In the past month, I built more products than I would typically ship in a year.

Not mockups. Not pitch decks. Not “coming soon” landing pages. Actual working MVPs.

I didn’t suddenly hire a 50-person engineering team. I didn’t discover a secret growth hack.

I started vibe coding: consciously, deliberately, and with full awareness of the risks.

From “landing page MVPs” to real MVPs

Historically, when founders wanted to test an idea quickly, we launched a landing page.

Collect emails. Measure interest. Then maybe build the product.

But here’s what changed for me this year: With AI-assisted development, the time it takes to build a landing page is now roughly the same time it takes to build a usable MVP.

In the last month alone, I shipped or progressed multiple products concurrently, including:

• Seraphina AI
• Cultural and community platforms
• Games and identity-based apps
• Marketplace and advertising tools

Each of these would normally take 8-10 weeks minimum to reach a first usable version. Some would’ve taken months. And there’s no way I could’ve done them in parallel as a solo founder before.

Vibe coding isn’t “no-code” — It’s founder-led development

Let’s be clear: Vibe coding doesn’t mean “type vibes, ship magic.”

It means:

• I still design the system architecture
• I still create flowcharts and briefs
• I still review code
• I still handle security considerations
• I still document everything

Also Read: Vibe coding: Why Singapore needs more tech built for joy, not just utility

The difference?

I’m briefing an AI the same way I brief my engineers.

If you don’t understand systems, architecture, or product logic, this is dangerous. But that’s true whether your code is written by AI or humans.

Everything is dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Speed didn’t remove judgment — it amplified it

What surprised me most wasn’t speed. It was agency.

I no longer need to wait weeks just to see if something can exist. I can now go from: Idea → MVP → first dollar → decision … in a single cycle.

This doesn’t eliminate developers. It eliminates mindless iteration, waiting, and guesswork.

The bottleneck is no longer execution. It’s judgment.

The hidden risk most people miss

AI doesn’t magically produce clean code.

Just like human-written code, everything bloats if you’re not disciplined.

“Just because it works doesn’t mean it’s clean or scalable.”

The difference now is that founders who understand:

• Systems
• Product flows
• Real customer feedback

… can iterate faster with ownership.

You can export the code. You can refactor it. You can scale it properly.

The risk isn’t vibe coding. The risk is that founders who think they can skip thinking.

Also Read: The Agency: AI-augmented development in action

What shouldn’t be vibe-coded?

If a system already exists — refined by years of real customer feedback — don’t rebuild it.

I still use my own mature platforms for funnels and operations because you can’t vibe-code lived experience.

AI accelerates new ground. It doesn’t replace battle-tested systems.

The real shift isn’t technical — it’s cognitive

AI didn’t make me lazier. It made me more articulate.

The more I interact with AI, the better I’ve become at:

• Explaining intent
• Questioning assumptions
• Clarifying logic
• Thinking in systems

We’re not losing thinking skills.

We’re being forced to think more clearly.

A new year, a new baseline

Vibe coding isn’t a trend. It’s not a shortcut. It’s not a replacement for experience.

It’s a new baseline for founders who evolve with the tools.

If you adapt to change, you won’t be replaced. If you don’t — history has already answered that question.

2026 won’t reward the fastest typers. It will reward founders with clarity, judgment, and the courage to build in public — faster than ever before.

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Singapore-based digital finance platform Atome has closed a US$345 million syndicated debt facility, extending its funding capacity as it scales consumer credit products across Southeast Asia.

The new facility is a sizeable increase from the US$200 million raised in 2024 and comes at a time when growth-stage startups in the region are increasingly favouring debt over equity amid a constrained venture capital market.

Also Read: Atome defies market headwinds with 63 per cent income surge, US$4B GMV run rate

The financing was led by HSBC with DBS Bank joining as a co-mandated lead arranger. Other participants in the syndicate include Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Baiduri Bank, and Cathay United Bank, alongside new lenders Fubon Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank.

Atome said the capital will be used to expand Atome Financial’s regional loan portfolio, including its Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) offering, consumer lending products, and the Atome Card, primarily across Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Debt over equity in a tighter funding market

The decision to raise debt reflects a broader shift among Southeast Asian fintechs towards non-dilutive funding as equity financing becomes more selective. With its BNPL business now profitable, Atome has been able to tap bank-led facilities to extend its runway and support new product launches without issuing new shares.

Regional data shows that debt deals in Southeast Asia reached a six-year high of 54 in 2024, driven by a rise in venture debt and private credit as venture capital investment slowed. For growth-stage companies with stable cash flows, debt has emerged as a lower-cost source of capital compared to equity.

Financial performance underpins lender interest

Atome Financial, which houses the group’s BNPL business, Atome Card and Kredit Pintar, reported operating income of US$236 million in FY2024, up 63 per cent year-on-year. Over the same period, gross merchandise volume (GMV) processed across its platforms rose 50 per cent to more than US$2 billion.

Growth continued into 2025. By mid-year, the group’s annualised net revenue had exceeded US$500 million, while annualised GMV reached US$6 billion. In December 2025, Atome recorded its highest monthly GMV to date, posting over 70 per cent year-on-year growth compared with December 2024.

The company reached EBITDA profitability in the first quarter of 2024, supported by BNPL margins and expansion into cards and lending products.

