ScaleUp Malaysia announces 11 investments in its Cohort 3

• Aug 2021 cohort drew 200 applications from 26 countries
• Made direct investments in BizTech Asia and RECQA

ScaleUp Malaysia, in partnership with Quest Ventures, Indelible Ventures, and Mranti signalled the culmination of its third cohort with the unveiling of its selection of top startups.

In a statement, the company said the cohort that kicked off in August 2021 drew over 200 applications from 26 countries including Malaysia, the United States, Egypt, Indonesia, Singapore and Japan.

Some 20 companies were shortlisted to participate in Cohort 3 and placed into separate tracks, giving them exclusive access to Quest Ventures and Indelible Ventures respectively over the course of 16 weeks, ScaleUp Malaysia said.

The companies selected by Quest Ventures for co-investment were GuruInnovtif, Open Academy, MadCash, SpareXHub, VireServe, and WaSushi. Indelible Ventures selected Howuku, Kumo and MidWest Composites for co-investment.

ScaleUp Malaysia said it also made direct investments in BizTech Asia and RECQA, alumni from its second cohort.

Meanwhile, Quest Ventures and Indelible Ventures look to announce one to two more companies at a later date, it added.

Xelia Tong, managing partner of ScaleUp Malaysia said: “Congratulations to these amazing entrepreneurs. We applaud the ambitious drive, ingenuity and passion they displayed throughout the programme.

“At the very core, ScaleUp Malaysia Accelerator aims to nurture businesses, catapulting their growth beyond traditional boundaries to create the next generation of disruptive businesses.“

Ensuring the companies are well equipped to navigate future challenges, prime them for further growth and tap markets across Southeast Asia, each company will receive up to US$60,000 (RM251,000) in investment.

ScaleUp Malaysia said Quest Ventures has shown a commitment to developing the Malaysian ecosystem and has grown a portfolio of 16 companies in the nation through its partnership with ScaleUp Malaysia over the last 12 months.

Jeffrey Seah, partner of Quest Ventures said “We truly believe that Malaysia has some of the best entrepreneurs in the region with a flair for innovation and an innate ability to understand cultures in various markets. We are excited to welcome these six new companies into our portfolio and work with them to build globally scalable businesses. “

Meanwhile, Indelible Ventures which launched in September 2021 is on the lookout for tech-enabled Malaysian start-ups with B2B products that are ready to scale internationally.

Indelible has selected three companies to invest in from this cohort.

Kevin Brockland, managing partner said, “The three companies we have selected have demonstrated remarkable sophistication in developing a product with global scale potential and have founders who are passionate to build great innovative businesses.

“We aim to be a champion of the potential of these entrepreneurs and play our part to elevate them onto investors’ radars.”

ScaleUp Malaysia, through their Pegasus model, aims to groom startups in the growth and post-product-market fit stage into scaleup businesses with high revenue growth and increased profitability rates that attract follow-on investments.

Since 2019, ScaleUp Malaysia claimed it has built a proven track record in helping growth-stage companies secure funding from leading investors.

Thus far, over 30 startups have graduated out of the accelerator, collectively raising more than US$14 million in capital and one exit.

ScaleUp Malaysia has also opened registration for startups to state their interest to participate in Cohort 4.

For more information on ScaleUp Malaysia and to register your interest for Cohort 4, visit here.