The firm said in a statement on Tuesday that the first fund of $110 million would be used to fund early-stage tech start-ups in Southeast Asia and India in the e-commerce, fintech, health-tech, agriculture-tech, education-tech and artificial intelligence- and data-driven technology domains.

Beenext founder and managing partner Teruhide Sato said that the firm has been engaging with potential founders despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We continue to see start-up founders pushing the boundaries to thrive in this environment. This means that solutions for a post-COVID world will also come from them,” he said in the statement. “Now more than ever, we feel the need to nurture the entrepreneurial ecosystem to ensure we bounce back as a strong community of founders.”

He went on to say that the other $50 million in funds would be allocated for software as a service (SaaS) business in Japan.

The new round of funding was backed by major institutional investors in the United States, Japanese corporations and global entrepreneurs. This fund marks the company’s fourth consecutive fund focused on emerging markets in Asia.

Since its establishment in 2015, the firm has invested in more than 180 start-ups across the globe, 45 of which are in Southeast Asia.

In Indonesia, Beenext has invested in fintech Amartha, furniture marketplace Dekoruma and edu-tech Zenius, among others. (eyc)