Genesis Alternative Ventures, a private lender to ventures and growth-stage companies, is looking to raise US$150 million ($209.1 million) for a second fund to finance startups across Southeast Asia.
The Singapore-based firm has raised almost half of the fund at first close this month, with commitments from existing investors including Sassoon Investment Corp., Aozora Bank, Korea Development Bank, Mizuho Leasing and Silverhorn, Genesis said in a statement Thursday. Israeli investment firm OurCrowd Ltd. has joined as a new backer.
Venture lending, or loans offered to startups, has attracted growing interest in recent quarters as companies tap the debt market for capital rather than raising money at a lower equity valuation. Valuations for startups have been falling as they gather fresh funds amid stock market volatility, reversing years of soaring growth.
“We are seeing an increasing number of companies coming to venture lenders for debt financing,” Jeremy Loh, co-founder and managing partner of Genesis, said in a joint interview with co-founders Ben Benjamin and Martin Tang. “In the past 24 months, it has been burn, burn, burn to gain market access. Now for many VCs, the path to profitability has become a very high priority. The market reset is a good thing in general.”
The company’s first US$90 million fund has financed 25 startups from Series A to pre-IPO in Southeast Asia. Its portfolio companies include Sunnyvale, California-based Matterport Inc. and Jakarta-based online lender Akulaku Inc.
