Insignia Ventures raises $516 mln, bets on Southeast Asian tech firms

Insignia Ventures Partners has raised $516 million for its latest funds as the Southeast Asia-focused early stage tech venture fund doubles down on the region’s digital economy.

“We could have raised a much higher amount but we have learned that smaller, tighter funds do better,” Insignia’s founding managing partner Yinglan Tan said in a statement on Monday.

The fundraising includes $388 million for Insignia’s third fund, $28 million for an entrepreneurs’ pool that invests alongside the main fund and an Annex Fund I at $100 million, said the five-year-old firm that has backed more than 70 companies.

Venture capital firms have been ramping up investments in Southeast Asia as rising consumer adoption of digital platforms since the COVID-19 pandemic fuels startups across many sectors.

Insignia said investors for its third fund, which was oversubscribed, included sovereign wealth funds, university endowments and family offices from Asia, Europe and North America.

“We see a once-in-a-decade opportunity to capture outlier returns, as the winners become very obvious when the tide goes out,” said Tan, referring to the weak market environment.

Like global peers, Southeast Asian tech firms have seen sharp declines in their share prices from late last year as investors baulk at higher valuations and slowing economies.

Insignia’s portfolio companies include Southeast Asian car marketplace Carro, Indonesia’s biggest tech firm GoTo (GOTO.JK), and Indonesian digital investment platform Ajaib.