Alex Lynn
Investors are piling capital into the country’s venture sector as the memory of its distribution problem begins to fade.
Silicon Valley GPs are urging international LPs to back their larger growth funds in lieu of VC offerings due to capacity constraints, says Masashi Kataoka, head of the $350bn insurer’s venture unit.
The SoftBank chief had received permission for a similar program in Vision Fund 1 – a plan that was scrapped after colleagues pulled out.
MSA Capital received a fundraising boost last year with the appointment Chris Lerner, former head of Asia at placement agent Eaton Partners, as a managing partner.
Indian pensions have been given the nod to participate in alternative investment funds, including venture, for the first time.
Launched by an ex-Blackstone exec, the new fundraising platforms comes as they proliferate in Asia in the hopes of seducing its burgeoning pool of wealthy individuals.
Vision Fund II launched in 2019 and failed to secure third-party commitments on the back of the underwhelming performance of its 2017-vintage predecessor.
The asset manager expects to raise multiple successors to its $276m Hamilton Lane Alliance Holdings I, according to the vehicle's chief executive Andrea Kramer.
The firm held a final close on its second venture fund last month with €650m, more than doubling the firepower of its 2016-vintage Fund I, says founder MingPo Cai.
Chris Lerner joined MSA Capital in October after nearly a decade at Eaton Partners, where he led the origination and execution of fundraises, secondaries and strategic advisory.