Golden Gate Ventures US$100m 3rd venture capital fund oversubscribed; closed to new investors

GOLDEN Gate Ventures - an early-stage venture capitalist (VC) fund in South-east Asia - said on Friday that it is oversubscribed on its third fund, less than three months after the fund's first close, and that it is closed to new investors.

The US$100 million Golden Gate Ventures Fund III is an early-stage (Series A) VC fund focused on consumer Internet trends in the region. It is anchored by existing investors such as Singapore investment company Temasek Holdings, Hanwha, Naver and EE Capital.

New investors of the fund include Japanese entrepreneur and investor Taizo Son's Mistletoe, Mitsui Fudosan, IDO Investments, CTBC Group, Korea Venture Investment Corporation and Ion Pacific. 

Golden Gate Ventures said in a statement on Friday that interest in investing through the fund comes at a time when there is a pronounced rise in South-east Asia in consumer spending and mobile Internet adoption, a flood of foreign capital looking for investment opportunities, and the rise of serial entrepreneurs and skilled tech engineers.

Said Vinnie Lauria, Golden Gate Ventures co-founder: "When I compare the tech ecosystem of South-east Asia to other markets, it's really hit an inflection point - annual investment is now measured in the billions. That puts South-east Asia on a global stage with the US, China and India. Yet there is a youthfulness that reminds me of Silicon Valley circa 2005, shortly before social media and the iPhone took off."

Golden Gate Ventures' proprietary deal-tracking database is forecasting at least 400 VC investments across the region in 2018.