Singapore-based venture builder Wavemaker Impact has secured US$13 million at the first close of its planned US$25 million debut fund from investors such as JG Digital Equity Ventures, Kajima Ventures and Pavilion Capital.

The company was launched by venture capital firm Wavemaker Partners in 2021 and is focused on co-founding climate technology startups across Southeast Asia and scaling them. Wavemaker Impact aims to contribute to a 10 percent reduction in global carbon emissions by 2035 through building 10,000 companies that target issues from transforming industrial processes to evolving land use.

It has five founding members, including 2022 Gen.T honouree Marie Cheong and PropertyGuru founder Steve Melhuish, and has started four companies across Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam. It plans to start eight to 12 more companies in the next two years.

Last month, Wavemaker Impact announced that it will be establishing an agritech startup together with Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Singapore's Temasek, and GenZero, a wholly-owned investment platform by Temasek that's focused on accelerating decarbonisation. According to a statement, the new startup's mission is to decarbonise rice cultivation in Asia.

Read more news about the Gen.T community. See all the honourees on the Gen.T List 2022.