The fund is said to write cheques in the US$20 to US$100 million range and invest in 10-12 companies over its lifetime

Upon leaving SEA Group, Group President Nick Nash is planning to start a new fund targetting Series B companies in ASEAN, India and China, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The fund was mentioned by TechCrunch when Nash announced his plans to leave Sea Group but specific details were not reported.

Nash would not comment publicly on the fund, citing a desire to focus on Sea Group over the coming months.

A spokesperson for Sea Group said it is too early to comment when asked by e27 if the company was involved or would consider coming on board as a Limited Partner.

The plan is to help fill Southeast Asia’s Series B gap. This means the cheque size could be fall in the range of US$20 million to US$100 million.

The fund is said to target about 10-12 investments over its lifetime.

The reality in Southeast Asia is that it is often far easier to raise US$500 million than it is to get the US$50 million necessary for a lot of growth stage startups.

For example, Carousell is probably Singapore’s most famous startup that would still be considered in the growth-stage part of the lifecycle. When they raised their Series B round, the investment was led by a corporate VC in Rakuten Ventures, a firm which had previously invested in the company.

Notable Series B funds in the region include B Capital and Malaysia’s Meranti ASEAN Growth Fund from MAVCAP and Gobi Partners. Simply put, there are not a ton of options for Series B to Series C financing in Southeast Asia.

Also Read: Can foreigners cash out cryptocurrency, tax-free, in Singapore?

Nash’s fund is expected find startups on the verge of their growth-stage and use the money to push them multi-country. This may not just mean cross-border trade but rather substantial operations (major offices, factories etc.) across pan-Asia.

Nash should benefit from his history as he runs around the region raising money . Sea Group raised over US$2 billion under his watch, grew into three businesses (Shopee and AirPay) and became Singapore’s first “true-blue startup” to IPO.

Also Read: [Updated] Uber officially sells Southeast Asia assets to Grab, including food delivery service

The actual name of the fund was not revealed.

—
Copyright: kalero / 123RF Stock Photo

The post Nick Nash expected to start Series B fund upon leaving Sea Group appeared first on e27.