Indonesia's Intudo Ventures closes US$115m fund for early-stage startups

Jakarta

INTUDO Ventures, an Indonesian venture capital firm, closed a US$115 million fund to increase its bets on early-stage startups in South-east Asia's biggest digital economy.

The firm's third fund, Intudo Ventures Fund III, will invest in about a dozen Indonesian startups that are set to grow rapidly, driven by rising private consumption and digitisation, founding partners Eddy Chan and Patrick Yip said in an interview.

Intudo will also seek less conventional investments such as Pintu, a local crypto-asset exchange it has funded.

Since Intudo Ventures debuted in 2017, more capital has been flowing into South-east Asia, helping local VC firms to raise bigger funds.

While some of its peers have gone on to launch growth-stage funds and expanded regionally, Intudo will stick to its roots as a Series A-focused VC firm that concentrates squarely on one market.

About 70 per cent of Intudo's capital comes from investors outside Indonesia keen to invest in the country."We have only one thing on the menu - nasi goreng," Mr Chan said, referring to the popular Indonesian rice dish.

"The one-size-fits-all, South-east Asian buffet approach could be challenging if you are an early-stage investor."

Investors in Intudo's new fund include Wasson Enterprise LLC, the family office of former Walgreens chief executive officer Gregory Wasson; Black Kite Investments Ltd., the family office of Singaporean investor Koh Boon Hwee; and PIDC, the investment arm of Taiwanese conglomerate Uni-President Enterprises Corp. BLOOMBERG