BNPL expansion across Southeast Asia

Atome’s expansion is taking place alongside rapid growth in BNPL adoption across Southeast Asia, driven by rising e-commerce penetration and limited access to traditional credit. In Asia Pacific, the BNPL market is projected to reach US$211.7 billion in 2025, growing 14.5 per cent year-on-year.

Also Read: Scaling with purpose: Atome’s fintech evolution and future outlook

Within Southeast Asia, BNPL-enabled e-commerce spend is expected to grow almost ninefold to US$8.83 billion GMV by 2025. Indonesia accounts for around 58 per cent of regional BNPL spending, while Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia are seeing accelerated uptake from smaller bases.

Banking partnerships and regional reach

The latest facility builds on Atome’s existing debt funding base. Previous raises include a US$100 million facility from HSBC in 2023, a US$200 million syndicated facility in 2024, and a US$80 million accordion facility with BlackRock and InnoVen Capital in 2025. The company also has longer-term bank relationships, including a US$500 million, 10-year commitment from Standard Chartered.

Banks involved in these facilities provide syndicated capital, risk oversight and flexibility to scale lending across markets including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Credit access for underbanked consumers

Part of Advance Intelligence Group, Atome uses AI-driven credit assessment to underwrite consumer lending in markets where credit card penetration remains below 10 per cent in several countries. Across its platforms, the group has cumulatively disbursed over US$4 billion in financing to consumers and works with thousands of merchants across the region.

The company’s consumer-facing apps have recorded more than 40 million downloads, reflecting sustained demand for alternative credit products in Southeast Asia’s underbanked markets.

Also Read: Atome secures debt funding from EvolutionX to expand credit portfolio, launch new products

Backed by investors including SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Warburg Pincus, Northstar, and EDBI, Atome is positioning its expanding debt base as a way to maintain growth while preserving equity in an increasingly disciplined funding environment.

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The era of the “easy unicorn” is officially over in Southeast Asia, replaced by a new standard of efficiency and investor scrutiny. Only two unicorns were created in 2025, a 33 per cent drop from the three minted in 2024.

According to the “SEA Tech Annual Funding Report 2025” by Tracxn, these two new entrants — Supabase and Sygnum — represent a more technical and resilient class of billion-dollar firms than their predecessors.

Also Read: Jakarta trails as Singapore tightens its grip on tech capital

The path to unicorn status has become significantly longer and more capital-intensive. On average, it now takes 3.8 years from a Series A round to reach a US$1 billion valuation, a sharp increase from the 0.7 years seen during the hyper-growth period of 2024.

Furthermore, companies are raising far more capital before reaching the milestone; the average funding before a unicorn round rose to US$281 million, nearly double the US$146 million average of the previous year.

Investor selectivity has also intensified. 2025’s unicorns had an average of 8.5 institutional investors involved before their milestone round, up from 4.7 in 2024. Leading global names such as Coatue, Y Combinator, and Accel were identified as the top investors backing these successful ventures. This suggests that a US$1 billion valuation now requires a “consensus of excellence” from multiple top-tier global firms.

Also Read: Southeast Asia’s startup boom is becoming a closed club

Supabase, an open-source application backend platform, and Sygnum, a digital asset banking specialist, exemplify the trend toward specialised, high-utility technology. Both firms raised substantial sums — US$401 million and US$160 million, respectively — before their unicorn rounds, proving that even in a tighter market, capital is available for “category-defining” players.

Today’s new unicorns are not just fast-growing startups; they are battle-scarred warriors that have had to survive a more rigorous and selective gauntlet than ever before.

The post The rise of the ‘hard unicorn’ in Southeast Asia appeared first on e27.

New highs on January 12 and 13, 2026, were propelled by strong corporate earnings expectations and a wave of optimism ahead of key US inflation data. Beneath the surface of this bullish equity momentum lies a more cautious undercurrent in crypto markets, where macro uncertainty, regulatory delays, and speculative leverage have combined to trigger a short-term retreat.

US equities closed at record levels on Monday. The S&P 500 edged up 0.16 per cent to 6,977.27, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.17 per cent to 49,590.20, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.26 per cent to finish at 23,733.90.

These gains reflected investor confidence in resilient corporate fundamentals and hopes that December’s Consumer Price Index report, due Tuesday, January 13, would show cooling inflation, potentially clearing the path for future Federal Reserve rate cuts. Early Tuesday trading told a slightly different story, with Dow futures dipping as markets paused to reassess.

Also Read: Crypto rebounds as gold hits all-time high and oil surges on Iran tensions

In Asia, the mood remained exuberant. Japan’s Nikkei 225 soared over 3 per cent to an all-time high of 53,540.6, driven by Wall Street’s rally and speculation surrounding domestic political developments. The broader MSCI Asia Pacific Index also reached a record high, underscoring the region’s alignment with global risk-on sentiment.

Meanwhile, commodities responded to rising geopolitical tensions. Gold advanced as a haven amid concerns about political pressure on the Federal Reserve’s independence. At the same time, West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.4 per cent to US$59.75 a barrel, reflecting ongoing unease over potential US intervention in Venezuela.

Against this backdrop, the crypto market moved in the opposite direction, falling 1.24 per cent over the past 24 hours. This decline aligns with a broader weekly decline of 3.31 per cent, despite a modest 1.2 per cent gain over the month.

Three interrelated forces explain the pullback.

