There’s more positive news for entrepreneurs in Asia this week. Hot on the heels of Monk’s Hill Road’s new $80 million fund, Japanese mobile gaming giant GREE has announced its second fund, which weighs in at ¥5 billion — that’s around $50 million.
Like the first fund, the new fund — which is managed by GREE Ventures — is targeted at young tech companies based in Japan and Southeast Asia. In particular, GREE Ventures says it is looking to identify opportunities for startups in the consumer Internet, mobile services, marketing technology, and cloud service sectors.
Monk’s Hill Road’s fund targets a mixed bag of deals, from early-stage in Asia to Series A and B worldwide, but GREE Ventures is laser-focused on Series A deals. The firm says it will typically invest between ¥100 million to ¥300 million (around $1 million to $3 million) per deal, and will predominantly aim to be the lead investor in its funding rounds.
GREE Ventures’ first round was invested in 13 companies, including cosmetics e-commerce site Luxola in Singapore and fashion startup Berrybenka in Indonesia. With the new fund, which is expected to last for up to 10 years, it wants to invest in more countries in Southeast Asia, as a spokesperson tells TNW:
Until now, we’ve been focused on Indonesia and Singapore [outside of Japan], but we’re keen to expand beyond that to look for opportunities in other growth markets in Southeast Asia such as Thailand and the Philippines.
The primary GREE gaming business suffered a difficult 2013, with the closure of its China office and layoffs worldwide. But GREE Ventures, its independent VC arm, is one of the highest profile investors in Southeast Asia and one of the few that covers Series A deals.
Image via Kiyoshi Ota / AFP / Getty Images
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