Dealcast: The M&A Podcast A look at the latest fundraising trends in Asia – the Asian Venture Capital Journal’s Justin Niessner and Tim Burroughs
Feb 26, 2026
Justin Niessner, associate editor at AVCJ who covers Asian fundraising trends. Tim Burroughs, managing editor at AVCJ and a specialist in Asia PE/VC markets. They discuss LPs diversifying into Asia, why 2025 fundraising fell, tech and AI valuation advantages, China’s gradual rebound, and why Japan and India attract capital alongside the rise of pan-regional large funds and specialist managers.
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Episode notes
Big Pan Regional Managers Capture Most Capital
- Fundraising in 2025 concentrated heavily into a few pan-regional managers, with about 30% of regional capital going to the largest players.
- Tim Burroughs highlights EQT and Blackstone (and Bain off-chart) capturing outsized allocations because of size and track records.
Position As Pan Regional To Win Large LP Checks
- Target pan-regional positioning if you need to attract very large LP checks that can't write small country-only checks.
- Tim Burroughs explains many LPs cannot write sub-$100–200m checks, so regional funds offer diversification and scale comfort.
Specialist Funds Gain Traction For Value Creation
- Specialization is growing because slower growth means managers must show a demonstrable edge for value creation.
- Justin Niessner and Tim Burroughs say sectors like energy transition, AI value chains and manufacturing reshoring are gaining LP interest.