Golden Gate Ventures, Hanwha planning Southeast Asia investments

Bryan van der Beek | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Vinnie Lauria, founding partner at Golden Gate Ventures, speaks on April 13, 2016.

Singapore-based Golden Gate Ventures said Tuesday it is teaming up with South Korean asset manager Hanwha Asset Management to invest in technology start-ups in Southeast Asia.

The firms are looking to raise around $200 million in funds and already have about $80 million worth of commitments from investors, according to a source familiar with the matter. Golden Gate Ventures declined to comment on the goal for the fund’s size or on how much had been committed so far.

Hanwha Asset Management did not immediately respond to CNBC requests for comment.

In a press release, however, the companies said investments will focus on start-ups that are raising funds in the so-called Series B round — at that stage, start-ups have moved past the early development phase, achieved a few important initial milestones, and are looking for financing to grow their businesses to meet user demands.

Start-ups in Southeast Asia receive fewer investments during Series B funding than their counterparts in the U.K. and the United States, according to Golden Gate Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund in the region.

“Just like there was a Seed-stage gap in 2013 that closed by 2015, then a Series A gap in 2015 that closed by 2017, now there’s a Series B gap that started in 2018,” Vinnie Lauria, a founding partner at Golden Gate Ventures, told CNBC by email.

Seed and Series A refer to early-stage fundraising efforts from new start-ups.