Southeast Asia continues to prove why it is one of the world’s most dynamic regions for innovation, with its youthful population, deep digital adoption, and fast-evolving tech ecosystems. Insights from The Philippine Startup Ecosystem Report 2025 highlight how differently the ASEAN-6 markets are accelerating — each shaped by unique economic conditions, policy environments, and sector strengths.
Singapore remains the region’s anchor hub, combining capital depth, regulatory clarity, and world-class infrastructure. Its US$144B ecosystem value and dominant fintech and healthtech sectors show how strategic governance translates into global competitiveness.
Indonesia, meanwhile, leverages its massive population and rapid digital transformation to build scale. With strong services-sector growth and national AI programmes, it is positioning itself as a future-ready tech powerhouse.
Vietnam and Malaysia represent the region’s rising momentum. Vietnam’s impressive GDP growth and surging VC activity — up 17x since 2018 — underscore its shift into higher-value tech like AI and climate solutions. Malaysia’s maturing ecosystem and booming digital investments point to increasing investor confidence.
The Philippines, though trailing its peers in funding volume, shows remarkable resilience. Despite a 32% funding decline, its rapid digital economy growth and push into AI signal strong latent potential. What the Philippines lacks in institutional capital, it makes up for through founder grit — an asset that could define its next wave of innovation as domestic support structures catch up.
REGIONAL
Thai insurtech firm Roojai nets US$60M: Apis Partners and Asia Partners are lead investors. The company plans to use the new funds to expand in Thailand, accelerate its Indonesian operations, and pursue strategic acquisitions.
Cybercriminals launch 6.3M fake shopping scams; gaming platforms also under fire: Attackers increasingly follow users across online stores, gaming services, and streaming platforms, driving a massive 2025 rise in phishing and malware attempts.
ASEAN’s EV race: Indonesia rises 49% but lags behind Vietnam and Thailand: Strong incentives fuel Indonesia’s EV growth amid auto market contraction, yet limited charging infrastructure and consumer concerns pose major challenges ahead.
Temasek-backed Seviora bolsters regional strategy with Pavilion Capital integration: Pavilion Capital joins Seviora to form a US$72B asset manager, expanding private-market capabilities and strengthening Asia’s investment ecosystem.
Cost pressures, global uncertainty weigh on 2026 outlook for businesses in Singapore, finds survey: SBF Chief Executive Kok Ping Soon said businesses remain cautious about the 2026 outlook, despite reduced concerns over US tariffs.
Eluvo raises fresh capital to fix Philippines’s broken women’s healthcare system: Foxmont Capital is the lead investor. Funding supports Eluvo’s expansion of premium, women-led healthcare services, enhancing fertility, hormonal, sexual, and reproductive care in the Philippines’s underserved market.
Higala closes US$4M round to bring real-time payments to rural banks in Philippines: The investors include Talino Venture Studios, Kadan Capital, and 1982 Ventures. Higala will use the capital to lower digital barriers for rural banks and empower underserved regions with real-time financial services.
Temasek appoints ex-DBS CEO as India chairman: Piyush Gupta will serve in a non-executive role, focusing on investment strategies with Temasek’s India team. Temasek is looking to boost its roughly US$50B India portfolio with larger, more selective bets.
REPORTS, FEATURES & INTERVIEWS
Against the odds: Why Philippines remains SEA’s most undervalued startup market: Amid declining capital and ecosystem gaps, the Philippines’s booming digital economy positions it as the region’s most overlooked growth opportunity.
Philippines enters ‘Intelligent Era’ as AI becomes startup growth engine: AI adoption accelerates in 2025, boosting Philippine e-commerce, logistics, and fintech as the country advances into a more data-driven, intelligent economy.
Foreign funding follows incorporation: Singapore-registered Filipino startups report 100% international backing: Singapore’s stability and investor trust draw Filipino startups to incorporate abroad, revealing persistent Philippine governance gaps affecting growth and international competitiveness.
Inside Funding Societies’s strategy to help SMEs grow through stronger institutional funding: Operating across five Southeast Asian countries, Funding Societies adapts its offerings to the unique needs of each country.
INTERNATIONAL
South Korea’s Upbit halts trading after US$37M crypto hack: An unauthorised transfer of around US$37M in digital assets to an external wallet was detected by the firm. The incident took place a day after Upbit’s parent Dumanu announced a US$10.3B merger with the fintech unit of Naver.
North Korea’s Lazarus suspected in S Korea’s Upbit crypto theft: The hacking group stole about US$30.6M in cryptocurrency from Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange. A government official said it is possible hackers compromised or posed as administrator accounts, instead of attacking servers directly.
BYD, Geely seen to lead automaker global top 10 by 2030: McKinsey: BYD and Geely were already among the top 10 by sales in 2024, with BYD delivering 4.3M vehicles and Geely selling 3.3M units. China now accounts for over 30% of global car production, and more than 60% of EVs sold worldwide go to Chinese buyers.
