2020

The Business Times

Investors in Quest’s latest fund include Pavilion Capital, the Temasek-owned private equity firm, as well as QazTech, a venture capital firm under Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund, Baiterek National Managing Holding.

Founded in 2011, Quest has backed over 50 regional startups through its first fund, including Carousell, ShopBack and SGAG. The first fund was invested out of the personal capital of Quest’s managing partner James Tan, a former entrepreneur who co-founded Chinese e-commerce firm 55tuan.

With its second fund, Quest will target not just South-east Asian startups, but also those in emerging Asian markets, at the post-seed and Series A stages. It will launch an accelerator in Kazakhstan to “jumpstart the region’s digital economy”.

Adil Nurgozhin, chairman of the board of directors at QazTech, said that his firm’s investment in Quest is “an important step in bringing together the innovative ecosystems of South-east Asia and Central Asia”.

“This partnership with Quest Ventures and Pavilion Capital will enable Kazakh startups to secure important investments, improve competencies, and gain access to global markets,” said Mr Nurgozhin in a press release.

By working with Quest, Pavilion hopes to “play an important role in the venture capital ecosystem here”, added Tow Heng Tan, chief executive of Pavilion.

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e27

Singapore-based VC firm Quest Ventures has announced the first close of its second fund at US$50 million.

As per a press note, this represents more than half of Quest’s fund target for the second fund, called Quest Ventures Asia Fund II.

Two institutional investors, which participated in this investment, are Pavilion Capital from Singapore and QazTech Ventures from Kazakhstan.

The fund II will invest in startups across Southeast Asia and emerging Asia at the post-seed and Series A stages.

Additionally, Quest Ventures said it will expand its footprint to countries, such as Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines. It already has a presence in fast-growing economies such as Vietnam.

“We were deliberate in selecting our investors as we value both financial and operational contributions. As operators ourselves before becoming investors, we appreciate what a diverse team can bring to the table. With this fund, we hope to bring different skill sets, domain experience and connections to help our companies,” said Goh Yiping, Partner at Quest Ventures.

Kazakhstan’s national economic initiatives have seen increased business activities between Central Asia and Southeast Asia. This is its sovereign wealth fund Qaztech’s first investment in a VC fund in Asia, and is widely seen to be tapping into Quest’s experience in emerging Asia and in developing innovation ecosystems.

“The cooperation of Kazakhstan with Singapore’s leading venture fund is an important step in bringing together the innovative ecosystems of Southeast Asia and Central Asia. This partnership with Quest and Pavilion will enable Kazakhstani startups to secure important investments, improve competencies, and gain access to global markets,” said Adil Nurgozhin, Chairman of the Board of Directors at QazTech Ventures.

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TechNode Global

The tech investors at Quest Ventures today debuted their second fund, worth $50 million.

Focused on making post-seed and series A investments, Quests’ Fund II is seeking out startups “across Southeast Asia and emerging Asia,” the team said in a statement today. That means the Singapore-based VC is eyeing investments in nations it has yet to explore, such as the Philippines and Myanmar.

Quest Ventures’s key facts:

• Founded in 2011 by serial entrepreneurs James Tan and Wang Yunming
• First fund backed over 50 startups
• Big-name investees include shopping app Carousell, sex toy startup Vibease, and property listings site 99.co

Quest Ventures partner James Tan tells Technode Global that the firm is still doing deals with startups, despite the ongoing disruption from the Covid–19 pandemic.

Increasingly, both global and regional VCs are chasing Southeast Asia’s startups. However, 2019 saw fewer mega deals for late-stage startups and unicorns across Southeast Asia, resulting in total funding dropping to US$7.7 billion from the previous year’s US$12 billion. This year could see the tally drop further.

Quest’s new fund comprises money from two major institutional investors: Pavilion Capital, a spinoff from Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek; and QazTech Ventures, which derives from Kazakhstan’s own sovereign wealth fund.

The move will help Kazakhstan’s nascent startup industry to “secure important investments, improve competencies, and gain access to global markets,” says QazTech Ventures chairman Adil Nurgozhin in a statement.

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The Gaming Economy

Singaporean venture capital firm Quest Ventures has closed a USD$50m investment vehicle, termed Quest Ventures Asia Fund II, which will be targeted towards digital-focused startups in Southeast Asia. The fund has been backed by two anchor limited partners (LPs), namely Temasek investment division Pavilion Capital, and the Kazakhstan sovereign wealth fund subsidiary QazTech Ventures.

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AVCJ

Quest Ventures, a Singapore-headquartered venture capital firm, has achieved the first close for a new fund. The target for the vehicle is $50 million.

