Cypress Asia

Profile

Cypress Asia is a venture capital firm based in Malaysia, founded by entrepreneur and investor Sivapalan Vivekarajah and former pitchIN COO Xelia Tong. The firm focuses on supporting technology-driven businesses within Malaysia that demonstrate a clear path to profitability. With their combined experience in entrepreneurship and investment roles at companies like ScaleUp Malaysia and Malaysia Debt Ventures, the partners offer strategic insights and industry connections to their portfolio companies. As a newly established entity, Cypress Asia is marked by its local roots and sector-focused approach, making it distinctive in the Malaysian venture capital landscape.

Their investment strategy is centered around sectors such as electrical and electronics, automotive, digital health, and agriculture, while they avoid areas heavily regulated or reliant on government contracts. Cypress Asia aims to invest in the pre-Series A and Series A stages with a focus on companies that are profitable or nearing profitability. The firm seeks to deploy $1-5 million sized checks, based on their initial fund size of $12.2 million. The firm is backed by New Hoong Fatt Holdings, a key anchor investor, and looks to family offices and other investors for additional capital.

Notable investments from the founders' previous endeavors include involvement with ScaleUp Malaysia where they engaged in funding rounds for 38 companies. They actively source deals through their network and associations with platforms like the Soonicorn Collective and pitchIN, leveraging their well-established industry connections to identify promising ventures in Malaysia.