Singapore-based Extream Ventures Launches S$20M Venture Capital Fund

Dec. 17, 2009 - PRLog -- Extream Ventures, a Singapore-
based early-stage venture capital firm, today announced that it has secured
commitments from Georgieff Capital (Germany) and ART Texas Capital
(USA) for Extream Venture Fund I, its new S$20M early-stage fund focused
on supporting the next generation of emerging technologies in Singapore.

“With considerable investments in R&D, Singapore is Asia’s new hotbed of
innovation. Our vibrant start-up ecosystem is home to an ever-growing
number of innovative companies leveraging advanced technologies. We aim
to catalyse these young companies to the global stage by surrounding them
with the right combination of capital, mentoring, expertise and networks,” said
Pierre Hennes, the fund’s Managing Partner.

Extream Ventures is funded by institutional investors, high net worth
individuals and the National Research Foundation (“NRF”) of Singapore. It is
one of only six funds managers selected under the NRF’s Early Stage
Venture Funding Scheme.

“To develop a dynamic economy with a vibrant entrepreneurial sector, we
need to make innovation a pervasive culture. With these new partnerships, we
hope that more technologically innovative businesses can be developed to
grow and nurture our home-grown Singapore start-ups into global
enterprises,” said Dr Francis Yeoh, Chief Executive Officer of NRF.

Alexander Georgieff, founder and managing partner of Frankfurt and London
based Georgieff Capital added: "My partners and I welcome the opportunity to
extend our footprint as advisors of and investors in high technology
companies to Singapore which provides a particularly attractive home to such
companies with its excellent infrastructure and ideal geographic location. We
look forward to actively supporting the Extream Ventures team in achieving
exceptional investment returns."

“We are very pleased to welcome Georgieff Capital and ART Texas Capital as
cornerstone investors to Extream Ventures. They are experienced investors
with a strong global network; true partners who will add significant value to the
underlying portfolio, extending our capabilities in areas such as business
development, alliances and exits,” said Pierre Hennes.

The Fund will assume the role of lead investor, typically investing up to $3M
per company as part of a Startup or Series A round of funding, and expects to
 
invest in eight to ten innovative early-stage companies. Douglas Abrams, the
fund’s Managing Partner added: “Extream Ventures remains true to the
original mission of early-stage venture capital whereby smaller funds can
capture large returns by investing in very young companies.”

Extream Ventures is a joint venture between Upstream Ventures and Expara,
two of the most active players in Singapore’s market for early-stage capital.

For more information, please contact:
Pierre Hennes
Managing Partner
Email: pierrehennes@extreamventures.com  
Tel: (+65) 6323-3080


About Extream Ventures
Established in Singapore in 2008, Extream Ventures
(www.extreamventures.com) is an early-stage venture capital firm targeting
market-driven technology companies in areas such as communications, IT
software & solutions and interactive digital media. Extream Venture’s
operationally-focused team is committed to driving value by working closely
with each new venture to accelerate growth and market leadership. The
versatility of our hands-on approach is a result of the team’s diverse yet
complementary mix of start-up, corporate and international business
expertise. The team has been investing in early-stage companies in
Singapore for over 8 years.

About Georgieff Capital
Georgieff Capital (www.georgieffcapital.com) provides high-end financial
advisory services to a limited number of corporate and investor clients from
offices in Frankfurt and London. Founded in 2005, the firm provides discreet,
independent and objective strategic and financial advice on capital structure,
capital markets perception, funding alternatives and individual financial
transactions. We advise our clients on M&A related transactions (including the
planning, evaluation, structuring and negotiation of investments, acquisitions,
divestitures, joint ventures and mergers) and also on delicate ownership
issues and defense situations. Our equity capital markets experts advise our
clients on the preparation and execution of initial and secondary public
offerings, capital increases, including rights issues, and the issuance of
equity-linked securities such as convertible bonds.

We provide fund raising advisory services to select private companies, mainly
in the clean technology sector, looking to raise capital to grow their
businesses. We manage and tailor the fund raising process to ensure our
clients successfully raise the capital they need.
 
2009.12.18 Extream Ventures Launches S$20M Fund in Singapore 3

Georgieff Capital is also a limited partner in a number of venture capital funds
around the world (with a clean technology focus), and selectively makes direct
co-investments.

About ART Texas Capital
ART Texas Capital is a Dallas Texas US-based company with investments in
venture capital opportunities in both the US and Asia.  Focused on early-
stage, capital efficient companies and funds, ART Texas Capital employs a
strategy of developing long-term relationships with leading investment
partners.

About the National Research Foundation
The National Research Foundation (NRF), set up on 1 January 2006, is a
department within the Prime Minister's Office.

The NRF sets the national direction for research and development (R&D) by
developing policies, plans and strategies for research, innovation and
enterprise, funds strategic initiatives, builds up R&D capabilities and
capacities through nurturing our own and attracting foreign talents, and
coordinates the research agenda of different agencies to transform Singapore
into a knowledge-intensive, innovative and entrepreneurial economy. It
provides secretariat support to the Research, Innovation and Enterprise
Council (RIEC), chaired by the Prime Minister. A five-year budget of S$5
billion has been allocated to the NRF in 2006 to achieve this mission.

The NRF aims to:
● Transform Singapore into a vibrant R&D hub that contributes towards a
knowledge-intensive, innovative and entrepreneurial economy, and
● Make Singapore a talent magnet for scientific and innovative excellence.

The Early Stage Venture Funding scheme is part of a package of
programmes under the National Framework for Innovation and Enterprise
(NFIE) announced by the Prime Minister at the 3rd Research, Innovation and
Enterprise Council (RIEC) meeting in March 2008. The NFIE is a
comprehensive national programme to encourage innovation and
entrepreneurship especially through the formation of start-up companies to
commercialise technologies developed out of R&D.

For more information, please visit www.nrf.gov.sg.