Dear reader,
The Southeast Asian startup ecosystem has faced significant headwinds in 2024, with total funding dropping by 59% in the first nine months, according to Tracxn’s latest report. This sharp decline reflects global economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, and the ongoing funding winter, which has dampened investor confidence.
Early-stage investments have been more resilient, declining by 30%, while late-stage and seed-stage funding experienced steeper drops of 79% and 39%, respectively. Despite this, fintech and enterprise applications remain top-performing sectors, though both saw double-digit declines compared to 2023.
A notable shift is the scarcity of large funding rounds, with only two $100M+ deals recorded this year, compared to nine last year. This indicates a more cautious approach from investors, prioritizing early-stage ventures over larger bets.
However, Singapore continues to be a stronghold, attracting US$1.4 billion in funding, followed by Jakarta and Bangkok. Meanwhile, acquisitions and IPOs have slowed, further reflecting a challenging landscape for exits.
While the drop in overall funding is concerning, Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem remains robust, with over US$85 billion raised to date and a growing number of unicorns. Investors and founders will need to navigate these challenges strategically to weather the storm and drive future growth.
Sainul,
Editor.
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NEWS & VIEWS
Southeast Asia’s startup scene sees 59% drop in funding amid economic headwinds
Eearly-stage investments dropped 30%, late-stage funding dropped 79%, and seed-stage financing fell 39% in the 2024 year to date; Fintech and enterprise applications were the top-performing sectors in 2024 so far.
Philippine fintech firm Salmon secures US$30M
The investors are IFC and Abu Dhabi’s Lunate; The funds raised will be used to expand Salmon’s lending operations and develop new financial products addressing the needs of over 50M Filipino consumers underserved by traditional banks.
Funding Societies grows losses, top line in ‘toughest year’ yet
The digital lending company is “behind” on its Q4 2024 operational profitability target; Still, it grew its revenue to US$48.7M in 2023 – 33% higher compared to the previous year; However, the bump wasn’t a result of a rise in loans.
Ola Electric stock tumbles as complaints add up and market share erodes
The company’s shares fell by as much as 9.1% on Monday to ₹89.14, sending its market cap below US$4.75B for the first time since its IPO in August; The startup reportedly receives over 80,000 customer complaints monthly.
Meta launches AI Accelerator program for APAC
The program will empower innovative companies and developers to integrate Llama, Meta’s open-source AI model, into their products; The firm also plans to launch an incubator program to support 100 enterprises in deepening their understanding of GenAI and Llama.
Swiss startup BE WTR raises US$45.45M for expansion into Singapore, Asia
This new round of funding will accelerate BE WTR’s mission to provide eco-friendly, premium water solutions, ensuring access to high-quality drinking water while reducing reliance on single-use packaging and plastics.
Ouch! nets US$1.2M to expand market share, drive insurance innovation
PPB Ventures is the investor; Ouch! is now working to secure a DITO licence from the central bank BNM, which would enable it to close critical protection gaps for Malaysians.
JAZRO gets Gobi’s backing to expand robotics learning in Malaysia
JAZRO develops digital talents in STEM fields for students from 7 to 17 years old to learn, discover and explore robotics and coding via fun learning methods.
Southeast Asian startups secure US$202M across 12 rounds in September
This marks a 28.66 per cent rise in funding over August 2024 and a 27.86 per cent decline from September 2023; The region witnessed seven seed-stage, six early-stage, and three late-stage funding rounds last month.
FEATURES & INTERVIEWS
In promoting AI adoption, SoftServe believes in implementing a hackathon-like approach
In this interview, Dipen Mehta of SoftServe explains the common barriers that businesses face in adopting AI and what they can do about it.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Sparkline CEO on exit strategy: Valuation is what someone is willing to pay for your startup
Analysing trends to determine exit strategies and approaches is a complex process. It involves considering numerous factors, such as market growth rates and potential technological advancements that could disrupt your business.
Infrastructure and talent are challenges finance industry faces in adopting AI: Provenir
Despite increasing use cases, Provenir sees that there are challenges that the finance industry has to tackle to successfully adopt AI.
Using AI on e-commerce analytics: Data quality, availability remain critical obstacles
Data accuracy, cleanliness, and consistency are essential for building reliable AI models for e-commerce analytics.
What you should –and should not– say when fundraising for a crowdfunding project
Research revealed that claiming your product to be both “novel and useful” may actually ruin your chance to reach the crowdfunding goal.
How to attract the first thousand users to your marketplace
Given that an online marketplace is a platform service, owners need to acquire users from both supply and demand sides.
AI in journalism: Thai media show 95% adaptation rate despite concerns
A contrasting attitude was expressed by journalists in the Philippines with only 52 per cent have integrated AI into their work.
How Bangkok Bank worked with Pand.ai to develop a conversational AI engine to better service customers
Digitalisation has become a must-have, as it drives competencies for banks in this digital age. This is how Bangkok Bank aims to get there.
Accelerating Asia on building a company culture that fosters innovation and inclusion
To achieve its mission, Accelerating Asia needs to implement an organisational culture that supports and promotes the values they live by.
How Warung Pintar builds tech solutions to help warung owners embrace the future
Warung Pintar tries to get their users involved in product development process as much as possible. This is how they do it.
The evolution and regulation of social commerce in Indonesia: The TikTok Shop ban
Orderfaz Founder & CEO Reynaldi Gandawidjaja shares his thoughts about the recent TikTok Shop ban in Indonesia and how it will impact us all.
Key to success: Digitising customer communication and investing in a multi-channel approach
The new mantra for 2020 is that customer communication should always involve heavy tech use. This is how you can excel in it.
Is Singapore the “Delaware” of Southeast Asia?
The city-state has also made it relatively easy and quick to incorporate your business in the country—if you are a local.
How a great back-end tech helped GrabFood capture half of SEA’s food delivery pie despite being a latecomer
Launched only in 2018, a Momentum Works report found that GrabFood already amassed an estimated GMV of US$5.9B in 2020.
Ex-Gojek CMO reveals the 3 things that marketers should stop doing today
In this article, Piotr Jakubowski also shares examples of his favourite marketing initiatives by top global companies.
Want to work at a leading tech company? Here’s how
As the lead recruiter at social media giant Twitter, this is what I can tell you about making a CV that is fit for a leading tech company.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
5 ways leaders can use the power of allowing to manage stress and enhance focus
When leaders master the art of allowing, they shift their energy away from stress-inducing distractions and towards what truly matters.
BorderDollar: Adapting and innovating in a high interest rate environment
BorderDollar reflects on how high interest rates impacted their startup and their pivot to blockchain for future growth.
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Image Credit: 123RF.
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