KUALA LUMPUR (June 26): OSK-SBI Venture Partners Ltd (OSK-SBI), a joint venture between OSK Ventures International Bhd (KL:OSKVI) and SBI Holdings Inc, has launched its second venture capital fund to invest in category-defining companies across Southeast Asia.

In a statement on Wednesday, OSK-SBI said the first close of US$20 million (RM94.15 million) in capital commitments highlights the continued strength of the cross-region collaboration between OSKVI and Japan-based SBI Holdings.

It said active fundraising for Fund 2 is ongoing, with the target to hit final close of capital commitments of US$40 million.

SBI Ventures Malaysia Sdn Bhd (SBIVM) managing director Yoshihiro Ishiwata said this may represent the start-up ecosystem’s second act, as the community of experienced founders and employees grows, business models strengthen, and technological innovation increases to tackle Asean’s most pressing issues.

SBIVM and OSKVI brought together their multi-decade track records of investing in Asean technology start-ups and growth companies with the establishment of their inaugural fund back in 2018.

Fund 1 has since grown its investment portfolio to include category leading companies, such as Doctor Anywhere, which provides healthcare to over 2.5 million users in six countries; Sunday Insurance, one of the region’s largest insurtechs with over US$100 million in revenue; and Java Offshore, whose clients include many of the world’s largest oil and gas companies.

OSK-SBI said the successive fund will be investing across a broad range of technology sectors, such as healthcare, financial services, enterprise software, education, environmental and renewable energy.

Consistent with the firm’s strategy over the inaugural fund, investments will span company stages from Series A to pre-initial public offering, and include follow-on funding for portfolio companies to support their journey.

Meanwhile, OSKVI chief executive officer Amelia Ong said the company is driven by a vision to empower innovation, accelerate growth, and facilitate many of these start-ups’ ‘second act’.

“Our commitment to fostering the region's brightest talents and groundbreaking ideas reflects our belief in the transformative power of technology to shape the future,” she said.

For its debut investment, OSK-SBI is spearheading a growth-stage funding round for Allrites (allrites.com), a global marketplace for film, TV, and sports content. This platform enables broadcasters and streaming services to purchase content from both major Hollywood studios and independent producers. Founded by ex-television producer Riaz Mehta, the content-as-a-service (CaaS) platform boasts a library exceeding 150,000 hours of content, serving customers across five continents.