With the coronavirus crippling economies worldwide it can sometimes feel like a hopeless time to be operating any kind of business, let alone a startup.

While it is certainly a difficult time, we thought it would be useful to share a few good news stories of companies raising capital during the current crisis. For companies with a compelling offering we are still seeing a number of VCs with dry powder and a willingness to invest.

deals closed during WFH and circuit breaker

During the period from 1 March through the first week of May – essentially since the time that we’ve been WFH and in shutdown according to the Ministry of Health’s recommendations – we have assisted 17 companies and investors close their funding rounds. Some of those rounds were in progress before the shutdown, but we are also working on several ongoing transactions, so we think this is a fair snapshot.

summary stats

Some quick stats on the deals that have completed during the WFH and circuit breaker period:

• Deal size: S$260k to $15m
• Total funds raised: ~S$36m
• Deal stage: 9 seed, 7 series A or later, 1 venture debt
• Source of funds: 2 internal rounds, 14 lead by external investors
• Industries: cybersecurity, fintech, F&B/retail, AI & machine learning, energy, logistics, and (unsurprisingly) health
• Our involvement: we acted for the company on 13 transactions and for the lead investor on 3

takeaway for founders

To founders thinking about raising capital – do not be too discouraged by the current environment. There are still active investors and funds are available for companies with a compelling proposition. For further info on doing deals during through the coronavirus crisis see our other blogs on Covid-19.