NSI Ventures to be Rebranded as Openspace Ventures

Northstar Group and NSI Ventures today jointly announced the rebranding of NSI Ventures to Openspace Ventures and its transition to its own Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) licence and independent operating model. Hian Goh and Shane Chesson, CoFounders and Managing Partners of Openspace Ventures, will continue to manage the business.

• Openspace Ventures is one of the first firms to be licenced under MAS’ new venture capital manager regime
• Northstar Group and Openspace Ventures to maintain a Strategic Relationship
• Patrick Walujo to be appointed as Senior Adviser to Openspace Ventures

Openspace Ventures is one of the first fund managers to be licenced under the MAS’ simplified regulatory regime for venture capital managers. The new regime is well suited to Openspace Ventures’ investment strategy, will reduce administrative costs, and allow it to better focus its efforts and capital on supporting early-stage technology companies in Southeast Asia.

Openspace Ventures will assume the management of NSI Ventures, L.P. and NSI Ventures II, L.P. with aggregate capital commitments of over US$150 million and investments in 19 portfolio companies. These funds will also be rebranded as Openspace Ventures, L.P. and Openspace Ventures II, L.P. Openspace Ventures will continue to focus on investing in promising new markets and supporting the rollout of new technology models, all while building a dynamic, regionally skilled team, and maintaining an industry-leading investment process.

Patrick Walujo, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the Northstar Group, will be appointed as a Senior Adviser to Openspace to provide strategic advice on Openspace Ventures’ Indonesian investments.

Openspace Ventures’ inaugural fund was ranked by Preqin in March 2018 as the 3rd best performer amongst venture capital funds of the 2003-2015 vintage2. Twelve of its fifteen investments have completed substantial follow on funding totalling over US$2.2 billion. The portfolio includes Go-Jek, in respect of which NSI was the first institutional investor, Singapore fast fashion e-commerce player Love Bonito, Vietnamese online education company Topica and FinAccel, an Indonesian online credit provider.

Hian Goh, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Openspace Ventures, said, “Shane and I are very happy that we launched our venture business with the Northstar Group in 2014 – they provided the infrastructure we needed to put us on an accelerated path to success. We are grateful for the guidance that the Northstar Group has provided and look forward to our ongoing strategic relationship. The introduction of the new venture capital manager regime is timely, and we believe the moment has come for us to bring Openspace Ventures to the next stage, as an independent, Southeast Asia-focused venture fund manager.”

Shane Chesson, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Openspace Ventures said, “The team is excited to build on the NSI Ventures track record under our new brand, Openspace Ventures. We will continue to seek the open spaces for tech investing in Southeast Asia and support great entrepreneurs in their own expansion paths. We will maintain our open and collaborative culture, both internally and with our partners in the ecosystem.”

Tan Choon Hong, Managing Director of the Northstar Group, commented, “The partnership between the Northstar Group and Openspace Ventures has benefitted both businesses immensely. Openspace Ventures has built a strong track record and is now well-placed to operate as an independent venture capital manager. We are confident that the Openspace Ventures team will drive further growth and we look forward to working closely with them through our strategic relationship going forward.”