First, stronger-than-expected US economic data has dampened expectations for near-term Fed rate cuts. That shift triggered US$454 million in net outflows from crypto investment products last week, with US-linked funds alone shedding US$569 million. The tight correlation between crypto and the Nasdaq 100, currently at +0.78, confirms that digital assets remain highly sensitive to macro liquidity signals.

Second, regulatory progress in Washington stalled. The Senate Agriculture Committee postponed its markup of a major crypto market structure bill to late January, citing the need for further bipartisan negotiations. While not a rejection of reform, the delay prolongs the fog of uncertainty that has long clouded institutional participation. Proposals under discussion, including potential bans on stablecoin yield mechanisms and unresolved governance questions, further complicate an already fragile policy landscape.

Third, excessive leverage amplified the downturn. Bitcoin liquidations spiked to US$50 million in 24 hours, a 73 per cent increase, while total crypto derivatives open interest climbed 18.3 per cent to US$716 billion. This combination suggests that speculative positioning had grown frothy, and even a modest price dip was enough to trigger cascading margin calls. Although funding rates remain slightly positive at +0.0028, signalling lingering bullish sentiment among perpetual traders, the surge in liquidations reveals how quickly sentiment can flip when macro conditions shift.

Also Read: Wallets, not smart contracts, were crypto’s biggest risk in 2025

The current crypto correction should not be mistaken for a structural breakdown. Instead, it reflects the natural recalibration of a maturing asset class responding to real-world catalysts. Equities may celebrate anticipated soft landings and contained inflation, but crypto markets, still tethered to liquidity expectations and policy clarity, react more violently to ambiguity. The coming days will prove pivotal. The CPI release on January 13 could either validate hopes for a dovish pivot or reinforce a higher-for-longer rate narrative. Simultaneously, any movement on the Senate crypto bill would offer much-needed directional clarity.

For now, the divergence between traditional markets and digital assets highlights a critical truth. While both respond to macroeconomic forces, cryptocurrency remains more exposed to regulatory uncertainty and leverage-driven volatility. Investors should watch whether daily liquidations stabilise below US$40 million, a sign that speculative excess is being flushed out without triggering more profound distress. In the longer arc, such corrections are not setbacks but necessary adjustments in a market striving for institutional legitimacy.

—

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Atome’s latest US$345M syndicated debt facility is more than a financing milestone; it is a signal of how Southeast Asia’s fintech winners are recalibrating for a tighter capital cycle.

In a market where equity funding remains selective and valuations are under pressure, Atome’s ability to scale through non-dilutive capital reflects both operational maturity and growing lender confidence.

What stands out is not just the size of the facility, but its timing. Debt is increasingly becoming the preferred instrument for profitable, growth-stage startups with predictable cash flows, and Atome fits that profile squarely.

With its BNPL business already profitable and revenue scaling rapidly, tapping bank-led credit allows the company to extend its lending book without sacrificing ownership or strategic flexibility.

The composition of the syndicate—led by HSBC and DBS, with participation from regional and global banks—also underscores a broader shift. Traditional financial institutions are no longer merely observers of Southeast Asia’s fintech boom; they are active enablers, providing structured capital and governance frameworks to help platforms scale responsibly.

Atome’s expansion across Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines aligns with structural demand for alternative credit in underbanked markets, where card penetration remains low and digital consumption continues to rise. If executed well, this debt-led growth strategy could become a blueprint for regional fintechs navigating the post-easy-capital era—prioritising sustainability, discipline, and long-term value creation over rapid dilution-driven expansion.

REGIONAL

Atome lines up US$345M debt as Southeast Asia fintechs shun equity: Atome Financial, which houses the group’s BNPL business, Atome Card and Kredit Pintar, reported operating income of US$236M in FY2024, up 63% YoY. Over the same period, GMV processed across its platforms rose 50% to more than US$2B.

ICEx licence signals Indonesia’s shift from crypto speculation to infrastructure: ICEx’s licensing comes amid rapid growth in Indonesia’s crypto market. As of October 2025, the country recorded 19.08M crypto investors, representing roughly 6.7 to 6.9% of its population of around 280M.

Gojek founder Makarim urges GoTo to speak on Chromebook case: The request was presented in a letter read by Nadiem’s lawyer during a hearing at Jakarta’s Corruption Court on January 12. Makarim is accused of benefiting from US$48M linked to the digitalisation programme at Indonesia’s education ministry between 2019 and 2022.

Malaysia, Indonesia escalate AI oversight with temporary Grok block: The twin actions by Malaysia and Indonesia send a strong signal to global AI developers operating in Southeast Asia: rapid innovation without robust safeguards may invite swift regulatory intervention.

Meta-backed AI sales coaching startup Hupo nets US$10M Series A: Investors include DST Global, Goodwater Capital, and January Capital. Hupo offers AI sales coaching for banking, insurance, and financial services. It claims to serve dozens of customers in Asia Pacific and Europe, including Prudential, AXA, Manulife, HSBC.

Zeya Health wins Antler backing to ease SEA’s healthcare workforce crisis using AI: Antler and unnamed strategic angels invested. With regional staff shortages worsening, Zeya’s AI front desk automates scheduling and follow-ups for clinics across Asia Pacific.

Thai logistics startup Flash Group to exit Malaysia market: The move comes amid rising competition from e-commerce platforms with their own logistics networks and partnerships, putting pressure on independent delivery providers across Southeast Asia.

