Arise, the Indonesia-based investment fund co-founded by telecoms firm Telkom Indonesia’s corporate venturing unit MDI Ventures, has achieved a first close thanks to limited partners including IT company Metrodata Electronics, according to DealStreetAsia.
LPs that have backed the first close also include unnamed corporates, family offices and private investors. The fund has a $40m target, but it is unclear how much has been secured to date.
Arise was formed by MDI Ventures in partnership with venture capital firm Finch Capital in November 2020. The fund aims to invest in 25 technology companies across Southeast Asia over the next three years, with at least five investments to be made by the end of this year.
The vehicle will invest between $250,000 and $3m per deal, and will also back very early-stage startups where founders are still formalising their ideas and building teams.
Arise’s network of partners, including MDI Ventures and its Centauri Fund, would then look to offer longer-term capital.
It is headed by Aldi Adrian Hartanto, vice-president of investments at MDI Ventures and a previous GCV Powerlist awardee, and Hans de Back, managing partner at Finch Capital.
Hartanto said: “Despite the significant influx of high-quality founders over the last decade, a disproportionate allocation of capital makes the situation more challenging for promising entrepreneurs to secure investments during the region’s economic slowdown.
“Startups backed by Arise should ideally go on to receive investment from Centauri at the series A stage, MDI Ventures at series B and later stages, and finally – in some cases – see a meaningful exit via acquisition with Telkom Group as one of the potential buyers or IPO.”
