Next steps

Today, we’ve got the deets on:

• Granite Asia’s next steps
• Ninja Van’s new direction

Dear Garage reader,

The spillover from geopolitical tensions and conflicts has been felt in the startup ecosystem, with venture capital firms having to split their operations along geographical lines. One of the latest to do so was GGV Capital, which has divided its operations between the US and Asia. 

Following its rebranding to Granite Asia, senior managing partners Jenny Lee and Foo Jixun share with Garage what their next steps are. Going beyond VC funds, Granite Asia is looking to start a credit product as its first step towards becoming a multi-asset class platform. 

Despite rebranding, Lee and Foo wanted to retain a link to its previous incarnation, Granite Global Ventures Capital or GGV Capital. But now, with an expanded scope compared with GGV Capital, Granite Asia is setting its sights across the Asia-Pacific, while doubling down on themes they know best.

Elsewhere, Ninja Van is also looking to take the next steps in its business, from just moving e-commerce packages to moving goods in a cold chain. This comes after its significant investments into tech and talent for its core e-commerce logistics business back in 2022. 

The move to enter this new space wasn’t predicated on the pressure third-party delivery service providers face from e-commerce marketplaces’ own logistics fleets. Rather, it’s an effort to search for other revenue streams with higher margins that could also tap into Ninja Van’s existing networks across the region. 

This search for profitability is a common mantra that almost all late-stage startups have been chanting as they navigate a funding crunch. As Ninja Van’s co-founder Lai Chang Wen puts it, the competition has been so tough that the company’s plans were kept under wraps in order not to lose its first-mover advantage.

Before we go, a gentle reminder that the Garage newsletter will be ending its run at the end of this month.

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Thank you for reading, and have a great week!

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