Gobi-Core Philippine Fund

What Gobi-Core Philippine Fund does

Gobi-Core Philippine Fund is a Manila-based, Philippine-focused early-stage venture capital fund established in 2018 as a joint venture between local founding partners Jason Gaisano, Ken Ngo, and Carlo Chen-Delantar (operating as Core Capital) and Pan-Asian venture capital firm Gobi Partners. Operating as Gobi Partners' official Philippine office, the fund invests in technology and technology-enabled startups across the Philippines — its disclosed portfolio spans social entertainment (Kumu), esports (Tier One Entertainment), cloud kitchens (CloudEats), edtech (Edukasyon.ph), health insurance (Maria Health), e-commerce enablement (Etaily), floral e-commerce (FlowerStore), climate tech (Humble Sustainability), SME fintech (ProCredit), and internet infrastructure (RISE Group) — and provides portfolio companies with regional expansion pathways via Gobi Partners' 15-country Asian network, which manages US$1.5 billion in AUM and has backed 9-10 unicorns since founding in 2002.

The fund's core platform is direct equity investment origination sourced through founder networks, ecosystem events, and referrals, supplemented by flagship thought-leadership products including the annual Philippine Startup Ecosystem Report. In 2023, Gobi-Core became the first accredited Co-Investment Partner of the Philippine government's Startup Venture Fund (US$10M / PHP 500M) under the Innovative Startup Act (RA 11337), enabling matched public co-investment, and in November 2025 signed MOUs with the National Development Company and the Department of Information and Communications Technology to develop the Philippine Innovation Hub and a planned Fund of Funds. Additional strategic partnerships with Alibaba Cloud and JCI Manila deliver the annual Alibaba Netpreneur Masterclass to over 600 Filipino entrepreneurs across 31-50 cities, while a November 2025 climate-investor event co-hosted with Investors for Climate (I4C) signals growing focus on climate-tech capital deployment.

The business model is standard early-stage venture capital: deploy LP capital into Philippine startups in exchange for equity, generate returns via exits and distributed proceeds net of carried interest, with specific management fees and fund terms undisclosed. Revenue is therefore not publicly reported, and long-term economics depend on portfolio realizations currently at an early stage. The team includes Managing Partner Jason Gaisano, Partners Ken Ngo and Carlo Chen-Delantar (also Gobi Partners' Head of ESG and Circular Economy), Senior Investment Manager Phoebe Fontanilla, and Value Creation Associates, supported by Gobi Partners' General Partners Thomas G. Tsao and Dan Chong.

Name

Gobi-Core Philippine Fund

Legal name

Gobi Partners group of companies

Website

https://gobicore.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Gobi-Core Philippine Fund is a Manila-based early-stage venture capital firm established in 2018 as a joint venture between Core Capital and Pan-Asian VC Gobi Partners, investing in technology and tech-enabled Philippine startups and channeling them into Gobi's 15-country Asian network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Private Equity

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Other Financial Vehicles (525990)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Impact Investment & Development Investment Funds (BPADACAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Secondary Venture Funds (VC Secondaries) (FSANAAAK)

Keywords

• Venture capital funding
• Early-stage tech investing
• Philippine startup ecosystem
• Growth equity capital
• Seed and pre-seed funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Manila

HQ country

Philippines

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Fund Management: Gobi-Core generates returns through equity investments in portfolio companies, with proceeds distributed to fund LPs through carried interest. The firm also co-invests with the Philippine government's Startup Venture Fund (SVF) as an accredited Co-Investment Partner.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Gobi-Core Philippine Fund is a venture capital fund that invests equity capital in early-stage technology and tech-enabled startups based in the Philippines. The fund provides portfolio companies with growth capital, mentorship, ecosystem support, and access to regional expansion opportunities through Gobi Partners' 15-country Asian network, and it operates as the first accredited Co-Investment Partner of the Philippine government's Startup Venture Fund.

Product overview

Gobi-Core Philippine Fund is a venture capital firm that operates as a unified investment platform rather than a traditional product company. It functions as the Philippine office of Gobi Partners, investing in technology and technology-enabled startups across the Philippines through its portfolio of 11 portfolio companies. The fund's portfolio spans multiple sectors including social entertainment (Kumu), esports (Tier One Entertainment), food & beverage/cloud kitchens (CloudEats), education (Edukasyon.ph), health insurance (Maria Health), e-commerce enablement (Etaily), floral/gifting e-commerce (FlowerStore), sustainability/e-waste management (Humble Sustainability), SME lending (ProCredit), and internet infrastructure (RISE Group). The fund also produces research reports on the Philippine startup ecosystem, including the annual Philippine Startup Ecosystem Report and the Philippine Horizons report.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gobi-Core Philippine Fund Closed-end venture capital fund that invests equity capital in early-stage technology and tech-enabled startups based in the Philippines, providing portfolio companies with growth capital, mentorship, regional expansion support, and access to the broader Gobi Partners' 15-country Asian network; available to qualified institutional and individual LPs.
• Philippine Startup Ecosystem Report 2025: The Next Wave of Innovation Annual flagship ecosystem intelligence report benchmarking the Philippine startup ecosystem against ASEAN-6 peers, with sector analysis and growth opportunities.
• Philippine Horizons: Filipino Innovation in the ASEAN Landscape Report Research report comparing the Philippines' startup ecosystem with ASEAN peers, analyzing funding trends and highlighting opportunities and challenges for Philippine founders and investors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nurtured 10 unicorns through Gobi Partners' broader platform

