By Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc

3 Nov 2017 – AddVentures, the corporate venture arm of Thailand’s Siam Cement Group (SCG), has led a Series A investment into logistics startup GIZTIX. GIZTIX is backed by 500 TukTuks and KK Fund who invested in the startup’s funding round last year.

The series A round saw participation from other VC firms, the startup said, declining to divulge more. GIZTIX will make an official announcement on November 21 to reveal further details including its growth strategy following the fundraise. The investment marks the first direct funding into a startup by SCG, which established its investment arm just this year and since then has become a limited partner in vehicles operated by Vertex Ventures and Wavemaker Partners.

GIZTIX said proceeds from the Series A round will help it expand in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, facilitating the growth target of 10x in the next 24 months. The company claims a 30 per cent month-on-month growth over the past 15 months. Founded in 2015, the Bangkok-based logistics marketplace offers online bidding, booking and payment services, aiming to automate logistics processes.

AddVentures’ first investment is an undisclosed amount funnelled into Wavemaker Partners’ second Southeast Asia-focused fund, which targets seed to series A deals primarily in B2B startups. Wavemaker is the SEA and Southern California representative of the Draper Venture Network. AddVentures’ latest fund-of-funds transaction is an investment in Vertex Ventures SEA Fund III. The SCG’s venture arm said in an earlier announcement that it had a laser focus on smart manufacturing, robotics, automation, energy efficiency tech, logistics, predictive analytics, and e-commerce enablement.

The fund eyes businesses worldwide including Thailand, Southeast Asia, Silicon Valley, Israel and Shenzhen (China).

This article first appeared on Deal Street Asia.