With a new billion-dollar ‘unicorn’ (oh, how we loathe that word) being created nearly every week in Silicon Valley, investors are increasingly concerned about a technology valuation bubble. It stands to reason that the more forward-thinking venture capital firms are setting their sights abroad. In June, 500 Startups, the seed fund and accelerator, announced a partnership to invest in at least 17 Vietnamese startups with local partner and leading ICT firm FPT Corporation. The joint venture will begin with at least US$ 3 million of initial capital. 500 Startups has already invested in four Vietnamese companies, to include social app Tappy, healthcare app for mothers and babies Babyme, online ticket platform Ticketbox, and lifestyle media platform Pose.com.vn.
