Gree Ventures Announces Availability of $50M Investment Fund for Startups in Japan and Southeast Asia

Japanese investment company Green Venturesannounce closing the first round of funding and opening the second round of investments aimed at Series A funding for startups in Japan and Southeast Asia totaling $50 million (approximately IDR 572 billion). In Indonesia alone, Gree Ventures has entered Series A investments into four startups, namely Pricearea, Bukalapak, Berrybenka, and Urbanindo.

According to the press release, the funding provided by Gree Ventures for this round for each startup could be worth $1 million (Rp 11 billion) to $3 million (Rp 34 billion), with Gree Ventures being the main investor. This investment, called the AT-I Investment Limited Partnership, was collected from various institutions in Japan, including Gree (its parent company), SME Support Japan, Credit Saison, Ateam Inc, and Mizuho Capital.

In particular, Gree Ventures said it was looking for opportunities for startups engaged in the Internet consumers, mobile services, marketing technology, and service-based sectors cloud.

Since its establishment in December 2011, Gree Ventures has been one of the most aggressive Asian investors in providing funding to potential startups in Japan and Southeast Asia. They claimed to have met with 800 startups and provided funding in total to 13 startups. Interestingly, the composition of the recipient countries of Gree Ventures' first round of funding is 8 from Japan, 4 from Indonesia, and another from Singapore. Singapore startup Luxola, which received funding from Gree Ventures, also has significant presence in Indonesia for the beauty product market.

Reflecting on the first round of funding, it means that Indonesian startups have a more than 30% chance of getting investment from Gree Ventures, given the huge potential for Internet-based businesses in the country. Three Indonesian startups that received funding from Gree Ventures have businesses based on or related to E-commerce, while Urbanindo focuses on vertical media related to marketplace property. Pricearea, which is engaged in e-commerce product price comparison services, even just announced it acquired by Yello Mobile South Korea.

This funding is the second "good news" for startups looking to grow and need external funding, following Singapore-based Monk's Hill Ventures as well. announced readiness to fund S$100 million (Rp 914 billion) for startups in Southeast Asia. In contrast to Monk's Hill, which targets the investment segment of early seed funding to Series B funding, Gree Ventures focuses on Series A funding only.

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