Unicorns backing their own VCs? Welcome to peak tech

(Nov 16): When unicorns start setting up their own venture-capital funds, you know the tech world is getting frothy.

In June, Singapore-based ride-hailing app GrabTaxi Holdings launched Grab Ventures, shortly after its Indonesian rival Go-Jek Indonesia PT set up its own Go-Ventures. Onetime unicorn Meituan Dianping — the Chinese food-delivery firm that just completed its US$4.2 billion ($5.8 billion) IPO in Hong Kong — raised a US$302 million fund in July for its DragonBall Capital fund.

What are unicorns doing in the venture-capital world when they still need plenty of their own financing? Just in the past few months, Grab has raised US$2 billion to double down on its expansion into Indonesia and Go-Jek is close to adding another US$1.5 billion to its war chest. As for Meituan, its loss-making service helped burn through US$1.2 billion for the year ending June.

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