TechFlow reports that Jocy, founder of IOSG Ventures, analyzed the challenges currently facing Asian funds and the shifting landscape of the VC industry. Jocy pointed out that European and American funds are squeezing the survival space of Asian funds, with limited partners (LPs) becoming as valuable as top-tier developers, and investor relations (IR) work growing increasingly critical.
Over the past few cycles, the Asian market has seen an "everyone runs a fund" phenomenon. However, many are now beginning to exit the VC business model. Asian funds often make excessive promises in order to secure allocations in overseas projects, leading U.S.-based projects to develop biases against Asian funds.
Jocy also revealed that in the previous cycle, most Asian funds had lock-up periods of 2–3 years, while European and American funds typically have lock-up periods of 8–10 years, making it difficult for Asian funds to attract LPs willing to commit long-term capital.
The LP markets in Europe and the U.S. are more mature, allowing funds to secure anchor LPs—such as university endowments and family offices—at launch. Jocy believes a healthy ecosystem requires effective transmission from the LP market through the VC market to the founder market, and Asian funds committed to this path face severe challenges.