FEATURES & INTERVIEWS

The rise of the ‘hard unicorn’ in Southeast Asia: The path to unicorn status has become significantly longer and more capital-intensive. On average, it now takes 3.8 years from a Series A round to reach a US$1B valuation, a sharp increase from the 0.7 years seen during the hyper-growth period of 2024.

AI’s biggest bottleneck isn’t intelligence but fragmentation: i10X co-founder: As AI tools proliferate, i10X argues fragmentation—not intelligence—is the real bottleneck, betting on a neutral AI meta-layer where retention, workflows, and habitual usage matter more than hype or raw model performance.

The IPO window is open, and SEA startups are walking through: The region recorded 15 IPOs in 2025, a substantial 67% increase from the nine recorded in 2024. This trend suggests that the region’s most successful companies are increasingly viewing the public markets as their preferred endgame.

Gaming in SEA: Understanding the growing opportunity for SMEs and payment providers: The growth of the gaming industry in SEA signals a larger shift in digital behaviour—one that merges entertainment, commerce, and identity.

Kaspersky: Deepfakes emerge as a top cybersecurity concern for 2026: Deepfakes are no longer limited to manipulated videos of public figures; they are becoming a mainstream technology encountered by employees, consumers and organisations alike.

INTERNATIONAL

Taiwan launches US$3.2B fund to train 500,000 AI talents by 2040: The initiatives include creating a national computing centre and advancing technologies such as silicon photonics, quantum computing, and robotics. The government will roll out AI training courses for the public sector.

UAE fintech Mal raises US$230M to launch AI Islamic digital bank: Mal aims to launch the platform in 2026, targeting both underbanked communities and the global Muslim population. The company does not yet hold a banking or financial services license but is seeking regulatory approvals in multiple markets.

Meta urges Australia to rethink under-16 social media ban: Meta removed nearly 550,000 accounts believed to belong to teens in December. The company argued for industry-wide standards to create safer, age-appropriate experiences online instead of blanket bans.

OpenAI said to acquire healthtech startup Torch for US$60M: Torch was developing an AI-powered system to consolidate patient health data from multiple sources into a single platform. The acquisition follows OpenAI’s recent launch of ChatGPT Health, which allows users to connect medical records and wellness apps to its chatbot.

SK Telecom blocks 1.1B voice spam, phishing calls using AI: In 2024, It introduced an AI model that analyses call patterns to detect and block suspected phishing numbers not yet reported to authorities. The company said it blocked 250M voice spam and phishing calls, a rise of 119% YoY, and 850M spam texts, up 22%.

Meta reportedly to cut 10% of Reality Labs staff: Reality Labs, which has around 15,000 employees, develops products including virtual reality headsets and the metaverse. The layoffs could be announced as soon as December 13, and are expected to primarily affect teams working on the metaverse and related hardware.

MENA VC funding hits record US$3.8B in 2025: The report found that funding in the region rose 74% YoY, led by strong activity in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Fintech was the most active sector, drawing US$1.2B in 178 deals, while funding for AI startups hit US$820M.

SEMICONDUCTOR

Nvidia, US firm Eli Lilly to launch US$1B AI co-innovation lab: The lab will combine Lilly’s pharmaceutical expertise with Nvidia’s capabilities in AI and computing. The facility will use Nvidia’s BioNeMo platform and Vera Rubin architecture to develop AI models aimed at improving medicine development and production.

Chinese chipmaker GigaDevice jumps over 45% in HK debut: Retail demand for GigaDevice was high, with subscriptions exceeding the allocated shares by 542 times. GigaDevice designs memory chips, microcontroller units, analog chips, and sensor chips for use in consumer electronics, vehicles, and industrial devices.

Nvidia, S Korea ministry to set up AI R&D hub: The science ministry and the chip maker shared a consensus on the need to promptly establish Nvidia’s research and development facility in South Korea and discussed ways to jointly foster AI startups.

AI

AI and the rise of gaming entrepreneurs: AI is reshaping gaming by collapsing the boundaries between players, creators, and entrepreneurs—enabling community-driven creation, diversified monetisation, and independent game development at unprecedented scale and speed.

AI companions: How I learned friendship in the digital age: An exploration of how AI companions are reshaping friendship, alleviating loneliness, and redefining emotional connection—raising new psychological, ethical, and cultural questions about human relationships in an increasingly digital world.

The ASEAN AI rush: Why “move fast and break things” is a dangerous strategy for risk: Southeast Asia is racing to adopt generative AI, but founders risk regulatory, financial, and reputational fallout by neglecting explainability, governance, and operational resilience in high-stakes fintech applications.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Stocks hit records as crypto pulls back on macro and leverage fears: Global equities surged to record highs on earnings optimism and CPI hopes, while crypto markets pulled back amid macro uncertainty, stalled regulation, and leverage-driven liquidations.

Looking beyond the bots: The unsexy digital skills that actually matter in 2026: This year, practical digital skills like data querying, dashboards, no-code automation, and security hygiene offer more leverage than AI hype.

Retail in Asia moves in real time– your data should too: Retail is entering a real-time era where live commerce, seamless omnichannel experiences, and AI-driven personalisation demand instant data streaming to meet rising consumer expectations and stay competitive.

Why hiring is so hard for startups in Southeast Asia: Startup hiring in the region faces structural friction, not talent scarcity, as founders prioritise risk reduction amid cultural, communication, and incentive mismatches in constrained, fast-moving teams.

