The investment company and venture builder Ardent Capital, which is based in Thailand, announces that it has already received $12.5 million (around Rp 150 billion) from group of investor led by Sinarmas Group and supported by several existing investors. The fund will be utilized to expand the business built by Ardent within Ardent Labs, including aCommerce and online retail group WhatsNew. Roderick Purwana from Sinarmas will join Ardent board.

Beside the funding, Ardent also reveals it will open Jakarta office and to recruit 20 dedicated team member by the end of the year to build Ardent Labs. Skill needs for several positions are software engineering, product expert, and marketing expert. Ardent Labs in Indonesia will be headed by Valadoo’s Chairman Peter Goldsworthy.

CEO Ardent Capital Adrian Vanzyl in the press release said, “Over the last three years we’ve seen a rapid evolution in the landscape: from very few substantial local internet investments to $10M sized Series B rounds to now seeing that amount in the Series A. We have positioned Ardent to be a leader of this trend by building successful internet companies for traditional venture investors to then invest into. With the Sinarmas partnership, we can leverage their network and groups of companies to create a competitive advantage for Ardent businesses.”

Roderick added, “Indonesia, as the largest market in Southeast Asia, has ample opportunities for business models already taken for granted in developed markets. Ardent’s focus on building scalable infrastructure and leveraging it to empower multiple e-commerce ventures with high speed and cost efficiency fits very well with our broader aspirations in the digital space. We look forward to supporting Ardent with the launch of Labs in Indonesia.”

In the next two years, Ardent will established full e-commerce stack in Southeast Asia that will be deeply integrated with current assets. Prior to this movement, Ardent has already invested in Valadoo, as a result of Burufly and Valadoo merger.