About Expara
Expara is a venture capital firm founded in 2003. It is primarily based out of Singapore, Singapore. As of Jul 2021, Expara has invested in 59 companies. It primarily invests in Seed round in Singapore based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Enterprise Applications to Consumer and Retail. Most recently it participated in the $***** Seed round of Xpertflow Overall, Expara portfolio has seen 2 IPOs and 3 acquisitions including key companies like 2C2P, CoAssets and ActSocial. A lot of funds co-invest with Expara, with names like 500 Global sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Expara has team of 17 people including 9 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Count
Portfolio Sectors
Rounds of Entry
Seed
Expara's List of Top Investments
Expara has a portfolio of 59 companies. Their most notable investments are in BoxGreen and Cloudcommerce.Their portfolio spans across Singapore, Thailand, United States and 5 more locations. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, Consumer, Retail and 22 other sectors, across stages such as Seed stage. Here is the list of top investments by Expara:
1. 2C2P
2c2p provides payment processing solutions to businesses. It offers various solutions including payment gateways, remittance, mass payout, and bill payments. It facilitates payment via credit/debit cards and bank transfers. It also provides an app for bill payments that is available on both IOS and Android devices.
Key facts about 2C2P
- Founded Year: 2003
- Location: Singapore (Singapore)
- Annual Revenue: $131M as on Dec 31, 2023
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $85M
- Employee Count: 385 as on Jul 01, 2024
- Investors: IFC, GMO Venture Partners and 11 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, Nov 25, 2019, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
2. Hungry Hub
Platform and app providing dining deals and restaurant booking services. The platform allows users to search for restaurants based on the locations and book table based on the preferences. The platform also offers food delivery services. Its mobile app is available for Android and iOS users.
Key facts about Hungry Hub
- Founded Year: 2014
- Location: Bangkok (Thailand)
- Stage: Series A
- Total Funding till date: $450K
- Employee Count: 36 as on Jul 01, 2024
- Investors: 500 Global, Expara and 3 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series A, Jul 05, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
3. Wootag
Cloud-based interactive and shoppable video platform for online businesses. It creates shoppable videos for multi-channel retailers & brands. It also allows brands & retailers to customize product content as per their requirements. Clients include Unilever, Ford, Nestle, and others. Pricing depends on the package and the number of features.
Key facts about Wootag
- Founded Year: 2014
- Location: Singapore (Singapore)
- Annual Revenue: $704K as on Dec 31, 2022
- Stage: Series A
- Total Funding till date: $4.4M
- Employee Count: 23 as on Jul 01, 2024
- Investors: SEEDS Capital, Wavemaker Partners and 12 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series A, Jan 11, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
4. Gheorg
Developer of application designed to help children manage emotional wellbeing. The application utilizes psychological science therapies to help children understand emotions and strengthen their emotional intelligence. The application offers educational characters, daily check-in features, and progress summaries. The company also provides resources for families, educators, and health professionals.
Key facts about Gheorg
- Founded Year: 2019
- Location: Sydney (Australia)
- Stage: Seed
- Total Funding till date: $36.6K
- Employee Count: 4 as on Jul 01, 2024
- Investors: Rio Tinto, Springboard Enterprises and 6 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Seed, Mar 12, 2024, $*****
5. WisePass
WisePass is a monthly alcohol subscription platform that allows the consumer to consume 1 bottle per day from 9 selected spirits and wines in partnered bar of Ho Chi Minh City. Users can get the subscription at VND6M per month and can cancel anytime. The company claims that WisePass Membership is an exclusive offer for executives and influencers in Ho Chi Minh and is limited to only 200 members. Since Aug'16, the company has received 53 memberships with around 300 bottles consumed (as of Oct'16).
