Saemin, Shahril, and Martin will lead the company’s growth initiatives across the region. They represent our commitment to supporting and nurturing startups at every stage of their growth as a multi-stage venture capital firm.
Over the past decade, 500 Global has backed over 340 companies across Southeast Asia. We are recognized as a leading unicorn investor in the region, having invested early in category-defining companies such as Grab, Bukalapak, Carsome, Carousell, FinAccel, and eFishery. Our growth practice will enable the firm to scale the capital and expertise we provides entrepreneurs as they build their companies from idea to exit.
Saemin brings a decade of experience in growth investing. He was the Founding Managing Partner at Rakuten Ventures, where he led investments in more than 25 technology companies, including GoTo Group, Carousell, Epic, and Coda Payments. Saemin also has deep expertise in advising companies on public listings and acquisitions. Prior to that, he held management roles at Google in Korea and Singapore.
Shahril was Director of Investments and Head of Khazanah Americas, a sovereign wealth fund of Malaysia. He established Khazanah Nasional’s presence in the United States, deploying investments in enterprise technology and deep technology, focusing on AI, ML, and robotics. Shahril was also a board member at global fusion energy company, General Fusion, and on the advisory committee of growth equity VC firm March Capital.
Martin was previously Philippines Country Head of Ninja Van, one of Southeast Asia’s largest tech-enabled logistics companies. He grew the Ninja Van team in the Philippines from 0 to over 5,000 employees, and built a nationwide network serving 97% of the country. Amidst the COVID-19 global pandemic, Ninja Van achieved a company valuation of over US$1 billion, and Martin played a key role in transforming the firm into a unicorn.
Vishal Harnal, Managing Partner at 500 Global: “Saemin, Shahril, and Martin add significant investment and operational expertise to support the growing ambitions of our entrepreneurs across Southeast Asia. We will continue to add top talent and winning skill sets to our team in this strategically important region, and build on our track record of success.”
