Khailee Ng
Khailee Ng | |
|---|---|
| Born | Khailee Ng May 2, 1984 |
| Citizenship | Malaysian |
| Education | University of Technology Sydney, San Francisco State University (Exchange program), University of California, Berkeley (Extension school) |
| Occupations | Investor, entrepreneur |
| Known for | Managing partner of venture capital firm 500 Global |
| Spouse |
Elisa Khong (m. 2018) |
Khailee Ng (born May 2, 1984) is a Malaysian entrepreneur, investor. He is a managing partner and board member of global venture capital firm 500 Global (formerly 500 Startups).[1]
As an entrepreneur, Khailee co-founded the group-buying platform GroupsMore (acquired by Groupon) and media company SAYS.com (acquired by Media Prima).[1] Khailee has helped fund over 340 companies across Asia, including technology startups that have grown to be valued at over US$1 billion, such as Grab, Carsome, and Carousell.[2]
Career
Groupsmore
Khailee co-founded group-buying site GroupsMore in 2010.[3] Groupsmore was acquired by Groupon in January 2011[4] as part of the U.S. company’s expansion into Asia, and was rebranded as Groupon Malaysia.[5]
SAYS.com
Khailee also founded SAYS.com in 2010, a social news and content-sharing platform for youth. In 2013, SAYS.com merged with Catcha Media (part of Catcha Group) to form a new digital media group REV Asia in a deal worth about US$13 million (RM60 million).[6] Khailee was appointed Chairman of REV Asia’s board of directors following the merger.[7] In 2017, Malaysia’s largest media conglomerate Media Prima Berhad acquired REV Asia for approximately US$24 million (RM105 million).[8]
500 Global
After his entrepreneurial exits, Khailee became a venture capital investor. He joined Silicon Valley-headquartered venture capital firm 500 Global (formerly known as 500 Startups). In 2013, Khailee was appointed 500 Global’s venture partner for Southeast Asia, managing a US$10 million fund under the name ‘500 Durians’ dedicated to investing in the region.[9] He was promoted to Managing Partner in 2014,[10] and led the firm’s investments across Southeast Asia with Vishal Harnal. Khailee has raised multiple funds for the region, including the sizing up of ‘500 Durians’ to US$25.7M in 2015,[11] ‘500 Durians II’ at US$53M in 2017,[12] and another US$143M for ‘500 Southeast Asia III’ and a growth-stage fund.[13] Khailee was an early backer of multiple “unicorns” – companies that later exceeded US$1 billion in valuation - including NASDAQ-listed r platform turned super app Grab,[14] Malaysia's first tech unicorn Carsome,[15] and online marketplace Carousell, among others.[16] In 2022, Khailee won the Founder Institute’s Global Startup Mentor Award for ‘Highest Rated Mentor’.[17]
Personal life
On November 18, 2018, Khailee married Elisa Khong in an online wedding.[18]
References
- ^ a b Pereira, Aaron. "Cover Story: Asia's Most Influential 2022 Honouree Khailee Ng". Tatler Asia. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ "From Grab to Carsome, How 500 Global's Khailee Ng Finds and Funds Startups". www.bfm.my. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
- ^ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ "Group buying gains momentum in Malaysia". The Edge Malaysia. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ "Week in Review: Traditional media player, Media Prima, makes a US$24mil move for scale & millenials". Digital News Asia. 2017-05-13. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ Oei, Melody (2013-05-15). "[NEW UPDATE] It's Official: SAYS and Catcha Become Rev Media". SAYS. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ Russell, Jon (2017-05-09). "Media Prima buys Rev Asia for $24M to create Malaysia's largest digital media platform". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ Lawler, Ryan (2013-05-29). "500 Startups Raises $10M '500 Durians' Micro Fund, Hires Khailee Ng As Venture Partner To Invest In SE Asia". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ "Fund focus: 500 Global scales up in Southeast Asia | AVCJ". www.avcj.com. 2023-09-13. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ "GP profile: 500 Global | AVCJ". www.avcj.com. 2023-06-14. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ "500 Global raises $143m for Southeast Asia | AVCJ". www.avcj.com. 2023-09-06. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ "Grab Celebrates Public Listing Milestone with Employees and Partners in First-Ever NASDAQ Opening Bell Ceremony in Southeast Asia | Grab MY". Grab. 2021-12-02. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ "Malaysian unicorn Carsome keen to expand in Southeast Asia". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ Asia, Tatler. "Khailee Ng". Tatler Asia. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ "Meet the Global Startup Mentor Award 2022 Winners". The Founder Institute. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
- ^ "Like Suhay Salim, Here are 3 Unique Weddings in 2018". Tempo. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2025-09-29.