Singapore- and US-based venture capital firm B Capital has closed its second opportunities fund at $750 million, it announced on Tuesday.
The size of the vehicle is nearly double that of its predecessor, signalling a strong limited partner (LP) interest in B Capital. The money was raised from a mix of global limited partners (LPs) comprising private and public pensions, family offices, high-net-worth individuals, and sovereign wealth funds.
B Capital Opportunities Fund will make primary and secondary investments in later-stage companies across technology, healthcare and climate tech startups, mainly across North America and Asia. The bulk of the capital will be used to follow-on in top-performing startups from B Capital’s existing portfolio. However, some capital will also be set aside for new investment opportunities.
“Our strategy is to back great founders early and to support them throughout their entrepreneurial journey. We are grateful for our investors, who enable us to continue to support our companies during a time when capital remains scarce,” said Raj Ganguly, co-founder and co-CEO, B Capital.
The fund has already begun deploying. B Capital Opportunities Fund II acquired secondary shares in Icertis, a contract intelligence company and existing portfolio firm in June 2023.
“We bring a founder’s mindset and a global business-building perspective to all of our portfolio company investments. Our continued partnership with Icertis exemplifies our differentiated approach to accelerating value creation—from growing a best-in-class team and supporting business development initiatives to providing strategic financial guidance,” said Howard Morgan, General Partner and Chair at B Capital.
Founded in 2015, B Capital oversees over $6 billion in assets under management and invests from seed- to late-stage venture growth firms across multiple funds. It has a portfolio of 160 firms including 25 unicorns. At least 12 of these unicorns are from Southeast Asia or India. These include Indian edtech major BYJU’S, medical platform PharmEasy, Indonesian grab-and-go coffee chain Kopi Kenangan, and Singapore’s Carro and Ninja Van.
Last year, B Capital said it was expanding its climate investment strategy, and appointed Don Wood as a venture partner focused on climate-tech investments. Wood has over 25 years of experience in venture capital and climate tech.
Its climate-tech portfolio includes eight investments across the US and Asia, such as Patch Technologies, a company that offers a suite of APIs and developer tools that connect buyers and sellers of carbon credits; and Accacia, which provides AI-enabled decarbonisation solutions to the real estate industry.
Earlier this year, DealStreetAsia reported that B Capital was in the market to raise its third early-stage vehicle, with sources saying that Ascent Fund III was likely to be $400-500 million, twice the size of its predecessor fund which closed at $250 million in 2022.
In January 2023, B Capital closed its third global growth fund at $2.1 billion. Growth Fund III comprises two companion vehicles—one focusing on China-based firms and the other on healthcare investments—in addition to ‘B Capital Global Growth III LP’, which is the main growth fund. Growth Fund III’s LP base includes investors from Singapore, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. It expects to invest $4-6 million per deal.
Growth Fund III was the largest VC fund to secure a final close in SE Asia in 2023, according to SE Asia’s VC Funds: H2 2023 report by DealStreetAsia DATA VANTAGE. The $2.1 billion raised by the vehicle accounted for 39% of the overall capital secured by VC funds that secured a final close in 2023, according to the report.
B Capital had closed its second growth fund at $821.79 million in June 2020, raising money from 161 investors. Its first growth-stage fund was closed in early 2018 at $360 million.
In March 2023, B Capital closed its debut healthcare fund at $500 million to double down on opportunities ranging across health tech, digital health, biotech, and medtech.