Crypto rebounds as gold hits all-time high and oil surges on Iran tensions: Crypto markets rebounded as institutional tokenisation, Layer 1 momentum, and macro uncertainty shifted sentiment toward infrastructure-led adoption.

Why retailers must think like tech companies to thrive in a data-driven economy: Retailers that treat data, AI, and cybersecurity as core infrastructure are better positioned to scale and protect trust during peak shopping seasons.

Top 10 UN SDG problem-based sector opportunities for Southeast Asia and Pacific startups in 2026: The region’s biggest startup opportunities in 2026 lie in SDG-aligned, problem-driven innovation, spanning climate, food, energy, health, education, and inclusion-focused sectors with scalable regional impact.

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As geopolitical tensions flare and protectionist policies re-emerge, the global trade landscape is once again entering turbulent waters. From sky-high tariffs on Chinese goods under the Trump administration to continuing disruptions in cross-border supply chains, businesses in the Asia Pacific (APAC) are bracing for renewed volatility.

But amidst the headlines on trade policy, another crisis is quietly gaining ground – one that is less visible but no less dangerous. For the first time, digital fraud has overtaken traditional fraud in APAC, and now accounts for the majority of the region’s total fraud losses. This is not just a shift in tactics, it is a transformation in how, where and why fraud occurs – and businesses must respond with equal agility. 

This trend is particularly alarming for Asia’s businesses that form the backbone of the region’s economy. Operating with limited financial and human resources, many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) lack dedicated IT departments and robust cybersecurity infrastructures. The Asia Foundation highlights that 78 per cent of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the region have experienced at least one cyber incident in the past year, ranging from phishing scams to ransomware attacks. 

Further compounding the challenge, mid-market companies (MNCs) – while larger in scale – face a unique set of pressures. They typically seek the flexibility and scalability of multi-provider orchestration, advanced fraud management, and localised payment methods to compete effectively across borders. However, like SMEs, they often operate with fewer internal resources than large enterprises, leaving them vulnerable to security gaps and operational inefficiencies.

Further, the mobile-first nature of many Asian markets exacerbates the issue. With 85 per cent of transactions in the region conducted on mobile devices, and 54 per cent of human-initiated fraud attacks targeting these channels, businesses are exposed to threats on platforms they heavily depend upon. Against this backdrop, businesses across Asia are operating in an environment that is uniquely vulnerable to digital fraud. Factors such as limited cybersecurity, accelerated digital adoption and mobile channel dependence, alongside others, combine to create ideal conditions for fraudsters to thrive.

Trade turbulence creates the perfect storm for fraud

At the same time, broader economic turbulence is adding further strain. As trade tensions escalate, companies are struggling to maintain the same level of operational consistency. To keep up, businesses look to recalibrate supply chains at speed – onboarding new vendors and logistics partners, rerouting payments across unfamiliar financial networks and adjusting to volatile FX fluctuations. Each of these changes introduces new points of vulnerability into payment ecosystems, often faster than businesses can secure them.

When coupled with the rise of AI-driven tools, this landscape has created a golden opportunity for fraudsters. Gone are the days of crude, easily detectable scams – today’s fraud is sophisticated, well-timed and often indistinguishable from legitimate activity until it is too late. In many cases, they occur mid-transaction, exploiting the exact moment when urgency overrides scrutiny.

Also Read: Asia’s payments revolution: Why alternative methods matter more than ever

What’s more, the risk is magnified in cross-border commerce, where complex payment flows, multi-jurisdictional compliance and varied fraud profiles make security even harder to standardise. For businesses navigating these waters, fraud is no longer a hypothetical threat – it’s an operational reality. Every cross-border transaction introduces a new layer of risk, whether it is managing unfamiliar payment providers, adapting to fragmented compliance regulations or handling multiple currencies and FX volatilities. 

If that weren’t enough, there’s also the fact that most SMEs today rely on rule-based fraud prevention systems – tools that were designed for yesterday’s threats. These systems can be static, inflexible and prone to false positives that block legitimate transactions while missing real threats. They are also reactive, flagging anomalies only after a breach has occurred or a customer has been lost.

In an environment where both economic policy and fraud tactics can shift overnight, this approach is no longer tenable. Businesses need defenses that are as adaptive as the threats they face.

Meet payment orchestration: Security that scales with uncertainty

In the face of ever-sophisticated digital fraud schemes, AI-powered payment orchestration is redefining what modern payment security and agility looks like. Rather than acting as mere conduits for processing transactions, orchestration platforms have become intelligent control centres, monitoring payment flows, detecting anomalies in real time and dynamically routing decisions based on emerging threats.

By embedding fraud detection directly into the payment journey, orchestration allows businesses to move beyond rigid, static defences. These solutions can proactively intercept suspicious activity mid-transaction and significantly reduce exposure while maintaining a seamless experience for legitimate customers.

Crucially, orchestration not only stops fraud in the moment, it also empowers businesses to remain agile. In a world where geopolitical shifts, regulatory changes or new trade tariffs can instantly disrupt financial networks, orchestration platforms allow companies to pivot quickly without overhauling systems or sacrificing security. In a region as diverse and fast-evolving as APAC, where payment preferences and fraud risks vary dramatically between markets, this flexibility is not just valuable – it is vital.