Chinese EV makers push overseas as local sales slow: Analysts expect China’s new energy vehicle growth to slow to 13% next year, down from 27% in 2025, partly due to expiring tax breaks. Manufacturers like BYD, Geely, and Leapmotor are seen as better positioned for the expected market downturn.
China warns of bubble risk in humanoid robotics market: According to the National Development and Reform Commission, over 150 humanoid robot makers operate in China. Officials cautioned that a surge of similar products could crowd the market and reduce space for R&D.
SEMICONDUCTOR
Taiwan probes ex-TSMC executive over alleged Intel secret leaks: Taiwanese authorities searched the homes of Lo Wen-jen, a former senior executive at TSMC after the semiconductor firm filed a lawsuit accusing him of passing sensitive information to his new US employer. Intel has denied the allegations.
China blocks ByteDance from Nvidia chips in data centres: The TikTok owner bought more Nvidia chips than any other Chinese company in 2025 to boost computing power. The ban highlights China’s efforts to reduce dependence on US tech amid tighter US export controls on advanced semiconductors.
Nvidia CEO says company leads AI chip market despite competition: Jensen Huang described the AI market as “extremely large” and noted that Google could become a rival if Meta buys billions of dollars in tensor processing units (TPUs) from Google.
AI
Why 2026 will be the year AI finally delivers on its promise for finance: Despite widespread AI adoption claims, few startups run truly AI-native finance. In 2026, disciplined, data-driven CFOs will win by building unified AI stacks, clean data foundations, and agentic workflows that drive capital-efficient growth.
Why the illusion of AI perfection is quietly killing team innovation: AI’s polish can suppress collaboration by making work seem finished. Real innovation comes from visible imperfection, shared experimentation, and human awareness — not blind automation — enabling teams to question, iterate, and think together.
Nataraj Sindam: Charting the intersection of AI, product strategy and early stage innovation: Sindam explores the intersection of cloud, startups and AI, sharing grounded lessons shaped by product work and founder conversations.
The missing rung of the ladder: How AI automation is quietly breaking the career pipeline: AI is eliminating unproductive roles and entry level paths, creating a need for new training ladders and apprenticeship models.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Why we changed our vision after 11 years: Building a unified Southeast Asia: e27 shifts from founder-focused support to unifying Southeast Asia’s tech ecosystem through regional connection and collaboration.
New year, new funding strategies: Powering up sustainability tech startups: Sustainable tech demand is rising, pushing startups to deliver impactful, scalable solutions. With tougher funding conditions, founders must prove resilience, clear impact, strong differentiation, and ecosystem collaboration to attract investors.
Fed rate cut odds hit 85%: Here’s how stocks, crypto, and gold are reacting: Markets rallied on rising expectations of a December Fed rate cut, with strong labour data reinforcing optimism. Equities, crypto, and Asian markets surged, while bonds, currencies, and commodities reflected cautious but improving sentiment.
Robotics, space, sustainability: The forces shaping Asia’s next tech chapter: Southeast Asia’s robotics startups are going through a lean period as early-stage capital moves away from consumer-focused companies to deep tech, and the region’s startups and corporates need to adjust their thinking.
The role of edutech in an AI-ready workforce: Traditional training methods like long modules, static slide decks, and one-way seminars often fail to keep employees motivated. With edutech, trainers can design learning experiences that are interactive, using gamification and real-time feedback.
The rise of logistics startups in Southeast Asia: How AI powers supply-chain revolution: AI powered logistics is transforming Southeast Asia’s fragmented supply chains through smarter routing, forecasting and last mile automation.
Reinvention vs improvement: Are we changing the process or the product?: Innovation often boosts efficiency without changing purpose. True reinvention asks deeper questions, reimagining mobility, learning, and success. Education must shift from digitising old models to redefining what learning is for.
Gobi Partners’s expansion sets stage for increased Japan–SEA co-investments: Gobi Partners enters Japan via JR East’s LiSH hub, creating a cross-border venture bridge linking Japan’s innovation ecosystem with Southeast Asia’s growth markets.
The grant funding mindset: When non-dilutive capital becomes a mirror of founder readiness: Grant funding rewards disciplined systems and clean operations, not ideas, making readiness and consistency the true competitive edge.
Clean energy in Malaysia: Opportunity amidst uncertainty: Malaysia’s clean energy sector faces uncertainty as NEM2.0 ends and major players enter. Independent firms pivot to smart energy management, driving innovation despite COVID-19, while stakeholders await clarity on NEM3.0 and supportive policies.
The post Ecosystem Roundup: Philippines’s undervalued startup scene; ASEAN’s EV race heats up; Roojai raises US$60M; Upbit hit by US$37M hack appeared first on e27.