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Kopital Ventures launches with $12m in first-round funding
The founding duo of the popular coffee chain Kopi Kenangan have launched their latest business, venture capital firm Kopital Ventures, amid a complicated market environment.
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Kopital Ventures cofounder James Prananto (left) and business partner Fandy Cendrajaya pose in an undated photo. The venture capital firm, which evolved from an informal group of angel investors called Kopital Network, was launched on Oct. 25, 2023. (Kopital Ventures/-)
K
opi Kenangan cofounder James Prananto and Fandy Cendrajaya, who also manage the Kopital Network, have completed their move into the venture capital (VC) space with the launch of Kopital Ventures on Wednesday.
The firm raised US$12 million in its first funding round, more than double the target of $5 million it had set, according to a statement.
Despite launching the firm at a time generally considered to be a drought for VC funding, Kopital Network expressed confidence and determination about its plans to invest in Southeast Asian start-ups.
“Though a prolonged tech winter might dissuade people with entrepreneurial dreams from taking a leap of faith, it also provides opportunities for us to back resilient founders aiming to build scalable companies with solid business fundamentals,” Fandy told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Innovation tended to happen during challenging times, he said.
This was the case with the establishment of several global tech giants during the last financial crisis, such as online home-sharing marketplace AirBnB in 2008, messaging apps Slack and WhatsApp in 2009 and ride-hailing firm Uber in 2010.
“We hope to be the first investors in the next wave of Southeast Asian unicorns,” Fandy said, using the term for start-ups valued at more than $1 billion.