Key facts about WisePass
- Founded Year: 2014
- Location: Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)
- Stage: Seed
- Total Funding till date: $400K
- Employee Count: 8 as on Jul 01, 2024
- Investors: Expara, Vietnam Innovative Startups Accelerator and 4 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Seed, Oct 29, 2017, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Expara's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Expara has invested in 59 companies over the last 18 years, with an average of 2 new investments annually in the last 10 years. Its most recent first time investment was in Xpertflow and most recent follow-on round was in BoxGreen.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
2020 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2019 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2017 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Expara's Investments by Stage
Expara has made 20 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $438K.Expara's Investments by Sector
Expara has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Enterprise Applications, Consumer, Food and Agriculture Tech, Retail and High Tech. Notably, it has invested in 50 Tech companies, 28 Consumer (B2C) companies, 27 Enterprise (B2B) companies and at least 26 companies focusing on Software.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Enterprise Applications | 9 |
Consumer | 8 |
Food and Agriculture Tech | 5 |
Retail | 5 |
High Tech | 4 |
Others | 26 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Expara's Investments by Geography
Expara has made most investments in Singapore (9), followed by Thailand where it has made 5 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Singapore | 9 |
Thailand | 5 |
Vietnam | 4 |
Pakistan | 1 |
United States | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Expara's recent investments
Expara has not made any investment in 2026 so far.Here are the most recent investments by Expara:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jul 28, 2021 | Pakistan | Seed | 5327 | - | |
2021 | United States | Seed | 3986 | - | |
May 18, 2021 | Thailand | Seed | 4340 | ||
Jan 12, 2021 | Singapore | Seed | 7939 | [+1] | |
Mar 11, 2020 | Singapore | Seed | 4808 | [+1] |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Expara's Portfolio
2 of Expara's portfolio companies have become public. CoAssets got listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), in May 2016.Here are Expara's portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
May 09, 2016 | Jan 17, 2014 | Seed | 1891 | |
- | 2016 | Seed | 7055 |
Acquired companies in Expara's Portfolio
3 companies from Expara's portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was 2C2P in Apr 2022 by Ant Group for $*****.Here are Expara's portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Apr 01, 2022 | Nov 24, 2008 | Seed | 9898 | |
Jul 16, 2019 | - | - | 6279 | |
Oct 15, 2015 | - | - | 7435 |
Team profile of Expara
Expara has a team of 17 members including 9 Partners, 1 Venture Partner and 1 Principal located in Singapore, Thailand and 3 more locations. Expara's team sits on the board of 4 companies.Here is a list of top team members in Expara:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Singapore | 2C2P, First Meta and 3 more | - | |
Partner | Singapore | - | ||
Partner | Ho Chi Minh City | - | ||
Partner | Singapore | - | - | |
Partner | Los Angeles | - | - | |
Partner | Singapore | - | - | |
Partner | United Arab Emirates | - | - | |
Partner | Vietnam | - | - | |
Partner | Thailand | - | - | |
Venture Partner | Cambridge | - | - |
Co-investors of Expara
Over the past 18 years, 35 investors have co-invested in Expara's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Expara: Joyful Frog Digital Innovation, K-Startup Grand Challenge and 1 other have invested in rounds before Expara. There are 2 companies where Joyful Frog Digital Innovation has invested before Expara and 1 company where K-Startup Grand Challenge has invested before Expara.
- Top Co-investors of Expara: 13 investors entered a company along with Expara. These include investors like 500 Global (5 companies).
- Invested after Expara: A total of 19 investors have invested in Expara's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include GMO Payment Gateway (1 company), IFC (1 company) and Cento Ventures (1 company).
Recent News related to Expara
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Singapore food tech startup Advantir raised 7-figure seed fundingSingapore Business Review•Jan 15, 2021•RagingBull, She1K, Expara
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Advantir raises ‘seven-figure’ seed funding to expand soft-serve dessert offeringse27•Jan 12, 2021•Swirl.GO, RagingBull, She1K, Expara and 1 other
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Singapore foodtech startup closes 7-figure seed roundTech in Asia•Jan 12, 2021•Swirl.GO, RagingBull, She1K, Expara and 1 other
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Singapore-based Expara launches accelerator for COVID-19 solutionsDeal Street Asia•Mar 23, 2020•Expara
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Novocall raises S$700,000 in seed funding round led by 500 StartupsThe Business Times•Mar 11, 2020•Novocall, 500 Global, Expara
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System Stone, a Dtac Startup Receive Investment from Expara ThailandLight Dynamic Interactive Co., Ltd.•Jun 10, 2019•System Stone, Expara
