments in the region, together with those in ride-hailing essential Grab, social c
Headquartered in Singapore, Lightspeed Southeast Asia will search for possibilities in the region’s enterprise and consumer sectors, in keeping with a statement. It targets to observe up on Lightspeed’s preceding investments in the region, together with those in ride-hailing essential Grab, social commerce platform Chilibeli, and market app Ula.
The new arm’s founding crew consists of a mixture of operating and investing professionals from local unicorns and multinational firms.
Lightspeed Southeast Asia’s companions are Akshay Bhushan, a founding member of Flipkart’s company development group, and Bejul Somaia, a VC veteran from Lightspeed India. The group additionally consists of early Grab member Pinn Lawjindakul as vice chairman and consumer and retail professional Marsha Sugana as senior funding associate.
“We believe [Southeast Asia’s] startup ecosystem will significantly expand in the near future and we are excited to partner with entrepreneurs as they build and scale disruptive companies,” said Bhushan.
Since 2000, Lightspeed has been helping formidable startups from inception, with over 70% of its investments placed into early-stage firms. It has helped construct out over three hundred corporations worldwide, together with Snap, GrubHub, and Nest.
In August this year, Lightspeed India raised US$275 million for its third Indian fund, its biggest so far in the country. Its portfolio corporations encompass edtech startup Byju’s, resort chain Oyo, B2B trade platform Udaan, and conversational AI startup Yellow Messenger.
The agency stated it plans to preserve this method in Southeast Asia, specially in the region’s commerce, fintech, and edtech sectors, amongst others.
Lightspeed additionally stated it noticed speedy digitization throughout industries and classes amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“These tailwinds are enabling strong founders to create new categories and business models. Lightspeed is committed to backing founders across the region who are building a new future on the back of technology-led disruption,” the company said.
