Vertex Ventures' SEA and India Closes $541 Million In Fund V

Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India (“VVSEAI”) said that it has raised its fifth and newest fund of $541 million. VVSEAI Fund V is 80 per cent larger than its previous fund which was raised in 2019.  

The launch of VVSEAI's new Fund V follows the portfolio's impressive cash-on-cash gains. This includes hugely successful exits from its investments in Grab, FirstCry, XpressBees, and Recko, among several others. The fund V is backed by both existing and new Limited Partners, including sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, corporates, and family offices across Asia and Europe. New Limited Partners include Japan Investment Corporation (JIC), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and DEG (German Development Finance Institution). 

Ben Mathias, managing partner of Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India commented, “Our earlier funds have had superior cash-on-cash returns and are outperforming benchmarks. This track record led most of our investors from VVSEAI Fund IV to return as investors in VVSEAI Fund V and increase their allocation. In addition, we expanded our total investor base significantly and are happy to welcome all our Limited Partners.” 

Piyush Kharbanda, general partner of Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India commented, "This fundraise is a testament to the quality of opportunities in the India and Southeast Asian markets. The macro-opportunity is palpable, but what excites us more is the continuing maturity of the ecosystem and the quality of founders we are working with in building category-defining companies. Especially in India, we are working with founders tackling very interesting problems across socioeconomic strata in India and building great products for the world." 

William Sonneborn, global director of disruptive technologies, creative industries, and funds at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank, said: “IFC is a unique investor in venture capital in that we partner with funds to help us identify direct investment opportunities that can have the biggest development impact.” 

The fund corpus includes a dedicated co-investment envelope of $ 50 million for co-investing alongside the main fund in startups led by women founders. More than 35 per cent of the start-ups in VVSEAI Fund IV have at least one woman founder and this envelope will be used to further the fund’s intention of supporting more women entrepreneurs.