Coupled with the rise of Generative AI (GenAI), payment orchestration is also taken to a new frontier. Unlike traditional tools, GenAI can be prompted to articulate the reasoning behind flagged transactions, uncover previously undetected patterns and recommend strategic adjustments to fraud prevention logic. This adds a powerful layer of intelligence and transparency to the fraud detection process, making it easier for businesses to understand, trust and act on security signals.

At its core, payment orchestration does not replace existing fraud tools – it enhances them. Rather than building proprietary fraud solutions, orchestration platforms focus on interoperability, bringing together the strongest capabilities in the ecosystem to deliver optimal outcomes in real time. By acting as a central layer that integrates seamlessly with a wide range of best-in-class fraud detection engines, orchestration platforms empower merchants to deploy the fraud providers they trust most within their payment flow.

This modular, plug-and-play approach ensures transactions are screened for risk using the most appropriate tools before being routed for approval, while allowing businesses to stay agile, scale securely and continuously upgrade fraud defenses without being locked into a single provider or system.

Also Read: Optimising cross-border payments for seamless APAC expansion

Beyond identifying threats, GenAI also plays a critical role in recognising legitimate transactions, helping ensure they are processed seamlessly. This dual function – blocking fraud while preserving customer experience – gives businesses greater visibility into their risk landscape and allows for the continuous refinement of security frameworks in real time.

The road ahead: From reactive to proactive security

As we move further into a digital-first economy, the line between commerce and risk is blurring. Fraud is evolving and so must our defences. It is no longer enough to detect fraud after the fact – businesses, regardless of size, must anticipate it. 

With the rise of GenAI, we are entering an era where fraud prevention can be both predictive and prescriptive, identifying weak points in the payment flow before they are exploited and recommending real-time adjustments to logic and routing.

Yuno is exploring the use of GenAI to strengthen operational intelligence and improve user transparency. For example, tools such as Monitors apply GenAI to detect anomalies in real time and reroute transactions through alternative paths, aiming to optimise approval rates and bolster fraud prevention.

In today’s climate, the objective goes beyond reducing fraud. It is about developing a payments infrastructure that is intelligent, responsive, and resilient to disruptions, whether triggered by tariff changes or emerging cyber threats.

—

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic.

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Singapore-based healthtech startup Zeya Health has raised US$575,000 in pre-seed funding to expand its AI-native healthcare administration platform across the Asia-Pacific region.

The round was led by Antler, with participation from a group of strategic angel investors.

Also Read: Profit with purpose: Bridging the digital divide in healthcare

The funding comes amid mounting pressure on Southeast Asia’s healthcare systems. The regional healthcare market is projected to reach US$5 trillion by 2030; yet providers are grappling with a structural inflexion point marked by rising patient volumes, growing operational complexity, and an acute shortage of healthcare professionals.

Southeast Asia anticipates a shortage of 4.7 million healthcare workers by 2030, part of a global deficit nearing 10-18 million, driven by ageing populations and pandemics. Countries like Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines have low doctor-to-patient ratios below 1 per 1,000, far under Singapore’s 2.46. This gap burdens low- and middle-income nations, prompting migration and tech interventions.

Founded to address this administrative capacity gap, Zeya Health offers an AI-powered front desk that integrates directly with existing Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems and communication platforms such as WhatsApp. The solution automates routine but time-consuming tasks, including appointment reminders, follow-ups, and rescheduling, operating around the clock without requiring clinics to overhaul their core systems. According to the company, providers can go live in under 48 hours following a scan of existing workflows.

Since August, Zeya Health claims to have achieved over 20x growth in clinic onboarding and is sustaining a 2x month-on-month expansion rate. The startup is currently working with AcuMed, a leading healthcare provider in Singapore, to pilot its platform across a multi-clinic environment.

“From day zero, the Zeya team has executed with speed and discipline,” said Winnie Khoo, Partner at Antler. “They are addressing a deeply entrenched problem in healthcare: operational and administrative overhead while earning trust from providers who are cautious about adopting new systems.”

Zeya Health was co-founded by CEO Agastya Samat, who previously deployed digital health solutions for the UK’s National Health Service, and CTO Pasindu Wijesena, who founded his first AI startup five years before the launch of ChatGPT. “We’ve both seen firsthand how care teams end up spending more time fighting systems than caring for patients,” said Samat. “We started Zeya to remove that bottleneck, so providers can grow without burning out their teams.”

The startup currently serves healthcare providers across specialities such as physiotherapy, paediatrics, and primary care, and plans to expand into additional care models and regional markets in 2026.

The newly raised capital will be used for continued product development and scaled deployments across private healthcare providers in Singapore and the wider Asia-Pacific region. To support this growth, Zeya Health is actively hiring Forward Deployed Engineers and Clinical Deployment Specialists.

Also Read: The most-funded healthtech startups in Southeast Asia: A decade in review

Zeya Health’s approach aligns with a broader shift towards AI-enabled healthcare in Southeast Asia. AI revolutionises the region’s healthcare space by improving diagnostics, predicting patient deterioration, and enabling remote care to offset staff shortages. Success stories include Singapore’s Changi General Hospital using AI wearables for vital sign monitoring and complication prediction with over 90 per cent accuracy, Thailand’s Siriraj Hospital as a 5G AI smart hospital for diagnostics, and VinBrain’s DrAid X-ray tool deployed in 100+ hospitals regionally.

