Gobi Partners

Gobi's investment committee is led by co-founders Thomas G. Tsao, based in Shanghai, and Kay-Mok Ku, based in Singapore, both of whom remain actively involved in deal evaluation and portfolio strategy. Regional investment teams across Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Manila, Lahore, and Riyadh source and underwrite local deals under their supervision. The firm has not publicly disclosed succession or delegation structures beyond the co-founders.

Gobi relies on a multi-office network of local investment professionals in at least nine offices who operate with proximity to local ecosystems, accelerators, and regulatory bodies. The firm has been an early institutional investor in several frontier venture markets — including Pakistan and the Philippines — where it entered before competing global funds. Gobi also sources through its TaqwaTech initiative, which surfaces sharia-compliant startups in the Islamic economy that fall outside typical secular VC screens.

Gobi raises and manages multiple region- and country-specific vehicles rather than one monolithic pan-Asian blind pool. Known vehicles include the Gobi-Core Philippine Fund, a Pakistan-focused fund, an Indonesia fund, and the Meranti ASEAN Growth Fund based in Singapore. This structure accommodates differing local limited-partner bases and regulatory environments, but it creates a more operationally complex firm than peers running a single master fund.

Gobi's co-founder Thomas Tsao is based in Shanghai, and the firm's earliest funds were China-focused, producing exits including Tuniu's 2014 Nasdaq IPO. Gobi remains active in China but has intentionally diversified its portfolio geographically into Southeast Asia and the MENA region, positioning itself less as a China pure-play and more as a corridor investor capable of helping Chinese portfolio companies expand into ASEAN and Gulf markets.

TaqwaTech is a Gobi initiative, launched publicly in September 2020, that operates as a sharia-compliant venture fund focused on startups serving the global Islamic digital economy. It targets sectors including halal food supply chains, Islamic fintech, modest fashion, and Muslim-friendly travel — a deliberate niche that distinguishes Gobi from most generalist Asian VC firms. The fund is managed within Gobi's existing platform and draws on the firm's Southeast Asian and MENA offices.

Gobi does not publish a formal exclusion list, but its TaqwaTech vehicle explicitly screens for sharia compliance, which prohibits investment in conventional financial services earning interest, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, pork-related products, and adult entertainment. The broader Gobi platform is not restricted to sharia-compliant deals and has invested actively in conventional fintech, logistics, and enterprise software.

Gobi regularly co-invests with other venture firms and corporate investors, particularly in later rounds for portfolio companies that scale beyond its early-stage check sizes. The firm has participated in syndicates with global names including ofo's early backers, and its portfolio company Carsome attracted co-investment from funds including 500 Global and MUFG. Gobi also acts as a local knowledge partner for global investors entering Southeast Asian and MENA markets.