New growth equity firm backs ‘next generation’ companies in the US and Europe

^{Ami Capital’s founders (from left) Tyler Bulakul, Charles de Carvalho, and Seiji Liu}

Ami Capital is a multi-national growth equity firm founded in 2026 to back North American and European new consumer concepts in longevity, lifestyle, sports, and entertainment. It aims to help them scale in Asia’s fastest-growing markets. 

Tyler Bulakul, based in Bangkok and Singapore, has spent his career in Asia, previously working in investment banking at Citi and growth equity at L Capital and L Catterton. He was on the board of Ares Management Thailand, and currently works with sports and wellness companies.

Charles de Carvalho previously worked for Alibaba, Schmatz, and McKinsey & Company, and is on the board of Heineken Holding NV. He’s based in Amsterdam and London. 

Seiji Liu covers North America from LA and New York. His CV includes JPMorgan, Court Square Capital, IFG Health Fund, and Forme Science, which he founded.

They told Shaun Beaney, Editor of Preqin First Close, about how big changes in demographics, buying habits, and leisure are creating new investment opportunities.

How did you first meet?

Tyler Bulakul: We met six years ago during our MBA at Wharton School. We’d all come from various walks of life, but we had a lot of mutual connections. We talked about what we’d been doing professionally, our families, and coming from a consumer background – understanding different trends, but also similarities around the world in the space where we’re now investing. We saw a lot of connectivity and thought about doing something with each other that would be complementary.

I’d spent my whole career in Asia, first with Citi in investment banking, then joined L Capital and L Catterton, which were supported by LVMH and Groupe Arnault. In the US and Europe, we noticed a shift to longevity, wellness, sports, and entertainment, driven by the next generation of consumers. In Asia, people are now adopting these trends, just like they have before with luxury goods.

How did you develop the idea of Ami Capital? 

Charles de Carvalho: We were lucky to have complementary networks, and we’d all been doing a bit of angel investing in the space. We knew how tough the fundraising environment would be. So to begin with in 2025, we made a few investments in our target sectors via special purpose vehicles, to build a track record, with the idea of warehousing those investments into a fund. 

And the name? 

Charles: We wanted a name that began with ‘A’. In Japanese, ‘amimono’ refers to ‘knitting’ or ‘woven goods’. We like the idea of bringing different threads together – founders, capital, operating support, and Asia networks – to make something even stronger. ‘Ami’ means friend in French, and we are three friends. And we think of ourselves as friendly capital – to founders and the funds with whom we co-invest. 

What’s been the toughest thing about raising a first-time VC fund? 

Charles: There hasn’t been a great deal of liquidity in the market. We’re told constantly this is probably the hardest time to raise a fund, especially a first-time fund. You really need to come with something differentiated and compelling. We’re lucky to have a few things on our side. We have pretty strong complementary networks across the US, Europe, and Asia. Each of us has brought a close network of people who’ve followed our careers and who were willing to back us. That was the most important thing for us to get going.

What stages are your deals? 

Charles: In the US and Europe, it’s typically series A to series C. We’re investing in fast-growing companies, anywhere between $50mn and $250mn entry enterprise value, and with a clear path to scale to at least $500mn within three to four years. 

Your strategy is to back early-stage ‘new consumer’ brands in longevity, lifestyle, sports, and entertainment. What is a ‘new consumer’? 

Seiji Liu: It’s a big generational shift where millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha are making purchasing decisions differently from prior generations. They’re a lot more intentional about how they’re spending their time and money – prioritizing health, community, identity, and experiences alongside traditional consumption. They’re willing to invest in things like better sleep, better nutrition, well-being, social, community, and sports, and buy products that improve the foundation or quality of life rather than simply buying more material things.

A great example in our portfolio is a London-based company called Healf, which is building a trusted destination for premium wellness products and education. Rather than selling a single supplement, they’ve created a really powerful ecosystem around healthier living. This is a trend that we believe is going to continue to grow very fast globally, and especially across Asia, which we plan to help them enter over the next 12 months.

You aim to invest in emerging brands in North America and Europe to scale in Asia. Tell us about that. 

Tyler: A good example is Bandit Running, a New York-based apparel clothing brand for men and women. We thought this was a very good match for us because in Asia we’d seen a lot of running clubs popping up in the past two or three years. In the US there were tons, especially in New York. Again, this was driven predominantly by shifting consumer behaviours. People were not going to bars as much. They would go to running clubs. They would really prioritize more healthy living and that community aspect among clubs.  

We triangulated who would be interesting for these guys to work with, to bring the brand to shopping mall operators, clothing distributors – people who had done it before with big brands. We helped Bandit Running think about Asia in terms of expansion, how and what to do. We connected them with a bunch of distributors here. They now distribute in six markets – Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Jakarta, and Seoul.

Seiji: The networks we have and breadth across a lot of these international markets means Ami Capital can punch above our weight class. We can help companies identify opportunities and markets to enter, and to think about Asia expansion from day one.

Charles: Between the three of us, we’ve lived and worked in four of the top-seven most visited cities in Asia, which is where we guide our portfolio companies for market entry. I think we really have our finger on the pulse of what consumers are looking at in those places.

You’ve also backed the six-a-side Baller League. Given the global attention on soccer this summer, what’s been most fun about that deal? 

Charles: Baller League’s doing an amazing thing. That’s what got us excited about it. They’re connecting with younger audiences, under 24, who have somewhat fallen out of love with the traditional form of football – 90 minutes and nil-nil. They’re connecting with younger fans through platforms like Twitch and YouTube, free to air. They’re getting people interested in a more exciting format. They launched in Miami in March with teams managed by Ronaldinho, Usain Bolt, and IShowSpeed.

Shaun Beaney is Editor of Preqin First Close. It’s quick, easy, and free to subscribe here.

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_{The views expressed are the opinions of Ami Capital as of June 2026. They do not constitute an endorsement, recommendation, or any other advice, and are subject to change. The content does not necessarily express the views of BlackRock, Preqin, or any of their affiliates. Ami Capital is not affiliated with Preqin.}