The investment provides 360° support across capital, talent and business development to accelerate Vietnam's startup ecosystem at critical inflection point
Vietnam Venture Summit 2022, hosted by Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment and co-organized by Vietnam National Innovation Center (NIC) and Golden Gate Ventures, a venture capital fund in Southeast Asia (SEA) founded by Silicon Valley natives, closed on a high with an alliance of over 40 Venture Capital firms pledging over US$1.5 billion in investment into Vietnam's startup ecosystem over the next few years. The commitment is backed by over 40 Venture Capital firms spanning Korea, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, the US, and Vietnam (full list of firms can be found in the Appendix).
Themed Shifting Global Capital Flows, this third edition of the Vietnam Venture Summit drew the largest gathering of Vietnam's top political leaders, global investors, founders, international tech giants and venture capital firms to discuss the future of SEA's startup ecosystem and, in particular, Vietnam's growing importance on the regional and global scale as an investment magnet. The diversity of sponsors - Google Cloud, Marcum Asia, HSBC, Techcombank and Do Ventures - demonstrates the strong support Vietnam is receiving from a breadth of ecosystem players.
Against the uncertain global outlook, emerging and developing Asia is predicted to witness the highest GDP growth of 4.9% in 2023, topping all other global regions[1]; SEA attracted US$174 billion in foreign direct investment in 2021[2]; and SEA-focused VC funds raised US$3.1B so far in 2022, nearing the US$3.5B they raised in all of 2021.
In particular, Vietnam shines ever brighter against the region's positive outlook, with Vietnamese startups raising a record US$1.4 billion across 165 deals in 2021 and the momentum expected to continue into 2023 with an anticipated GDP growth of 6.7 per cent in 2023[3].
This optimistic atmosphere was underscored by an international alliance of venture capitalists pledging US$1.5 billion in investment to be deployed across equity investment, business development, talent development, corporate debt, and capital development. The 360° support is meant to help Vietnamese startups sustain growth and compete not only with other startups in the region, but on a global stage. This is crucial for building the next generation of unicorns that will list on international exchanges.
"Vietnam is at a crucial inflection point in its development as a startup ecosystem – not just within SEA but on the global stage. The over US$1.5 billion investment pledge reflects the global community's commitment to accelerate Vietnam's development at this critical juncture – it's time to double down on Vietnam's huge potential," said Vinnie Lauria, Founding Partner, Golden Gate Ventures.
"The mood for the first Vietnam Venture Summit in 2019 was extremely bullish about this country's development. Three years on, on the back of a two-year global pandemic and uncertain economic outlook, Vietnam has lived up to its potential to step into the limelight as one of the key growth drivers for the region," said Vy Le, General Partner, Do Ventures.
"The Vietnam Venture Summit is as much about action as it is about high-level strategic directions that will shape the market's and the region's future. The panel discussions and startup presentations dive into the real opportunities in the market and how investors, the government and founders need to collaborate for success," said Jacky Nguyen, CEO, Chotot.
About Golden Gate Ventures
Golden Gate Ventures is a Southeast Asian venture capital firm that brings together knowledge and experience from Silicon Valley with passion and ambition for Southeast Asia. For over a decade we've proudly backed some of the region's most audacious founders and had the privilege of being part of Southeast Asia's incredible growth story. Golden Gate Ventures was founded in 2011 by American and Singaporean co-founders, Vinnie Lauria and Jeff Paine, and is headquartered in Singapore with offices in Indonesia and Vietnam. Golden Gate Ventures has launched 4 funds with US$250M AUM, invested in 70+ companies and has 9 unicorns across its portfolio. For more information, visit goldengate.vc.
About NIC
The National Innovation Center (NIC) is an agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment with the function of developing innovation and startup ecosystems, contributing to model innovation. growth based on innovation, science and technology, and new business models; support and improve the innovation and digital transformation capacity of enterprises to increase labor productivity and competitiveness of the economy. NIC acts as a leading innovation hub under four main pillars:
Create an attractive business environment, and a professional workspace to attract leading domestic and international innovative enterprises economically.
Create, connect, and build an open innovation ecosystem with a focus on innovative businesses and start-ups.
Research and propose outstanding mechanisms and policies, and experimental legal frameworks (sandboxes) to encourage innovation activities nationwide, ensuring competitiveness in the region and internationally.
Attract resources, investment funds, and talented human resources to support innovative businesses and start-ups in attracting investment, transferring technology, and commercializing products.
Appendix
List of investors that pledged during the Vietnam Venture Summit 2022
Altara Ventures
Antler
AppWorks
Ascend Vietnam Ventures
BEENEXT
Clime Capital
Cocoon Capital
Crescent Point
d.camp
Do Ventures
FEBE Ventures
fram^
Galaxy Digital Holdings
Golden Gate Ventures
Incubate Fund
Integra Partners
IT-Farm
KASIKORN VISION
KBTG
KKFund
Lotte Ventures
Monk's Hill Ventures
Nextrans
Openspace Ventures
Orzon Ventures
Palm Drive Capital
Partech Partners
Patamar Capital
Quest Ventures
Shinhan Securities Vietnam
STI - Simple Tech Investment
STIC Investments
SWC Global
Tekton Ventures
ThinkZone
TNB Aura
Touchstone Partners
VIC Partners
VinaCapital Ventures
VSV Capital
ZWC Partners