QazTech Ventures, a subsidiary of Kazakhstani sovereign fund Baiterek National Management, has contributed $10 million to Quest Ventures’ second fund, according to an announcement on Strategy 2050.

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DealStreetAsia

Quest Ventures partner Jeffrey Seah described the wage relief as a huge lifeline for startups in Singapore. Startups typically raise money for 12 to 30 months’ runway, he explained. Well-run companies might see that runway halved under current conditions, while the more average ones might see it cut to less than six months.

But the well-managed startups can potentially extend their runway by up to 12 months at this moment by cutting costs and finding more capital, while those that are over-valued and facing collection issues will struggle to get additional funding, Seah said.

Saving three-quarters of wages is, therefore, significant.

“It allows startups to conserve cash, not just to keep their staff, but to direct them to capability building work to return stronger-moated to the market when COVID-19 is finally managed,” Seah said. “This is life-saving for all the startups domiciled and staffed in Singapore. It is a deliberate and resolute demonstration of the Singapore government’s determination to preserve the (commercial and) startup hub that is Singapore.”

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DealStreetAsia

Singapore-based venture capital firm Quest Ventures has secured two anchor limited partners (LPs) for its $50-million fund.

The two anchor LPs are Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund subsidiary, QazTech Ventures, and Temasek arm, Pavilion Capital, as first reported by Kazakh publication Strategy 2050.

According to the report, QazTech Ventures is investing $10 million in Quest Ventures, which will also back a startup acceleration programme – Kazakhstan Digital Accelerator – to nurture tech startups in Kazakhstan and Central Asia over the next three years.

This is understood to be QazTech Ventures’s first LP investment in Southeast Asia. The Kazakh sovereign wealth fund also recently invested in 500 Startups’s fifth global fund based in Silicon Valley, according to the report. DealStreetAsia has reached out to Quest Ventures for comment.

This report confirms an earlier DealStreetAsia story on Quest Ventures securing LP interest from two sovereign wealth funds last year, one of which was from Singapore. Quest Ventures had been reported to be aiming a $25-million first close in December for the same early-stage fund.

Although the vehicle is called Quest Ventures Asia Fund II, it is Quest’s first institutionally-backed fund. Its first fund was invested out of the personal capital of its managing partner, James Tan, who is also the co-founder of Nasdaq-listed Chinese e-commerce company, 55tuan.

Quest Ventures targets startups in Southeast Asia’s digital economy in areas such as agritech, food chain supply, and logistics. The firm has previously said it plans to invest in about 100 companies across the fund’s 10-year tenure, with ticket sizes between $500,000 and $1 million and scope for follow-on investments. Since 2010, Quest has added over 40 companies to its portfolio including names like Carro, Carousell, 99.co, ShopBack, and Glife.

The VC has been steadily expanding its team since last year. It appointed two partners in March – Goh Yiping and Jeffrey Seah – to manage the growth of its venture business. According to Quest Ventures’s website, the firm also runs innovation labs and corporate accelerators, serving a global list of clients such as Nissan, VMWare, Yahoo, HP, Tencent, and Coca Cola.

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Singapore Business Review

Venture capital firm Quest Ventures secured QazTech Ventures and Pavilion Capital as anchor limited partners (LPs) for its $50m funding, according to a report.

QazTech Ventures is investing $10m in Quest Ventures to nurture startups in Kazakhstan and Central Asia over the next three years. This will be the company’s first LP investment in Southeast Asia (SEA).

Quest Ventures reportedly is aiming a $25m first close in December for the same early-stage fund.

The company targets startups in SEA’s digital economy in areas such as agritech, food chain supply, and logistics.

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DealStreetAsia

Quest Ventures was asked to share its experience with first-time funds on DealStreetAsia.

“The COVID-19 outbreak, which continues to tighten its vice-like grip across the world, has altered the fundraising landscape for first-time managers often seen as more vulnerable compared to storied investors on the trail.

“Raising overseas capital is going to be tricky,” shared James Tan, founding partner of early-stage Southeast Asian venture firm Quest Ventures.

“It doesn’t matter how well-known we are out there, a face-to-face meeting will still be required. This isn’t just a meeting with one or two people. Our entire investment team needs to go there, say hi and shake their hands. All that is going to be impossible in this climate.””

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Saigon Online

Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB), one of the leading organizations in startup support activities in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), has been trying to link different domestic and international startup organizations, investment funds, and consultation companies in hope of creating more and more successful startups in Vietnam.

… Another successful story under the help of SIHUB is Logivan, a platform to offer bulky goods shipping service nationwide via connections of several transport companies and goods manufacturers to minimize empty truck running. It attracted its first US$7.9-million capital source from Asian investors thanks to the program ‘Runway to The World’ to incubate potential startups by SIHUB and Quest Ventures (from Singapore).

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