Investor Profile: Forge Ventures — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Forge Ventures is a Singapore-based seed-stage venture capital firm that backs founders building category-defining businesses in Southeast Asia. Founded in 2021 by Tiang Lim Foo and Kaspar Hidayat, in partnership with Singapore multi-family office Alto Partners, the firm leads pre-seed and seed rounds and works hands-on with founders from zero to one.

Investment thesis

Forge argues that fund size is strategy. A small fund, in its view, keeps investors and founders aligned, because partners can only earn their keep by moving the needle for a handful of teams rather than spreading thinly across dozens of bets. Its founders say the founder is the customer. Forge wants to be the first institutional capital into a company, to build conviction early, and to stay deeply involved in product, hiring and go-to-market work.

Sectors and stages

Forge invests at pre-seed and seed stage and says it leads rounds, committing meaningful capital before a category becomes obvious. It is sector-agnostic in practice, with its portfolio spanning enterprise applications, consumer products and retail. Geographically it focuses on Singapore and Indonesia, with investments also reaching Vietnam.

Fund size and cheque size

Forge launched its debut fund with an oversubscribed first close of US$21.9 million in September 2021. A final close figure has not been publicly disclosed, so the total size of that fund should not be quoted beyond the first close. Forge has not published a standard cheque size, so its cheque size is not publicly disclosed. What it has said publicly is that it planned to build a concentrated portfolio of just 15 companies over three years from launch, precisely so partners would have the bandwidth to work closely with every founder.

Notable portfolio

The debut fund's first three investments set the template: Vouch, a Singapore digital concierge platform for hospitality; Dropezy, an Indonesian grocery delivery service; and Marathon, a Vietnam-based tutoring business. Later names include Baskit, a Singapore grocery platform; Prefer, which makes bean-free coffee; Mito Health, a health technology company; Bluente, a language technology company; and Headquarters, which was later acquired.

Partners and programmes

Foo was previously a partner at Singapore early-stage fund SeedPlus and head of market development for Evernote in Asia-Pacific, with early investments including Qoala, Homage and CardUp. Hidayat previously held investment roles at 500 Startups, Venturra Capital and Koru Partners, and invested in companies including Grab, Bukalapak, Carsome and Carro. Unusually, a majority of the debut fund's limited partners are founders and operators from companies including Airbnb, Carousell, Facebook, Grab and Stripe, giving portfolio founders a practitioner network. Forge does not publish a formal accelerator programme or credits package.

How to apply for funding

Forge does not run a public application form or a rolling cohort with a published deadline. Founders building in Southeast Asia are invited to contact the firm directly through its website at forge.vc or by email at [email protected], the address the firm itself publishes. Keep the note short: what you are building, why now, and what help beyond capital you need.