This week’s developments highlight a world where capital, tech, and policy are increasingly intertwined, shaping how markets grow and compete. In Southeast Asia, VENTENY’s US$5 million funding round underscores sustained investor confidence in financial inclusion. By strengthening its B2B financial services and expanding access to financing for MSMEs across Indonesia, the company reflects a broader push to digitise and formalise underserved economies, even amid global uncertainty.
At the same time, geopolitical considerations continue to redraw the boundaries of innovation. The passage of the US National Defence Authorisation Act, which restricts investment in Chinese technology and military-linked firms, signals Washington’s firm stance on national security and strategic competition. These policy moves inevitably ripple through global supply chains.
Against this backdrop, Nvidia’s plan to ship H200 chips to China from existing inventory illustrates how companies are navigating tightening regulations while meeting market demand. Together, these stories reveal a delicate balancing act between growth ambitions, technological leadership, and geopolitical realities.
REGIONAL
VENTENY secures US$5M funding from Symbiotics: The funding will be used to accelerate VENTENY’s B2B Financial Services expansion, particularly in strengthening operational capabilities, enhancing technology infrastructure, and broadening access to financing solutions for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across Indonesia
REPORTS, LISTICLES, AND NEWS
Web3 gaming evolves to prioritise fun over blockchain hype in 2026: In an interview with Sunyoung Hwang, CEO of NEXPACE, this sea change came into sharp focus. “The industry’s perspective has completely shifted from ‘putting a game on the blockchain’ to ‘dissolving blockchain into the game’.”
Why SEA’s tech exit problem persists: Globally, signs of public market exits are emerging, marked by rising volumes of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) across exchanges like the NASDAQ, HKEX, and SSE Star. In H1 2025, the Americas and the regions of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa saw IPO volumes increase by 11 per cent and three per cent, respectively, compared to H2 2024.
Why legal’s biggest AI problem isn’t technology: Implementing process changes is https://e27.co/why-legals-biggest-ai-problem-isnt-technology-20251218/. For example, in large law firms, gathering all stakeholders is rare, resulting in uneven adoption and unclear communication.
Why transparency, trust and AI accountability will define the next CX era: By 2026, transparency, trust and real-time accountability will no longer be differentiators; they will be baseline expectations. According to Nicholas Kontopoulos, Vice President of Marketing, Asia Pacific & Japan at Twilio, brands that fail to adapt risk rapid customer attrition in a market where competitors are only a tap away.
GLOBAL
Trump signs defence bill restricting investment in Chinese tech, military firms: The bill, known as the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA), cleared both the House of Representatives and Senate earlier this month after months of negotiation. The Senate passed the bill on Wednesday in a 77-20 vote, following its passage in the House 312-112 last week
Nvidia aims to begin H200 chip shipments to China by mid-February: The US chipmaker aims to fulfill the order from existing stock, with shipments expected to total 5,000 to 10,000 chip modules.
ChatGPT launches a year-end review like Spotify Wrapped: That is, the OpenAI-owned chatbot is now rolling out year-end feature called “Your Year with ChatGPT” to eligible consumers in select markets, including the United States.
Waymo resumes service in San Francisco after robotaxis stall during blackout: Numerous photos and videos posted to social media captured Waymo robotaxis stalled on roads and at intersections as human drivers were either stuck behind them or weaved around them.
New York governor Kathy Hochul signs RAISE Act to regulate AI safety: State lawmakers passed the RAISE Act in June, but following lobbying from the tech industry, Hochul proposed changes to scale the bill back. The New York Times reports that Hochul ultimately agreed to sign the original bill, while lawmakers agreed to make her requested changes next year.
SEMICONDUCTOR
AI drives CapEx chip equipment to record US$156B in 2027: This forecast signals a clear shift away from traditional consumer-driven cycles toward a new “Giga Cycle,” in which major tech companies are investing heavily to compete in the AI era.
Pax Silica marks end of globalisation’s golden age: Convened by the second Trump administration, this coalition signals a move away from post-Cold War globalisation toward a new model of economic statecraft focused on securing artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor supply chains.
AI
OpenAI says AI browsers may always be vulnerable to prompt injection attacks: OpenAI launched its ChatGPT Atlas browser in October, and security researchers rushed to publish their demos, showing it was possible to write a few words in Google Docs that were capable of changing the underlying browser’s behavior
50,000 Copilot licences for Indian service companies: For large organisations, the embedding of AI into workflows is important. A firm shouldn’t have to rebuild its toolchain to experiment with AI, but rather start using AI in the software and documents its workforce already uses
Marketing agencies using AI in workflows serve more clients: WPP and Stability AI note that off-the-shelf models “don’t come trained on your brand’s visual identity”, so outputs can often look generic. The companies’ remedy is fine-tuning, that is, training models on brand-specific datasets so the model learns the brand playbook, including style, look, and colours
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Charting the rise of ETA in SEA – Part 4: In this concluding instalment, we analyse the existing gaps within the ETA ecosystem that hinder its broader adoption as an asset class and outline the specific initiatives we are undertaking to cultivate an ETA ecosystem uniquely tailored to the SEA context
Profit is fleeting but community is forever: In the ruthless churn of the modern economy, relying solely on superior product features or aggressive pricing is a fast track to irrelevance.
AI augmented development: Business leaders are being told AI will replace their development teams. Make everyone 10x more productive. Eliminate the need for senior engineers. Some of this is true. Most of it is dangerously misleading.
SEA founders can no longer afford to wing their communications: A decade ago, few local entrepreneurs thought of “communications strategy” as a core business function. Today, it’s becoming a survival skill.
Asian markets are rising while crypto quietly crosses a US$3T threshold: Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed nearly two per cent, while both the Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng posted gains, reflecting a broader regional momentum.
Global investors can’t afford to overlook Bangladesh — Part 2: In this second part, we shift from theory to practice and look closely at the startups, investors, and success stories that demonstrate what is already happening on the ground.
How AI solopreneurs are reinventing ESG: Powered by artificial intelligence, a new class of AI-enabled solopreneurs—single innovators who use generative and analytical AI as full-time partners—are transforming ESG from compliance to commerce.
2026’s fintech imperative: As 2026 approaches, fintechs, especially those reshaping the housing finance industry, stand at a defining moment. The following year will separate those who simply scale from those who endure, adapt and build responsibly for the long term
Data-driven or gut-led? In practice, the best leaders do neither. They pair fast, comprehensive analytics with adaptable human heuristics and simple rules honed by context to make sharper, faster, and more resilient choices
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Image Credit: Vishnu Mohanan on Unsplash
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