Carta, a California-based startup that offers capitalisation table management and valuation software, announced that it has set up a new Singapore office to kick off its first commercial operations in Asia.

The US unicorn will be launching its operations in Southeast Asia with two of its flagship products; its capitalisation table and Employee Stock Options Plan (ESOP) software along with its tech-enabled fund admin service.

Carta added that it has assembled a team of local venture talent along with its own veterans to form its team in Singapore.

The company said in a statement that the move was made possible thanks to an investment from Singapore-based global investor EDBI.

“With EDBI’s strong financial support and deep regional network, we are building the infrastructure backbone for the venture market by helping founders and employees better manage their equity, and we’re supercharging investors by streamlining their back office fund operations.”

said Carta.

The company chose Singapore as the starting point for its Asian expansion as venture capital is flowing into Southeast Asia at a record pace, and with this influx of capital, will come an increase in market complexity.

Additionally, employee ownership in a company in Asia is more than 40% lower than in the US, which means far too many employees are poised to miss out on the venture boom.

Featured image edited based on photo by Afifi Zulkifle via Unsplash