Lightspeed is joining other US investors including Vulcan Capital in boosting their investments in Southeast Asia. With deepening mobile penetration and an emergent middle class, the region has given birth to tech giants such as Grab, Gojek and Tokopedia in the past decade.
“We are excited to see the first generation of high value companies that have come out of Singapore and Indonesia,” Bhushan said in an interview. “Coupled with a strong digital adoption, the region is the fourth-largest internet market, so we wanted to work closely with our entrepreneurs as we make more investments.”
Lightspeed will focus on seed, Series A and Series B investments – ranging between US$500,000 and US$20 million – on areas including enterprise software, consumer internet and financial technology, he added.
The firm’s four-member Southeast Asia team includes Bejul Somaia, a 12-year company veteran who played a key role in setting up the firm’s operations in India and its investments in Oyo Rooms and Udaan. The other two executives are Pinn Lawjindakul, who formerly worked at Grab and Tiger Global Management in Singapore, and Marsha Sugana, who previously served at L Catterton and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
