25/9/2019 – Beacon Venture Capital, the Thailand-based corporate venture capital arm of Kasikornbank, recently said that it has joined in the third VC fund of US fintech investor NYCA Partners that has closed at US$210 million.
NYCA Investment Fund III sees a global network of 21 institutional investors and notable figures in fintech and financial services industry, including Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) and Digital Ventures, the fintech subsidiary and venture capital arm of Siam Commercial Bank.
This third fund sees a 50% increase, following the second vehicle that was established in 2016 at US$140 million, while the firm’s first fund was set up in 2014 at US$30 million.
Founded in 2014 by a former Visa president Hans Morris, NYCA invests in companies where technology creates a distinctive competitive advantage in financial services ranging from banking, payments, and investing to insurance.
NYCA’s investment portfolio to date are mostly financial technology businesses such as PayRange, Trellis, and Affirm & Acorns.
Hans Morris, the Managing Partner of NYCA Partners said, “we meet innovators in all stages of early growth, and we are eager to unearth the next disruptor in all the many corners of financial services. By connecting our investors and advisors with fintech entrepreneurs, we aim to create a relationship that enables a more efficient and empowering financial system for all of us.”
Over the past five years, NYCA Partners said it has assembled a group of 55 limited partners advisors who help in analyzing prospective investments and provide deep assistance and expert advice to their portfolio companies to help entrepreneurs become more successful.
Beacon VC adds on to the point, stating that it believes in the partnership with NYCA, which is led by a team of former C-level executives from major financial institutions, including Citibank, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, and Visa.
With these networks, the company is more than capable in terms of access to the fintech firms that will offer value to its holding company as well as the Thai market in general.
Beacon VC managing partner Thanapong Na Ranong said, “through the collaboration, we will bring innovation from the Fintech worldwide to Thailand, insights from NYCA’s global network of investors and advisors to KBank, and portfolio management best practices from NYCA to Beacon VC.”
As a matter of fact, NYCA is the fourth VC fund investment made by Beacon VC, following Southeast Asia-based fintech fund Dymon Asia Ventures, Singapore-based growth-stage fund Vertex Ventures, and Thailand-based education technology accelerator StormBreaker Venture.
Beacon VC has actively made direct investments in startups across Southeast Asia, including neobank application Aspire Financial Technologies, global cross-border payment company InstaReM, and ride-hailing and financial services unicorn Grab.
In March 2019, the VC firm has also made an investment in Horganice, a cloud-based rental properties management solutions for apartments, dormitories, and markets.
