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Indonesia-Only VC Raises Smaller Fund as Startup Industry Wilts

Heavy traffic on a street during the morning rush hour in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. To slow down the sinking and ease the pressure on Jakarta, Indonesia has restricted the extraction of groundwater as well as pushed for the creation of a capital city. President Joko Widodo expects to celebrate the nation’s independence day on Aug. 17 in the new capital city called Nusantara, increasing pressure on officials to get the developments completed in time. Photographer: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg (Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Intudo Ventures, an Indonesian venture capital firm, raised $75 million for its fourth fund, downsizing from its previous one as Southeast Asia’s startup industry shrinks.

The new fund, Intudo Ventures IV, will invest in more than a dozen young Indonesian startups across sectors and help them expand globally, founding partners Eddy Chan and Patrick Yip said in an interview. The firm had previously obtained $144 million for its third fund and has also raised a separate $50 million fund to invest in areas including renewable energy.

“We don’t believe Indonesia, Southeast Asia can support a fund in excess of $90 million,” Chan said. “The market has pulled back by about 45%.”

A cloudy global economic outlook has battered tech companies’ valuations, and venture firms have been struggling to raise capital amid a depressed market for initial public offerings. Southeast Asia remains a challenging market for raising equity, as many of its still-unprofitable startups are deemed high-risk by the world’s venture investors.

Now, money will go extremely far in the market and the startup industry is becoming more capital-efficient, said Chan, adding that the firm’s initial investment into a company will range from $1 million to $10 million.

Since Intudo Ventures debuted in 2017, more capital has been flowing into Southeast Asia, helping regional and local VC firms to raise bigger funds. Intudo said it will stick to its roots as an early stage VC firm that concentrates squarely on Indonesia.

Investors in Intudo’s new fund include more than 30 Indonesian families and their conglomerates, and Black Kite Capital, the family office of Singaporean investor Koh Boon Hwee. Its portfolio companies include telemedicine startup Halodoc, coffee retailer Common Grounds and fintech company Xendit.

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