Singapore-based venture capital fund Golden Gate Ventures reached the first close of its $50m second fund yesterday, securing $35m from limited partners including instant messaging company Naver and property developer Far East Organization.
Naver, the Korea-based owner of messaging app Line, and Far East, which invested through its Far East Ventures VC unit, were joined by investors including Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek, Netherlands-based family office Monitor Capital Partners and Eduardo Saverin.
Golden Gate seeks to bridge the gap between Silicon Valley and Asia, providing early-stage funding for startups operating in the consumer and small-to-medium sized business service sector.
The fund invests at seed, series A and bridge-stage, and its priorities include e-commerce, payment technology, online marketplaces, and software-as-a-service applications. It closed its $10m first fund in 2012.
Golden Gate has so far invested in 25 companies across seven Asian countries since 2011, including e-commerce app Carousell, app development system Nitrous.io and property search portal 99.co.