Go-Ventures raises US$240 million second fund, rebrands as Argor

INVESTMENT firm Go-Ventures – now known as Argor Capital Management – has raised US$240 million in committed capital for its second venture fund and separately-managed vehicles.

The South-east Asia-focused company announced both its new name and the closing of its second venture fund on Tuesday (Jun 20). 

Argor’s second venture fund was used to invest in companies across sectors such as verticalised B2B marketplaces, tech-enabled consumer businesses, SME digitisation platforms, environment technology and embedded finance. 

Investors in the fund included sovereign wealth funds, institutional investors and corporates, as well as family offices from Asia, Middle East, Australia, Europe and the United States.  

The latest fundraise exercise has expanded Argor’s investor base “meaningfully”, said the company. 

With the completion of this recent fundraise, the company said it plans to deepen its impact on South-east Asia’s technology ecosystem by investing in both early and mid-stage companies that “address large and attractive market opportunities while driving significant societal impact”.

Argor closed its first venture fund in 2020 with a total commitment of US$175 million. This first tranche was used to invest in 19 companies in South-east Asia, with a total follow-on funding of US$1.4 billion raised from third-party investors.

The company was first established in 2018 with the backing of GoTo, which was previously known as Gojek prior to its merger with Tokopedia. 

Though GoTo remains an investor in its funds, Argor maintained that its strategy and investment decisions are independent of the Indonesian tech giant and its other limited partners. 

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The investment firm’s name change is based on its aim to reinforce its “independence and expanded capabilities to drive growth for its portfolio companies” across South-east Asia.

Its new name – a portmanteau between “ardour” and “rigour” – has the word “go” embedded as a reminder of the initial support it received from GoTo and other investors, said the company.

The name also “captures the passion and spirit of partnership that the company employs as it invests in and helps its portfolio companies”, added Argor partner Aditya Kamath. 

“We remain sector agnostic, focusing on a limited number of high-conviction investments that provide returns for our investors while transforming people’s lives in South-east Asia”, said Kamath.