Openspace Ventures Welcomes New Team Members and Announces First Investment from OSV+
SINGAPORE, Sept. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Openspace Ventures, focused on investing in technology opportunities in Southeast Asia since 2014, is pleased to welcome new senior members to its team as it expands its platform during a dynamic phase of ongoing development for the region.
Jessica Huang Pouleur will be joining Openspace as Executive Director and as a Member of the Investment Committee of OSV+. Jessica has been focused on Southeast Asian opportunities in TMT for over ten years. Most recently, she was Head of Strategy & Business Development, Asia Pacific for The Walt Disney Company, based in Singapore (including Southeast Asia, India, Greater China, Japan, Australasia and the Middle East). In this capacity, Jessica led and oversaw strategic initiatives and managed Disney's investment and M&A activity across Asia-Pacific including key aspects of its US$71bn acquisition of 21st Century Fox. Prior to that she was with Providence Equity Partners for ten years, including most recently as Director based in Singapore leading the evaluation and management of growth-stage investment opportunities across the Southeast Asian region.
"Southeast Asia is evolving rapidly as a market and my experience at Disney and Providence has given me great perspective on the exciting opportunity set. Good investment opportunities start with clear understanding of diverse regional consumer dynamics supported by relevant product development and leading technology. I am excited to join Openspace where I have known the Partners for a long time and watched with admiration as their team has helped build some of the best companies in the region," said Jessica.
Aristo Setiawidjaja will be joining Openspace as Senior Advisor - Indonesia. He is a Board member and Managing Director of Hermina Hospitals, the largest private hospital network in Indonesia. Prior to that, he was a Director at Olympus Capital and the Head of Indonesia - Investment Banking at Daiwa. Coming from operations background at Kohler Company, he started his finance career at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York. He is also active in the Executive Committee of the impact chapter of Young President's Organization (YPO).
"As we deal with the new normal due to COVID and rethink how daily life will change in its aftermath, there are plenty of emerging opportunities in Indonesia and the region. I am looking forward to contributing my perspectives to Openspace in sectors it is investing, which coincide with my domain knowledge of the sectors," commented Aristo.
The joining of Jessica and Aristo coincides with the first investment to be made by Openspace out of OSV+, a newly established Opportunity Fund focused on mid-stage technology investing. OSV+ will primarily participate in mid-stage rounds in existing Openspace portfolio companies which are attracting strong mid-stage investor interest. It will also selectively make new growth-stage deals in investments that can benefit from the Openspace approach to supporting technology and strategy development across Southeast Asia. The first investment of OSV+ will be in Biofourmis, a leading global healthtech company which recently announced a US$100mn Series C with leading investors Softbank, Sequoia India and MassMutual Ventures. Openspace led the Series A in 2017 and participated in the Series B in 2019 and is one of the largest non-management shareholders in the business.
"Openspace is now operating four funds across the region with a team of 25 diverse individuals delivering on the unique requirements of technology investing in Southeast Asia. We welcome our new team members who add to this diversity and skill set. The investment environment is attractive during this phase and we will keep executing on our busy pipeline," said Shane Chesson, Founding Partner at Openspace.
About Openspace Ventures
Openspace Ventures focuses on investments in technology companies based in Southeast Asia. It operates out of offices in Singapore, Jakarta and Bangkok with a team of 25 people across 10 different nationalities. Since launching in 2014, Openspace Ventures is now managing over US$350mn of total committed capital across three funds focused on Series A/B opportunities. Openspace Fund I has been identified as a top 5% global performer by Cambridge Associates and Preqin compared to global benchmarks. It also operates OSV+ which is an Opportunity Fund addressing the mid-stage technology opportunity in Southeast Asia with a focus on follow-ons from existing portfolio and new situations relevant to Openspace technology operations and regional value-add. Openspace has invested in 30 companies across the region including Gojek, Halodoc, Biofourmis, FinAccel, Love, Bonito, Tanihub, Tradegecko, Kumu and Whispir. More information on Openspace can be found on www.openspace.vc.
SOURCE Openspace Ventures
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