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SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, USA – MARCH 13: People withdraw funds outside the headquarters of Silicon Valley Bank in Santa Clara, California after the federal government intervened in the bank collapse on March 13, 2023. I’ll be waiting. (Photo by Nikolas Liepins/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Nicholas Leapins | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
The collapse of US-based Silicon Valley Bank is unlikely to hurt funding for Southeast Asian tech startups, venture capitalists and analysts told CNBC.
The bank served many venture capital firms and venture capital backed start-ups. But last week, as panic spread over the bank’s financial situation and the bank collapsed, depositors rushed to withdraw their funds.
“In my opinion [the impact on fundraising is] Please be careful, but I don’t think the contagion will spread,” David Gaudi, managing partner of Southeast Asian venture capital firm Jungle Ventures, told CNBC’s “Squawbox Asia” on Tuesday.
“I think Secretary Yellen and the government have done a great job of stepping in and removing a lot of risk and bringing a lot of stability to the market,” he said. On Sunday, US officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, announced plans to protect bank depositors.
Gowdey said SVB is the company’s main bank, but added, “We pull a lot of that money into banks in Southeast Asia and Singapore, so our exposure to SVB wasn’t great.” rice field.
Golden Gate Ventures, which also invests in Southeast Asian startups, said the impact of SVB is an opportunity for the region.
“This has really helped Southeast Asia,” said Vinny Lauria, managing partner at Golden. “It looks like a golden child to U.S. investors. They’re starting to say they want to diversify across currencies.” Gate Ventures told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Tuesday.
“And this is where Southeast Asia has time to shine, in light of the circumstances,” Loria added.
When asked if the situation would make fundraising more difficult, Gowdy said Southeast Asian funds are well capitalized.
“I think it’s selective because of the macro environment. [Accessing] The capital is going to be difficult, but the capital is there and is being deployed.
VC firms previously told CNBC that they are being more cautious about investing in 2023 due to economic uncertainty.
“[In terms of] Ray Wang, founder and chairman of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research, told CNBC’s Street Signs Asia on Tuesday.
“But the problem is getting a loan from a bank, having working capital, being able to actually run a business, having a bank that understands how tech companies and biotech companies work. That’s what’s missing here,” Wang added.