Vertex Ventures, the venture capital arm of Temasek Holdings, has secured Thailand's Kasikornbank as an investor in its new South-east Asian fund.

This is the first time Vertex, an early backer of South- east Asia's biggest ride-hailing start-up Grab, is raising money from a Thai investor.

Vertex has had two funds focused on South-east Asia in the past, fully funded by investment firm Temasek.

The latest move underscores its effort to forge ties with partners outside Singapore to find the next billion-dollar start-up. Financial institutions like Kasikornbank are also seeking ways to invest in new tech companies.

The Bangkok-based bank recently set up Beacon Venture Capital to invest in VC funds and start-ups.

Vertex Ventures SEA III, which is scheduled to close by November, has already exceeded its target size of US$150 million (S$204 million), according to the firm. Other investors in the third fund include Taiwan's Cathay Life Insurance.

Since having its first close in November last year, Vertex has backed Singapore-based financial technology startups Validus and Turnkey Lender.

Vertex plans to allocate 75 per cent of its new fund to South-east Asia and the remaining 25 per cent to India.

BLOOMBERG