Golden Gate Ventures makes inroad into Malaysian market

Singapore's Golden Gate Ventures has announced today the opening of its Malaysian office in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia is the third and latest location in Southeast Asia for Golden Gate Ventures, after Singapore and Indonesia.

Some firms they have invested in are GoQuo (airline e-commerce and customer relations platforms), ServisHero (e-marketplace for finding home-repair and maintenance specialists), Carousell (C2C buying and selling), Codapay (mobile/online payment gateway) and Homage (home-based care-giving platform).

Golden Gate Ventures Managing Partner Vinnie Lauria said the firm’s expansion into Malaysia was done to solidify its on-the-ground presence here.

“Several factors make this country an excellent place for technology start-ups," said Lauria.

“We already have good Malaysian tech companies in our portfolio and we want to find more," he added.

The firm also highlighted Malaysia’s diverse mix of ethnic and cultural influences as strategic.

For Golden Gate Ventures Partner Justin Hall, this, alongside the nation’s consistently growing economy, makes it a microcosm of the greater Southeast Asian economy.

“With the diversity of its people, culture and economy; Malaysia is truly Asia, and thus makes it the perfect platform for businesses to expand across ASEAN," said Hall.

“What this means for a start-up is that if you can make it in Malaysia, you can make it anywhere in Southeast Asia," he quipped.

What makes Golden Gate Ventures unique?

Established in 2011, Golden Gate Ventures is arguably Singapore’s most established venture capital firm.

Golden Gate Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm investing across Southeast Asia. The firm is led by experienced Silicon Valley investors and has built a portfolio comprising 40 companies in over seven countries in Asia; which include internet and mobile start-ups within e-commerce, payments, marketplaces, mobile applications, and SaaS platforms.

Having already utilised a quarter of its Fund II in early-stage tech companies that are based in or operating in Malaysia, the firm now plans to invest another RM75 million to help back Malaysian based start-ups.

In addition to its regional expansion, Golden Gate Ventures recently closed a US$100 million Fund III and opened a special fund to invest in blockchain technologies and digital-currency start-ups.

All the firm’s investments are made in early-stage companies that use IT as well as internet and mobile technologies, and the firm’s investing experience is supported by an advisory board that includes Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin.