US unicorn Carta launches in Singapore to help South-east Asian startups manage equity

CARTA, a US-based company recently valued at US$6.9 billion, has opened an office in Singapore amid the boom in South-east Asia's startup ecosystem.

A blog post stated that the company is launching in South-east Asia with two flagship products: a software platform for startups to manage their capitalisation tables and employee stock-option plans, and a tech-enabled service to help investors with fund administration.

The post said Carta opened its Singapore office in January - the first commercial operations for the business in Asia - "on the heels of an investment" from EDBI, the corporate investment arm of Singapore's Economic Development Board. A profile on government-run portal StartupSG states that Carta Asia Pte Ltd was incorporated in July 2020, with a registered address at OCBC Centre East.

Cody Anderson, who joined the company in 2015, has moved from San Francisco to Singapore to lead startup sales and business-development efforts in South-east Asia, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Chow Yee Hoong, who was previously with Singapore-based venture capital firms Monk's Hill Ventures and HealthXCapital, appears to be leading Carta's investor services go-to-market in the region.

The company's customers already include Indonesian decacorn Gojek, online travel platform Traveloka and coffee chain Kopi Kenangan, it says on its website. The expansion comes at a time when South-east Asia's startups are entering a phase of maturity, with larger, more complex fund-raising rounds and exits via acquisitions or public listings.

Stock options are becoming more attractive to employees looking to eventually cash in on their company's rapid growth in valuation.

But data on Carta's platform suggests that employee ownership in a company in Asia is still 40 per cent lower than in the US, the company's blog post said.

It added: "As companies are staying private longer, venture markets around the world need a mechanism that allows for discovery between buyers and sellers, transacting on symmetrical information. South-east Asia is in the prime moment for an organised liquidity platform to distribute value back into the ecosystem."

Founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Henry Ward, Carta has drawn backing from a host of high-profile investors, including Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Last year, it raised US$200 million in a Series F funding round led by Lightspeed and Tribe Capital that valued it at US$3.1 billion.

The company recently launched an exchange that lets employees and investors trade stock in private startups. Trades of Carta's secondary shares on that exchange valued the company at US$6.9 billion, Mr Ward said in February.

Chu Swee Yeok, chief executive of EDBI, wrote in a LinkedIn post: "We see the potential in Carta's solutions to unlock liquidity for venture investors, catalysing growth across the ecosystem, and look forward to further supporting their expansion efforts."

Carta's entry to South-east Asia is likely to put pressure on other players wanting to expand in the same space. Singapore-based Qapita said this year that it raised funding from East Ventures and MassMutual Ventures, following a US$1.8 million seed round led by Vulcan Capital last year.

Qapita is aiming to expand its team in Singapore, India and Indonesia, which includes former bankers, venture capitalists and equity management professionals.

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