Singaporean venture capital group Insignia Ventures secures US$200M second fund, to back early-stage tech startups in the region
Insignia Ventures Partners, Singapore-based venture capital group announces that it has closed an oversubscribed second fund at US$200 million, The Business Times reported. Insignia noted that the partners of the fund include premier institutional investors such as sovereign wealth funds, university endowments, foundations, and renowned family offices from Asia, Europe, and North America.
“With Insignia Ventures Fund II, we are doubling down on early-stage technology in South-east Asia. Insignia’s call to adventure from day one has been to nurture the growth of early-stage companies in Southeast Asia. We do not see this change moving forward, especially as there is more smart capital and top talent flowing into the region that spurs the formation of great companies,” said ex-Sequoia venture partner Tan Yinglan, founding managing partner of Insignia.
The VC group’s first fund was finalised at US$120 million in February 2018. At that time, the number marked the largest ever maiden vehicle by a VC firm in Southeast Asia, behind Vickers Ventures (which recently raised US$230 million for its fifth fund), and Vertex Ventures (which last year closed its third fund at US$210 million).
Insignia Ventures quickly followed with about US$1 million seed investment to Stoqo Teknologi Indonesia, a SaaS marketplace for food & beverages businesses. This was Insignia’s second investment, following its lead investment in Indonesian co-working spaces chain EV Hive in September last year.
Afterward, in March 2018, Insignia Ventures made another investment to logistic tech startup based in Vietnam, LOGIVAN, a US$600,000 investment initiated by Tan Yinglan himself.
Insignia has won the Singapore Venture Capital & Private Equity Association’s “VC Deal of the Year” for two years in a row for its investment into automotive marketplace Carro in 2018 and this year into Indonesian fintech firm Payfazz.