Venture capital firm Ascend Vietnam Ventures (AVV) has announced it has exceeded the $50 million target for its flagship early-stage venture capital fund, AVV Alpha.
DealStreetAsia had earlier reported that AVV was said to be raising a $50-million vehicle.
Led by Binh Tran and Eddie Thai, who have worked together since 2015, founding and running 500 Startups’ Vietnam-focused fund, AVV Alpha is seeking the next wave of globally iconic startups emerging from Vietnam.
The fund will be seeding up to $2 million into 25 startups by next year and following up with cheques of up to $5 million.
AVV Alpha’s limited partners include a mix of investors from Asia, Europe and the US, such as development finance institutions, fund of funds such as Capria and Blue Future Partners, and high net worth individuals from leading local and regional companies.
To date, the fund has invested in eight startups, including Kilo (SaaS and wholesale marketplace); Virtual Internships (remote internship placement and management platform); T&C Logistics (e-commerce fulfilment platform starting in Vietnam), and Mandu (social commerce platform focused on reseller enablement).
AVV has also committed to backing diverse founders led to the development of the SHINE women founder initiatives, launched in partnership with the Australian Government’s Investing in Women initiative.
Since its inception in early 2021, SHINE has organised training, mentoring and community-building programmes for 60+ women entrepreneurs and executives, helping them advance their growth, people and leadership, and capital strategies as well as expand their support network.
DealStreetAsia had an exclusive chat with Eddie Thai and Binh Tran to know more about the launch of AVV Alpha’s investment plan amid the global economic slowdown.
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