Named customers10 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• SustinaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 9 December 2025Non-profit media and strategy organization focused on democratizing sustainability intelligence. Co-hosted climate investors event alongside Gobi Partners.
• Investors for Climate (I4C)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 25 November 2025Co-hosted climate investors networking event in Manila with I4C, a community of 400+ investors across 40+ countries who have invested US$50 billion in climate and sustainability. Carlo Chen-Delantar serves as I4C's Manila ambassador.
• National Development Company (NDC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 November 2025Gobi Partners signed MOU with NDC to strengthen support for the Philippine Innovation Hub (iHub), promoting innovation, financial inclusion, and founder development across regional locations. The partnership includes developing a Fund of Funds to invest in innovative enterprises.
• Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 November 2025MOU signed to focus on skills development, employability, and capacity building to prepare Filipino startups for local and international competitiveness through capacity-building initiatives, competency development, and upskilling programs.
• CarsomeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 June 2024Gobi portfolio company from Malaysia that NDC delegation met during startup learning tour to discuss cross-regional expansion opportunities.
• AerodyneminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 June 2024Gobi portfolio company met by NDC delegation during Malaysia learning tour to explore cross-regional expansion knowledge exchange.
• CompAsiaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 June 2024Gobi portfolio company met by NDC delegation to discuss cross-regional expansion opportunities between Philippine and Malaysian startups.
• Twin Tower Ventures (Petronas CVC)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 June 2024Corporate venture capital arm of Petronas met by NDC delegation to explore diverse investment strategies for potential blueprint in the Philippines.
• Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 June 2024Government entity met by NDC delegation to understand Malaysia's collaborative government-private sector approach to supporting startup ecosystem.
• Alibaba CloudcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 2 August 2023Official partner for the Alibaba Netpreneur Masterclass program, providing cloud infrastructure, learning platform, and access to Alibaba's network of business leaders. Program has trained over 600 Filipino entrepreneurs.
• JCI ManilacoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 2 August 2023Official partner in organizing and delivering the Alibaba Netpreneur Masterclass program in the Philippines, with alumni across 31 cities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kickstart Ventures: Philippines-focused early-stage VC fund (corporate-backed by Globe Telecom) investing in Filipino tech startups. Closest direct peer as a Philippines-mandated early-stage investor competing for the same founder pool.
• Foxmont Capital Partners: Philippines-focused early-stage VC backing Filipino founders. Directly comparable country-specific mandate and early-stage technology focus.
• Cento Ventures: Pan-SEA early-stage VC backing consumer and fintech startups; co-invested with Gobi-Core in ProCredit. Comparable in stage, geography overlap, and sector focus.
• Wavemaker Partners: SEA-focused early-stage VC across the US and Southeast Asia. Directly comparable mandate and stage, with overlapping portfolio thesis in consumer, fintech, and enterprise tech.
• Saison Capital: Singapore-based early-stage VC investing across SEA fintech and emerging-market consumer tech; directly comparable stage, geography, and thematic focus to Gobi-Core's portfolio.
• Integra Partners: Pan-ASEAN early-stage VC specialising in fintech and financial inclusion; co-invested with Gobi-Core in ProCredit. Direct peer in the Philippines fintech/early-stage segment.
• Seedstars International Ventures: Global early-stage investor with strong emerging-markets and SEA focus; co-invested with Gobi-Core in Humble Sustainability's seed round. Comparable in stage and emerging-market thesis.

Broad incumbents

• Openspace Ventures: One of the largest pan-SEA early-stage VC firms with offices across the region. Broader incumbent with greater AUM and a wider sector mandate than Gobi-Core.
• 500 Global: Global early-stage VC accelerator/seed fund with active Southeast Asia operations. Overlaps in seed-stage tech investing but operates at significantly larger scale and broader geography.

Regional players

• AC Ventures: Indonesia-leading early-stage VC; operates a comparable regional emerging-markets mandate but does not directly compete in the Philippines as primary geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/gobivc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gobi-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gobi-Core Philippine Fund