Temasek-backed Red Dot close to raising US$200m VC fund

[SAVYON] Red Dot Capital Partners has raised about US$200 million to invest in Israeli technology startups looking to expand into southeast Asia and Japan.

Temasek Holdings is the fund's largest backer, joined by investors from Japan and the US, Yaniv Stern, a managing partner at Red Dot, said in an interview. The Israeli venture capital firm has raised about 95 per cent of the money and has already invested in three companies, he said.

Unlike most Israeli technology firms that shoot for US and European markets, Red Dot seeks to steer its portfolio companies toward countries like Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia, where growth has been faster and governments have been better at controlling the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Asian countries are months ahead in terms of dealing with Covid," Stern said. "We expect their economic recovery trajectories to be quite different than countries that have demonstrated less discipline." Red Dot, which usually invests between US$10 million and US$15 million in financing rounds for Israeli startups, had previously raised a US$150 million fund and took stakes in companies in industries such as cashier-less shopping, online commerce and cybersecurity.

BLOOMBERG