By positioning itself as a foundational AI layer rather than a replacement system, Zeya Health aims to help healthcare organisations scale sustainably without adding further complexity. In the company’s own framing, it acts as a “digital lubricant for the rusted gears of healthcare administration”, smoothing the friction of scheduling and paperwork so clinical teams can focus on patient care rather than process.

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Indonesia has taken another step towards institutionalising its digital asset market after the Financial Services Authority (OJK) officially granted a business licence to International Crypto Exchange (ICEx).

The licence was issued to ICEx’s operating entity, PT Fortune Integritas Mandiri. The approval positions ICEx as a key pillar in Indonesia’s evolving digital financial asset framework, which has seen crypto assets transition from commodity status to regulated financial instruments under OJK oversight.

Also Read: Southeast Asia’s crypto race heats up: Can Indonesia stay ahead?

The regulatory milestone is accompanied by a US$70 million strategic funding round, backed by a consortium of shareholders and industry players. Investors include PT Aethera Inovasi Digital, PT Finora Integrasi Nusantara, PT Regnum Sukses Utama, PT Volaris Visi Karya, and PT Vita Nova Global, alongside ecosystem participants such as FLOQ, Mobee, OSL Indonesia, Reku, Samuel Kripto, Tokocrypto, Triv, Upbit Indonesia, and Nanovest.

According to Pang Xue Kai, CEO of ICEx and founder and former CEO of Tokocrypto, the launch signals the country’s ambition to position itself as a hub for regulated digital assets. He stated that the exchange aims to deliver infrastructure that is inclusive, transparent, and aligned with institutional standards, thereby enabling healthy competition and sustainable innovation.

Beyond facilitating crypto trading, ICEx has been mandated to operate as a self-regulatory organisation (SRO). In this role, it will oversee trade reporting, market integrity monitoring, and member supervision, working closely with the OJK. Pang noted that this responsibility “reinforces public trust in the digital financial asset and crypto asset industry while opening space for innovation in new product development, including tokenised assets (RWA) and other regulated crypto products”.

Also Read: Indonesia’s digital index rises again, regional gaps narrow

From the regulator’s perspective, the introduction of additional exchanges is designed to strengthen the ecosystem. Hasan Fawzi, Executive Head of Financial Sector Technology Innovation, Digital Financial Assets, and Crypto Assets at OJK, said that having multiple licensed exchanges is essential for building a “healthier and more sustainable national ecosystem”. He added that the US$70 million capital injection reflects strong alignment between investors, regulators, and industry participants in balancing innovation with prudent supervision.

ICEx’s licensing comes amid rapid growth in Indonesia’s crypto market. As of October 2025, the country recorded 19.08 million crypto investors, representing roughly 6.7 to 6.9 per cent of its population of around 280 million. This marks a steady rise from an estimated 4.5 per cent adoption rate in 2021, driven largely by Millennials and Gen Z, who account for more than 60 per cent of users. Industry projections suggest the market could reach 25 to 27 million investors by the end of 2026, supported by high mobile and internet penetration.

The broader regulatory overhaul has also tightened compliance standards. Under OJK supervision, licensed platforms are subject to capital requirements, anti-money laundering controls, consumer protection rules, and restrictions on crypto usage as a payment instrument. OJK recognises 29 licensed platforms as of late 2025, with Indodax and Tokocrypto dominating by trading volume and user base. Other leading ones are Pintu, Upbit Indonesia, and Balderton Capital-backed Luno.

Also Read: Robinhood makes bold Indonesia bet as it acquires local brokerage and crypto trader

By combining regulatory authority with institutional funding and industry participation, ICEx is expected to play a central role in shaping Indonesia’s next phase of digital asset development. As Pang put it, the exchange intends to operate with “institutional integrity and in accordance with global standards”, marking what could be the beginning of a more mature and trusted era for Indonesia’s crypto markets.

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Markets opened the week on a note of cautious optimism, even as US exchanges remained shuttered for a holiday on January 12, 2026. The momentum carried over from the previous Friday, when the S&P 500 notched a record close at 6,966.28, buoyed by unexpectedly strong US jobs data that tempered fears of imminent and aggressive Federal Reserve rate cuts. That resilience in equities spilt into Asian trading hours, where regional benchmarks were poised to gain, reflecting renewed investor confidence in macroeconomic stability.

Geopolitical fault lines began to crack open beneath this surface calm. Escalating protests in Iran injected fresh volatility into commodity markets. Brent crude edged toward US$64 a barrel as supply disruption fears mounted, while gold, long the ultimate refuge in times of uncertainty, soared past US$4,563.61 per ounce, setting a new all-time high. The move underscored how even modest shifts in global risk perception can rapidly redirect capital flows toward safe-haven assets, especially when compounded by expectations of future monetary easing from the Fed.

Currency markets mirrored this tension. The US dollar softened notably after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell disclosed that the central bank had received grand jury subpoenas from the Justice Department, a revelation that stirred unease about the Fed’s operational independence. Against this backdrop, the euro held steady near US$1.1635, while the Japanese yen slipped to its weakest level in a year, signalling divergent policy trajectories and shifting safe-haven dynamics.

Also Read: Wallets, not smart contracts, were crypto’s biggest risk in 2025

Meanwhile, the crypto market staged a modest but meaningful rebound, climbing 1.16 per cent over the past 24 hours. This advance marked a reversal of a broader 30-day downtrend and aligned with a nascent 7-day uptick of 0.17 per cent. Three converging forces drove this recovery: institutional validation through real-world asset tokenisation, technical breakthroughs on leading Layer 1 blockchains, and speculative optimism about potential US tax reform.

