500 TukTuks, a Thailand-focussed micro fund from the Silicon Valley-based 500 Startups stables, is considering either expanding its fund size from $12 million to $15 million or raising a second vehicle to inject more money into Thai startups.
“To date, we already have the entire $12 million committed to invest in startups. Therefore, we are discussing whether to extend it to $15 million or raise the second 500 TukTuks by the beginning of next year,” Krating Poonpol, fund manager of 500 TukTuks, told DEALSTREETASIA.
The new fund vehicle may be in the region of $30 million though a target has not been finalised yet. A final decision on the fund size is expected in October, he added.
500 TukTuks was initially kicked off with the fund size of $10 million followed by a top-up of $2 million in November last year. The VC firm targets to invest in 60 Thai startups by 2018.
So far, it has already invested in 22 local startups and plans to disclose three more investments this year. Most of them are seed funding in the range of $100,000 up to $250,000.
While it is looking at increasing its exposure in the Thai startup space, the fund is also becoming more selective owing to a slower pace of development seen in local startups. Besides, the fund is also taking a cautious approach to invest in fintech startups given the tough regulations in the country, he added.
The companies that secured the funding from 500 TukTuks include Piggipo, GizTix, Ginja, Ticketbox, e Omise, Claim Di, Blisby, Hubba, Wishbeer, Skootar, FlowAccount, TakeMeTour, StylHunt and WashBox24.
At Startupfest in Montreal, 500 Startups founding partner Dave McClure said that it has made around 1,500 investments in 60 countries, so far.
In Asia, it announced a $25-million fund 500 Kulfi to invest in Fintech, EdTech, Health & Wellness, Data Analytics, Content and SaaS in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in February. A month later, it launched a $10-million micro fund in Vietnam, targeting to fund around 150 local startups over the next few years.
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