East Ventures, a venture capital firm in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, and SV Investment, a publicly listed venture capital and private equity firm headquartered in South Korea, have on Monday announced the first close of their $100 million Southeast Asia fund.

The duo said in a statement that this first closing is backed by leading investors from Korea and Indonesia.

With anchor capital from the Korea Development Bank (KDB), Korea’s state-owned development bank, and strategic commitment from one of the world’s leading neobanks, the fund is committed to building on the track record and outsized performance delivered by both East Ventures and SV Investment to-date.

The fund continues to engage with investors and is on track to achieve final closing by mid-2025.

Collaboratively managed by the leading venture capital firms from both countries, the fund is ready to deploy.

East Ventures and SV Investment are actively engaged in identifying high-potential tech startups in Southeast Asia and South Korea seeking to grow their businesses at scale across both regions.

The fund expects to invest in revenue-generating startups, ideally raising Series-A to B funding, with $1 million to $3 million cheque sizes as lead investor on high-conviction opportunities driven by exceptional founders.

“This first close marks a significant milestone in our shared commitment to fostering cross-border collaboration and investment between Southeast Asia and South Korea,” said Roderick Purwana, Managing Partner at East Ventures.

“We are deeply grateful for the anchor support from our early limited partners and are excited about the opportunities ahead,

“Together with SV Investment, we are committed to forging a productive and healthy Southeast Asia for today, tomorrow, and for generations to come,” he added.

Meanwhile, David Junghun Bang, Managing Partner at SV Investment, said that the fund will play a pivotal role in strengthening ties and bridging the gap between Southeast Asia and South Korea.

“Together with East Ventures, we are strongly committed to generating valuable synergy for both regions as South Korea will have increasing opportunities to expand into one of the fastest-growing and largest markets, while Southeast Asia will benefit from the adoption of advanced technology from South Korea and drive its economy to next level,” he added.

Founded in 2009 in Indonesia, East Ventures has raised nine funds focusing on Southeast Asia.

The firm has invested in over 300 seed and growth-stage tech companies, recording strong financial returns and creating positive social and environmental impacts.

East Ventures is an early backer of prominent tech companies in the region, such as Tokopedia, Traveloka, Ruangguru, ShopBack, Waresix, Xendit, IDN, Sociolla, Fore Coffee, Tech in Asia (acquired by SPH), Kudo (acquired by Grab), Loket (acquired by Gojek), and MokaPOS (acquired by Gojek).

Founded in 2006, SV Investment is one of the fastest-growing Korean venture capital firms, making leading investments in game-changing companies including HYBE (BTS’ management agency).

The firm invests abroad with overseas branches in Singapore, Boston in the United States, Shanghai, and Shenzhen in China.

The firm has been one of the most active Korean independent venture capital in Southeast Asia.

It currently manages more than $1.5 billion in assets under management, invested across the company’s venture capital and private equity funds.

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