AC Ventures (ACV), a venture firm focused on early stage startups in Indonesia and the rest of Southeast Asia, has reached the first close of its fifth investment fund (Fund V). The fund is targeting $250 million and has raised 65 percent of that capital so far, mostly from limited partners who invested in ACVs previous funds. Fund V has already made five investments, including SkorLife, IDEAL & Atma.
Founded in 2014, ACVs portfolio now has over 120 investments in Indonesia and the rest of Southeast Asia. Some noteworthy companies include Xendit, Carsome, Stockbit, Ula, Shipper & Aruna. Its team has grown to 35 people, with most based in Indonesia, but ACV also recently established Singapore & Malaysia offices. Half of ACV's leadership team are women and across its portfolio that figure is 40 percent. ACV recently hired Helen Wong as managing partner. Wong previously worked at GGV & Qiming Ventures and has served on the boards of startups like Tudou & Mobike. The firm is sector-agnostic, but many of its investments are in fintech, logistics, e-Commerce, MSME and consumer technology. Fund V will also focus on new themes including climate tech.
The firm's check size in early-stage companies is typically $2 million, and it reserves a large part of each fund for follow-on investments. "Broadly speaking, we are investing in the digitization of Indonesia and the Southeast Asia economy", ACV Co-Founder & Managing Partner Adrian Li told TechCrunch. "Last year, Indonesia's digital GDP was $70 billion and that's expected to grow to over $350 billion in the next five to six years. Through our experience of investing over past funds, we've also developed expertise, particularly around commerce opportunities, fintech and micro and small enterprises. Each of these thematic areas represents really deep pools of revenue potential and we're seeing a lot of ways in which digital adoption can truly make things more efficient, cost less and create value for all the stakeholders in these verticals".
In addition to Southeast Asia, Fund V's LPs come from North Asia, the US, the Middle East & Europe. Adrian said global investors are drawn to Southeast Asia as it continues to show evidence of being a maturing market, with the successful IPOs of unicorns like GoTo and Bukalapak, an increase in later stage capital and more secondary exits. With its focus on early stage companies, ACV is often the first institutional investor in startups.