For investors rattled by Beijing’s tightened regulatory control over its tech sector, Southeast Asia is emerging as a top alternative destination.
Many of the Chinese individuals who are moving to SE Asia will “become a natural bridge to raising Chinese capital,” said Tan. “If you don’t want to deal with the regulatory pressure in China, you can come to SE Asia… there are regulations [across the region], but at least they are not interfering in the [tech] space.”
Sealed Network, a Singapore-based platform that connects organizations with expert insights, raised an undisclosed amount of pre-series A funding in a round led by Quest Ventures. The fundraise also saw participation from Far East Ventures and former DBS chairman Koh Boon Hwee, among others.
Established in 2019, Sealed Network connects investment managers and strategy consultants with its pool of experts. It is founded by Benjamin Emmanuel Lee, who was previously part of Grab’s business development team, and Leo Wen Ge, who was a former senior associate of Wavemaker Partners.
SEALED Network, a matchmaking network connecting investors and industry informants, has raised an undisclosed amount in a funding round led by Quest Ventures. Quest Ventures, which counts Temasek’s Pavilion Capital and Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund subsidiary QazTech Ventures as its investors, has also backed other startups including Carro, Carousell and ShopBack.
Joining its pre-series A funding round was chairman of Food Empire Tan Wang Cheow, Soilbuild’s director Lim Han Feng, as well as Google, Twitter and Alibaba angel group XA Network and South-east Asia McKinsey alumni group Alumni & Angels.
Existing investors include Koh Boon Hwee and Far East Ventures, the venture capital arm of Far East Organization. Former member of parliament Sin Boon Ann is one of the firm’s close advisers.
Sealed’s experts from 25 industries bring “unparalleled local expertise, enabling new South-east Asia entrant businesses to better navigate a diverse but economically promising region”, said Jeffrey Seah, partner at Quest Ventures.
Established firms in the space are also looking to go public. US-based Gerson Lehrman Group has filed for a US listing, while China-focused Capvision has plans for a US$300 million listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Indonesia-based GajiGesa recently raised $6.6 million in pre-Series A funding led by MassMutual Ventures. The round also saw participation from January Capital, Wagestream, Bunda Group, Smile Group, Oliver Jung, Patrick Walujo, Nipun Mehra, and Noah Pepper, along with existing investors included defy.vc, Quest Ventures, GK Plug and Play, and Next Billion Ventures.
Fundraising by Greater China-based private companies returned to the growth lane in Q3 2021, after a dip in the previous quarter.
Private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investors poured at least $23.1 billion across 551 deals in July-September 2021, showed data from our latest DATA VANTAGE report Greater China Deal Review: Q3 2021.
In the three-month period, there were 69 megadeals – or transactions worth at least $100 million – including one deal worth over $1 billion.
In terms of public market activity (IPOs), Greater China-based firms raised $107.4 billion in January-September, n incrase of 24% year on year. This period witnessed 483 listings, up 19% over last year.
“There is a diversion of capital that would have otherwise gone into China, now interested in going elsewhere… with Singapore and SE Asia at the top of their minds. There are still plenty of opportunities in China. It’s just that… there are opportunities elsewhere [that] really present themselves better,” said James Tan, managing partner, Quest Ventures.
GajiGesa, a fintech company focused on services for Indonesian workers, announced today that it has raised $6.6 million USD in pre-Series A funding. The round was led by MassMutual Ventures, with participation from January Capital, European earned wage access company Wagestream (EWA is GajiGesa’s flagship feature), Bunda Group, Smile Group, Oliver Jung, Northstar Group partners including Patrick Walujo, Nipun Mehra (the CEO of Ula) and Noah Pepper (Stripe’s head of APAC). Returning investors included defy.vc, Quest Ventures, GK Plug and Play and Next Billion Ventures.
