500 Startups announces $10mn Vietnam
fund
A 500 Startups-backed
event is seen in this photo posted on the company's Facebook on March 1, 2016.
500
Startups will invest a total of US$10 million in Vietnam’s startup ecosystem,
the U.S.-based startup incubator announced on Tuesday.
The
latest regional round of micro-funding will earmark 100-150 investments in
Vietnam-connected startups, including in teams addressing local market needs
and groups that are tackling the overseas market, according to the
announcement.
The
checks will typically be up to $100,000, but may be as high as $250,000.
500
Startups is the $100 million Silicon Valley venture capital fund best known
for its incubator program for young companies.
In
addition to financing, portfolio companies get access to 500 Startups’
international network of 3,000 mentors and founders, $1.5 million of credits
with partners like Amazon and Facebook, and other support to help them scale
their business.
The
fund said it believes there are many interesting near-term investment
opportunities in business-to-business and enterprise software-as-a-service
(SAAS), financial technology, and e-commerce.
Peter Nguyen, founder of Buzzmetrics, a Ho Chi Minh City-based startup, guides his employees at the company's office. Photo: Tuoi Tre
“500
Startups plans to work together with Vietnamese investors and the local tech
community to build a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem,” 500 Startups founding
partner Dave McClure said in a statement.
The
fund will be led by venture partners Binh Tran and Eddie Thai, who joined 500
Startups last year to lead the firm’s Vietnam efforts, according to the
announcement.
McClure
said Vietnam is a vibrant and growing country, with many talented
entrepreneurs and engineers, adding that Eddie and Binh are “experienced
operators who combine Silicon Valley know-how with Vietnamese hustle, and
they are going to invest aggressively in the best and brightest founders all
over the country.”
Why Vietnam?
500
Startups also listed several reasons as to why Vietnam has been chosen for
this $10 million micro-fund.
“Vietnam
has more people than California, New York, and Florida combined, and more
than 40 million of them are on the Internet,” the announcement reads.
“It
is one of the world’s fastest growing economies and has been Apple’s fastest
growing market in the world.”
Vietnam
was recently ranked number three in U.S. News’s “Best Countries to Invest In”
list thanks to developments like the agreement on the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, inexpensive labor costs, and growing consumer spending,
according to 500 Startups.
Apple
co-founder Steve Wozniak, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and other notable tech leaders have
visited Vietnam in the last few months alone, it added.
500
Startups said it hopes to become the most active Silicon Valley seed stage
venture capital firm in Vietnam and to build on the pioneering efforts of IDG
Ventures Vietnam, DFJ VinaCapital and others to develop the Vietnamese
startup ecosystem.
“We
will be working with Anh-Minh Do, one of Vietnam’s most prominent ecosystem
developers [who is] notably plugged into the startup scene in Vietnam as the
former Vietnam Editor for Tech in Asia,” the
company said.
Tran Tuan Anh, founder of Ticketbox, an online ticketing platform backed by 500 Startups, speaks to team members at the company's office. Photo: Tuoi Tre
500
Startups has already invested in several Vietnam-connected companies,
including Ipsy, the beauty startup co-founded by Michelle Phan that closed a
$100 million Series B last year; Lightbox, a social photography app acquired
by Facebook; and DataRank, a social intelligence platform acquired by Simply
Measured.
Binh
Tran is a San Francisco-based technologist with more than 20 years of
experience. His most recent win was Klout, which pioneered influencer
marketing and was acquired in 2014 at a $200 million valuation. He was ranked
in Business Insider’s “Silicon Valley 100” list in 2013 and “26 Up-and-Coming
Tech Entrepreneurs You Need to Watch” in 2012.
Eddie
Thai is a Vietnam-based businessman with more than six years of experience in
strategy and finance for companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500
corporations across tech, media, telecommunications, and others. He was
recognized in the Forbes Vietnam 30 Under 30 List in 2015 and invited to the
World Economic Forum’s Davos conference in 2016. He received degrees from
Harvard and Yale.
TUOI TRE NEWS
|
Thứ Tư, 9 tháng 3, 2016
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