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DealStreetAsia

At least seven regional venture capital firms entered the Philippines in 2022, validating the ripeness of the local startup ecosystem, according to a report jointly released by early-stage VC Foxmont Capital Partners and Boston Consulting Group.

According to the Philippine Venture Capital Report 2023, Do Ventures, Reefknot Investments, Alpha JWC Ventures, East Ventures, TNB Aura, Quest Ventures, and January Capital explored the country’s potential by investing in local startups for the first time last year.

… while Quest Ventures led the $3-million Series A funding in cloud kitchen startup Kraver’s Canteen.

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联合早报

本地创投公司求索创投（Quest Ventures）合伙人佘庭瀚指出，这一事件给起步公司敲响警钟，存在银行的钱不一定安全，每一家银行存款获保障的数额有限，公司或需要超过一个现金户头。

为起步公司和风险创投公司提供服务的美国硅谷银行（Silicon Valley Bank）倒闭，风险创投圈内人士表示，美国政府介入减轻整体冲击，东南亚和本地起步公司所受的影响不大，但接下来预计会有进一步的后续影响。

这一事件也给起步公司敲响警钟 — 要谨慎管理现金。

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8视界

美国商业银行硅谷银行金融集团突然倒闭，导致全球多家起步公司及私募投资者的数百亿美元资金被冻结，市场上也引发对科技起步公司造成影响的担忧。不过，受访专家皆表示，这不会对本地带来太强烈的影响，同时也认为起步公司从此应该会更加认真地把银行与财务策略多元化，以分散风险。

硅谷银行的客户来自世界各地，当中包括中国的起步公司。《第一财经日报》报道，中国医疗起步公司创业者安迪（化名）在11日午间发一条微信朋友圈表示，他的公司大部分美元资产都存在硅谷银行，主要用于美国办公室人员的工资发放。另一位业内人士表示，有起步公司因此损失上亿人民币。

不过，创业行动社群（ACE）主席兼求索创投（Quest Ventures）合伙人陈中表示，本地的起步公司很少数是硅谷银行的客户，因此这起事件对我国来说不会造成太大影响。

另一方面，陈中表示，硅谷银行的倒闭由联邦存款保险公司接管，这起事件凸显了两点。首先，他认为这个系统会被启动就是为了要保护存款人。另外，他也认为科技界的生态系统对于失败已经感到非常适应。“我在多年前也是一名创始人，是硅谷银行的客户。我相信它们会从这次的失败回弹，如果失败的话，新的创新者将会出现，并且取代它们所谓起步公司首选银行的地位。”

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TechShake

Quest Ventures is a top venture capital firm that provides funding and acceleration to a myriad of startups, among the most notable of which are Carousell, Carro, and Shopback. Quest Ventures is also the first venture capital firm in Asia to roll out a multi-dimensional environment, social and governance strategy that supports a range of social good initiatives within the region. With this, join me in learning more about Quest Ventures with its Founder and Managing Partner, James Tan.

What are the most impactful achievements that Quest Ventures has accomplished?

There was a period that catapulted our firm – that was when I returned to Singapore from Beijing in 2017 to look at how we can capitalize new funds to tap into new opportunities. We discovered new promising sectors and moved into them quickly. Another achievement would be that we rolled out new partnerships so that we could scale the impact we were having. One project that we are very proud of is the Sustainable Impact Accelerator.

Where do you see Quest Ventures in the next 5-10 years?

We are always reinventing ourselves to ensure that we stay relevant. In the next 5-10 years, we will launch new funds to expand into rising sectors in Southeast Asia and beyond.

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Money FM 89.3

Ever wondered which are the companies who give startups their first investment cheque? Well, our guest for today Quest Ventures is one such company.

The Venture Capital firm, which was founded in 2011, is a leading venture capital firm in areas such as artificial intelligence, e-commerce and marketplaces, entertainment, finance and even food. It’s also invested in a number of well-known companies such as 99.co, Carousell, Shopback and Hepmil.

But what exactly does the company look out for when it comes to investing? How does it assess the business environment it lies in, and what are some of its recent investments?

On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with James Tan, Managing Partner, Quest Ventures for more.

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CNBC

SINGAPORE — Digital retail banks in Singapore are pulling out all stops to win new customers.

Trust Bank and GXS Bank — two online retail banks launched last year — are offering lower fees, more incentives and waiving minimum account balances to win over customers from traditional banks.

Observers have previously raised questions about the need for digital banks in a largely banked population, where only 2% do not have bank accounts.

There’s also strong competition among the more established traditional banks.

“If you look at DBS Bank, it’s not like their digital offerings are [lousy],” said James Tan, managing partner of Quest Ventures, a VC company headquartered in Singapore.

Tan said he signed up for Trust Bank to see how different it will be to traditional banks. “I found no difference,” he told CNBC, adding that he eventually closed his Trust Bank account.

“I think the digital banks would have a higher rate of success if we were in a severely underbanked place like the Philippines,” said Tan.

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CNBC

“If there’s any caution, it will be because of the potential of new Covid strains and not potential government crackdown or regulatory constraints because that was already happening before Covid,” said James Tan, managing partner at Singapore-based Quest Ventures.

Quest Ventures’ Tan said what happened in China highlights the importance of diversification.

For example, iPhone maker Apple is diversifying its supply chain out of China, following Covid lockdowns and worker protests at its Zhengzhou plant which delayed production.

“With the doors now open, smart investors realize that they cannot put all of their eggs in one basket,” said Tan.

“I think we will see a lot more investments in key new areas strategic to China such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence and semiconductors, because the investments that need to go into the semiconductor industry is necessarily huge,” said Tan.

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FinSMEs

ION Mobility, a Singapore-based tech and automotive OEM, raised US$18.7M in Series A funding.

Backers included TVS Motor Company, AC Ventures Malaysia, Michael Sampoerna, Ng Ho Sen, and existing investors such as TNB Aura, Quest Ventures, Monk’s Hill Ventures, Village Global, GDP Venture and Seeds Capital.

The company intends to use the funds to invest the capital into Indonesia to grow its local team, operations and capabilities. This includes its sales and marketing presence, local supply chain networks, production tooling and manufacturing capabilities in Indonesia.

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e27

Singapore-based smart electric motorbike company ION Mobility has secured US$18.7 million in its Series A round of financing from investors, including India’s leading two-wheeler maker TVS Motors.

Other investors are AC Ventures Malaysia, Michael Sampoerna, and ION’s CMO Ng Ho Sen. Existing investors TNB Aura, Quest Ventures, Monk’s Hill Ventures, Village Global, GDP Venture, and Seeds Capital also joined.

The plan is to convert the 200-plus million motorcycle users from petrol to electric to drive a sustainable future in Southeast Asia.

In October 2021, ION completed its US$6.8 million seed financing, co-led by Quest Ventures and TNB Aura.

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DealStreetAsia

ION Mobility, a Singapore-based EV startup that produces smart electric bikes and energy storage solutions, has secured a strategic investment from the Indian automobile major TVS Motor.

The strategic investment is part of ION Mobility’s $18.7-million Series A funding round. AC Ventures Malaysia, Michael Sampoerna, and ION Mobility chief manufacturing officer Ng Ho Sen, with existing investors TNB Aura, Quest Ventures, Monk’s Hill Ventures, Village Global, GDP Venture and Seeds Capital have participated in the round.

The new funding round brings the total capital raised by the company to over $25.5 million since 2020.

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