200m Fund

Sep 20, 2023

Wednesday, Sep 20, 2023 Share to: Indonesian VC funds ARISE and Centauri Fund have merged to form Ascent Venture Group, with a corpus of US$200 million. The fund will invest in 25 high-potential, early-stage, tech-enabled companies focused on Indonesia and the rest of Southeast Asia with a “thesis-driven” approach. The key focus sectors are MSME enablement, financial service digitalisation, and neo-consumer, climate, and healthcare across Southeast Asia. The venture platform has four partners, ten investment professionals, and supporting staff across Jakarta, Singapore, and Seoul offices. Ascent is managed by serial entrepreneurs and investors Aldi Adrian Hartanto, Hans De Back, Kenneth Li, and Eric (Jung Ho) Yoo (representing KB Investments). Prior to the merger, ARISE and Centauri were established in 2019 through a collaboration between MDI Ventures and KB Investment. These two funds have invested in 30 companies, including Agriaku, Evermos, Qoala, Paxel, and Fishlog. While the prior funds remain separate and are fully deployed, portfolio companies will now have access to the combined partnership to support their growth. “Our goal was to consolidate our resources and network of ecosystems to build a platform of exponential value that can strengthen our ‘thesis-driven’ strategy and provide significant product-market fit support to our portfolio founders as they seed and scale successful businesses across Indonesia,” said Aldi Adrian Hartanto, Managing Partner at Ascent Venture Group. “In addition, Ascent’s close relationship with prominent growth-stage investment groups like KB Investment and MDI Ventures enables additional support for portfolios with later-stage capital as the companies enter marginal profit or business-model fit.”