Singapore venture capital firm raises $210 million to invest in regional start-ups

• Vertex Ventures, which calls itself Singapore's largest venture capital firm, has raised $210 million to invest in start-ups around Southeast Asia and India
• The figure is bigger than the company's original target size of $150 million

Vertex Ventures, the venture capital arm of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, said it has raised a $210 million fund to invest in Southeast Asian and Indian startups, exceeding its original target size of $150 million.

Vertex plans to continue its strategy of investing in early-stage technology companies in Southeast Asia and India across enterprise technology, financial technology and consumer internet, it said in a statement.

A woman passes a Grab signage at their office in Singapore.

Edgar Su | Reuters

Vertex was an early investor in ride-hailing firm Grab. In July, Grab announced a $2.5 billion fundraising round, which a source said values it at $6 billion.

Vertex's recent investments include SpaceMob, which has been acquired by co-working space startup WeWork, remittance payments firm InstaRem and digital marketer Synup.

The combined Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India team operates out of three main offices in Singapore, Bangalore and Jakarta.

"In addition to our current offices, we will expand our presence to other SEA cities in the near future to better access local opportunities," Joo Hock Chua, managing partner, said.

The new fund is Vertex's third for the region, but the first with external investors. Vertex's previous two funds for Southeast Asia were fully funded by Temasek Holdings.