How a family office built its venture funnel across South and Southeast Asia
Annapurna Ventures manages its own capital across private equity, public equities, fixed income and early-stage companies. Venture is the smallest of those buckets, but it requires a disproportionate amount of work.
Finding a startup is only the beginning. An investor still needs to understand the market, assess the founders, review the business and complete the diligence. Doing that properly across South and Southeast Asia means covering a collection of markets with different regulations, demographics, customer behaviour and routes to scale.
For a family office whose team spends most of its time on other asset classes, reviewing thousands of startups independently isn't realistic.
This was the problem facing Venkat Siva, CEO of Annapurna Ventures, when the family office moved its focus from London to Asia. Venkat had spent his career in investment banking and private equity, and had also built and sold an energy-technology company. He understood both sides of an early-stage investment. What he needed was regional access and a disciplined way to decide which opportunities deserved more time.
"We don't have the bandwidth to look at thousands of companies and make investments across them, because making an investment requires a lot of due diligence. You need to have a setup capable of doing that."
One region, many different markets
Venkat is direct about one of the most common mistakes investors make when approaching the region: treating Southeast Asia as one market.
"Southeast Asia is not one jurisdiction. It consists of several markets with very different requirements, fundamentals, demographics and regulations."
An investor may understand Singapore and still have little useful context for Bangladesh, Indonesia or Vietnam. Building a local sourcing and diligence capability across each country would require time, people and relationships that most family offices cannot justify for a relatively small venture allocation.
Annapurna Ventures uses Accelerating Asia to provide that first layer. We source companies across South and Southeast Asia, review hundreds of applications for each cohort and invest in a small group through Fund 2. That gives the family office access to markets and founders it would be unlikely to reach through its existing developed-market network.
Venkat describes the relationship simply:
"We use Accelerating Asia to identify companies and do the first level of selection. We then use the companies they have invested in as a funnel to decide which ones we want to pick."
The fund is not replacing Annapurna Ventures' judgement. It is making that judgement usable by narrowing a regional market into a portfolio the family office can actually evaluate.
Fund exposure first, direct investment where it fits
The relationship gives Annapurna Ventures two ways to participate.
The first is diversified exposure through Fund 2. Early-stage companies are uncertain, and even a strong founder with real traction may not reach the next stage. A portfolio spreads that company-specific risk across different founders, sectors and markets.
The second is direct co-investment. Once Venkat has met a founder and developed conviction, Annapurna Ventures can choose to invest directly into that company as well.
PulseTech shows how those two layers work together.
Venkat first met the PulseTech founders through an Accelerating Asia investor call. The company was addressing a basic problem in Bangladesh's retail-pharmacy market: helping independent pharmacies access verified medicines through a more reliable distribution system. Venkat was impressed by the founders, the traction and the size of the market need.
Annapurna Ventures received exposure through Fund 2, then invested directly in PulseTech across two rounds. When PulseTech entered Cohort 10, it reported US$2.5 million in annualised revenue. As of June 2026, the company reports US$150 million in annualised revenue and more than 14,000 pharmacies.
This is not a promise that every company will follow the same path. It is an example of what the funnel is meant to produce: diversified access to a broad early-stage portfolio, followed by the option to build a larger position where an LP has its own conviction.
Selection is part of the product
Venkat had initially been introduced to Accelerating Asia through people he already knew and trusted. The relationship continued because the selection process produced companies he wanted to meet.
"The selection methodology is rigorous. Several hundred companies apply and very few make it. That reflects when we meet the founders at Demo Day. We have found them to be of very high quality."
The acceptance rate alone is not evidence that every selection will succeed. What it does show is that there is a repeatable process behind the portfolio. Applications are reviewed by multiple members of our team, followed by short founder interviews, team interviews, Selection Week and final interviews with the General Partners.
Companies that are selected then spend 100 days inside the accelerator, giving our team and investor network a much closer view of how the founders make decisions, respond to feedback and execute against the numbers.
For a family office, that process becomes more than deal flow. It is an information layer that would be difficult and expensive to reproduce internally.
Venture still requires patience
Venkat is also clear about what this model cannot do. It cannot make venture liquid, remove company-specific risk or guarantee exits.
"This is not an asset class where you invest today and get an exit in a year's time. If you want to do that, you should be investing in public equities. You need to go in with a medium to long-term mindset."
That distinction matters. Annapurna Ventures is not using Fund 2 as a substitute for public markets or fixed income. It is using the fund to build a considered allocation to a part of the market that operates differently and requires a different investment infrastructure.
Venkat's description of the result is concise:
"It gives us access to a highly curated and selective group of companies that have the potential to make a significant impact in the region."
For Annapurna Ventures, Accelerating Asia is both an investment in the portfolio and an investment in the venture funnel behind it.
COHORT 14 APPLICATIONS REMAIN OPEN
Selection is underway. Applications received by 23 August are being reviewed first, but the form remains open and we will try to review later submissions where the selection timetable allows.
Fund 2 is in final close.
Start with the fund deck. Choose your path at acceleratingasia.com/investors and we'll send access.
Ask a question first. Email team@acceleratingasia.com and we'll get back to you.
Ready to invest? Book a call here with a partner.
See the portfolio. Check out acceleratingasia.com/portfolio. Filter by country, sector, or fundraising status. Request an introduction directly to any CEO.
For investors and partners. Choose your path at acceleratingasia.com/investors. Whether you're looking to co-invest in individual startups or invest in the fund, the next step is there.
* Carta Q4 2025 VC Fund Performance. US benchmarks used as Asian fund comparables remain limited.
About Accelerating Asia Ventures
Accelerating Asia Ventures is an independent accelerator and venture capital fund investing in early-stage startups across Southeast and South Asia. Founded by operators, the organisation is committed to supporting founders with capital, credibility, and a long-term community.
For interviews, data requests, or portfolio introductions, contact: team@acceleratingasia.com
