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The hedge fund's new venture arm will be focused on fintech deals. The fund disclosed a first close of $20m from LPs including Thai bank Siam Commercial (SCB).
In an interview with TechCrunch, Dymon Asia partners Jinesh Patel and Christiaan Kaptein explained the firm’s decision to move into venture capital was related to both keeping abreast of new developments in the market, and seizing upon opportunities that have opened up in Asia. The focus is particularly on Southeast Asia, where the number of internet users is forecast to jump from 260 million today to 480 million by 2020, growing the total digital economy to $200 billion, according to a report co-authored by Google. “The hype around fintech is warranted in some respects given the opportunity we’re seeing. The fund will be primarily be b2b-focused because that’s where we see the greatest disconnect,” Patel explained.