Singapore’s tech-driven media company Hepmil Media Group, well known for creating brands such as SGAG, MGAG, PGAG, as well as digital creator agency Hepmil Creators’ Network, has received US$10 million in its Series A funding round to support its expansion plans in Southeast Asia. The funding was led by Quest Ventures, Pavilion Capital and Bent Pixels.
With the investment, Hepmil Media Group is looking to expand into Thailand and Vietnam in 2022. It also has plans to strengthen its leadership in the digital media space and grow its revenue streams. The group will tap on the fund to grow its content and creators’ platform and capabilities, expand its esports and gaming network, and develop content capabilities to serve regional commerce players in their direct-to-consumer efforts.
The investment comes as the Group witnessed a strong revenue performance in 2020 in its current markets, despite pandemic-driven challenges. According to the group, this was due to the rising demand for online content and advertising inventory, as brands pivot to a digital-first approach to reach the growing online customer base.
Mike Pusateri, founder and CEO, Bent Pixels said that it is looking forward to seeing how it can bring its partnership with the Group to greater heights, and deliver greater value for brands and esports creators in Southeast Asia. “We couldn’t have asked for a better partner to enter Asia Pacific than with Hepmil Media Group. Their track record in audience engagement and delivering effective results for brands in the consumer space is exactly the right expertise we need in cracking this highly challenging market, where there is no one-size-fits-all approach,” he added.
Hepmil Media Group, a Singapore-based technology-driven media company, announced Thursday a $10 million Series A funding round led by Quest Ventures, Pavilion Capital and Bent Pixels to support its expansion plans in the region.
Quest Ventures Partner Jeffrey Seah said, the digital content platforms have evolved into ecommerce marketplaces, community town squares and credit access outlets as the digital economy overhauls social compact and personal habits
With an increasingly digitalised audience in Southeast Asia, he said, consumers and organisations seek differentiated, alternative and now-current avenues to communicate, converse and convert.
“We have been impressed by the Hepmil Media Group founders and leadership bench for a while, and we feel that it is well-positioned to achieve its vision to become a key player in South East Asia’s media scene through its commitment in growing its diaspora footprint and professional services capabilities,” he said.
Hepmil Media Group, a Singapore-based, technology-driven media company, has announced a $10 million Series A round led by Quest Ventures, Pavilion Capital, and Bent Pixels, according to an announcement.
Founded in 2015, Hepmil Media Group runs popular digital content platforms such as SGAG, MGAG, PGAG as well as the digital creator agency Hepmil Creators’ Network (HCN). Hepmil Media Group has evolved to attain capabilities in technology and production, talent and cast management, as well as in providing media inventory specific to the e-sports sector in Southeast Asia.
The funding, Hepmil Media’s first from institutional investors since its founding in 2015, will be used to support its expansion plans in Southeast Asia. The company is targeting Vietnam and Thailand in its expansion plan next year.
“With an increasingly digitalised audience in Southeast Asia, consumers and organisations seek differentiated, alternative, and now-current avenues to communicate, converse and convert,” said Jeffrey Seah, partner, Quest Ventures.
Quest Ventures’s portfolio companies include unicorns and well-established forms such as Carro, Carousell, ShopBack, 99.co, and others. Most recently, Quest Ventures and Singapore-based maritime venture builder ShipsFocus jointly launched a $7.5 million (S$10 million) fund to invest in early-stage maritime startups.
Hepmil Media Group has raised a USD 10 million Series A round led by Quest Ventures, Pavilion Capital, and digital media company Bent Pixels.
In late 2019, Hepmil pivoted from publishing content to become a platform that now works with 300 content creators in four countries in Southeast Asia—Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It partners with content creators who have established sizable followings on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube and connects them with corporate clients. At the moment, Hepmil’s network of creators generates more than 3 billion views each month.
Mak and Ang believe in the “decentralization of media,” where many creators produce a range of content for mass consumption, rather than production power being concentrated with a few massive stakeholders.
Hepmil Media Group started as a Facebook page—SGAG—in 2011. The company is headquartered in Singapore and has been profitable since it was established.