Gobi Partners Closes US$10M Malaysian Startups-focused Fund

Pan-Asian venture capital firm Gobi Partners announced the closing of its US$10 million Gobi SuperSeed II (Gobi SSII) Fund following the participation of Allianz Malaysia as a Limited Partner (LP).

Other LPs backing the Gobi SSII Fund are institutional investors Malaysia Venture Capital Management (MAVCAP) and Sunway Group.

The Gobi SSII Fund targets early-stage local startups focused on artificial intelligence, big data, cloud, e-commerce, fintech, internet of things, and halal-economy.

Given the early-stage nature of the fund, the Gobi SSII Fund can invest in up to 25 portfolio companies.

Gobi has raised 15 funds to date with US$1.5 billion in assets under management, invested in over 320 startups and nurtured nine unicorns.

Thomas G. Tsao, Co-founder and Chairman, Gobi said: "Allianz Malaysia is one of the very few corporates that has been at the forefront in driving digital innovation in Malaysia, and as one of the earliest regional VCs to set up shop in Malaysia, Gobi is very proud to have them on board as one of our key LPs. We believe that both the fund and the portfolio companies will benefit substantially from Allianz's ecosystem locally here in Malaysia as well as globally."

Sean Wang, Chief Executive Officer at Allianz Malaysia said: "Our general insurance arm, Allianz General Insurance Company (Malaysia) Berhad, was an early partner of insurance technology firm PolicyStreet and online property rental platform SPEEDHOME (both established in 2017), which are two of Gobi's portfolio companies. So, we are delighted to join Gobi Partners as one of their LPs. This is our first investment in a VC, and we look forward to the milestones we can accomplish together."