Ethereum and Solana emerged as clear leaders in the Layer 1 resurgence. Ethereum’s price action placed short sellers at heightened risk, with over 11 per cent of positions vulnerable, while Solana exhibited healthy alignment across exponential moving averages, a classic signal of sustained momentum. Together, they lifted the entire Layer 1 sector by 1.22 per cent, generating US$44.75 billion in trading volume, a staggering 66.34 per cent above the broader market average. This rotation into established, high-conviction assets suggested that investors were not chasing speculative narratives but rather reallocating toward foundational protocols with proven network effects and liquidity depth. The critical levels to watch now are Ethereum’s US$3,200 support and Solana’s US$140 resistance. Both will serve as barometers of whether this rally has staying power.

Equally significant was the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s confirmation of progress in tokenising US Treasuries on the Canton Network. This development transcends mere technological experimentation. It represents a watershed moment in the integration of traditional finance with blockchain infrastructure. With US$300 billion in daily volume already flowing through Canton-based applications and the native token surging 13.27 per cent, the market interpreted this as a de-risking event. By anchoring sovereign-grade assets to a permissioned yet distributed ledger, institutions signal that blockchain is no longer a fringe experiment but a viable rails upgrade for core financial operations. Such validation compresses the perceived regulatory risk premium that has long shadowed crypto markets, potentially unlocking tranches of conservative capital that have been previously sidelined by compliance concerns.

Also Read: Crypto’s ticking time bomb: 5 events that will decide the 2026 bull run

Adding fuel to retail sentiment was unconfirmed but credible chatter from the White House about eliminating transaction-level taxes on cryptocurrency. Though legislative outcomes remain uncertain, the mere discussion shifted market psychology. The Fear & Greed Index climbed to 41, still in neutral territory but a marked improvement from last month’s reading of 29, which reflected deep-seated fear. If such reforms materialise, they could dramatically enhance crypto’s utility as a medium of exchange, moving it beyond speculation and into everyday economic activity.

Despite these tailwinds, participation remains restrained. Open interest across derivatives markets sits at US$600 billion, down 25 per cent from a month ago, indicating that traders are approaching this rally with discipline rather than exuberance. The absence of excessive leverage suggests that any pullback would likely be orderly rather than catastrophic.

In sum, the confluence of macro stability, geopolitical stress, institutional adoption, and regulatory hope has created a fragile but promising inflection point. The path forward hinges on two variables: whether Ethereum can defend its key support amid broader market volatility, and how quickly DTCC’s tokenisation initiative transitions from pilot to production. If both hold, this rebound may mark more than a technical bounce. It could signal the beginning of a new phase where crypto’s value proposition shifts from speculative yield to infrastructural utility.

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AI models are getting smarter by the week, but for most teams, the real struggle isn’t intelligence, it’s fragmentation. Too many tools, overlapping subscriptions, messy workflows, and no clear way to know what actually works.

In Part 1 of e27’s interview with Patrick Linden, co-founder of Iterative- and Antler-backed i10X, which enables users to access the world’s most powerful AI models through a single platform, we unpack why the Singapore-based startup is betting on a neutral AI meta-layer instead of building yet another model, how it crossed 100,000 users at pre-seed, and why retained, habitual usage — not hype — defines success in the next phase of AI adoption.

Excerpts:

AI tools are exploding everywhere. Why did you believe now was the moment to build a meta-layer instead of yet another model or agent?

Models are improving rapidly, but teams still lose time on the basics: identifying what works, integrating tools, and paying for too many overlapping subscriptions. We felt the bigger bottleneck was fragmentation, not raw intelligence.

Also Read: i10X nets US$1M to unify the world’s leading AI models

So we focused on a unified AI workspace: discover the right model or agent, use it in one place, and then connect agents into workflows as the next step. That’s also why our roadmap starts with Discovery (live) and moves to orchestration (what we call the “Agent Graph”) next, instead of trying to out-model the model providers.

At what point did you realise fragmentation, not intelligence, was the real bottleneck in AI adoption?

People weren’t blocked by “AI can’t do it”, but were blocked by:

• “Where do I even start to find what’s out there?” (too many agents, no trusted guide)
• “Which of the agents/tools actually works specifically for my needs?”
• Tool chaos and context switching
• Cost sprawl from lots of subscriptions.

Even the best models don’t help if the workflow is messy. That’s the problem we built around.

This is when realised fragmentation was the real bottleneck.

Many platforms aggregate models. What’s the most complex technical or operational problem i10X has solved that outsiders underestimate?

Aggregation is not the hard part. The hard part is making an all-in-one AI workspace really useful and reliable at scale, which includes:

• building out reliable cross-model and cross-agent memory so users don’t have to repeat context
• keeping the catalogue usable as the number of agents grows
• learning from real usage, which agent works best for a task in practice
• dynamically orchestrating the right agents/tools in our upcoming workflow engine.

If OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google were to build a unified workspace tomorrow, what would still protect i10X?

Two things: neutrality and breadth. i10X is built to help users pick the right agent for the job, not to push a single vendor’s ecosystem. Our ideal customer profile is SME owners, power users, founders and freelancers. Their goal is to find the best AI for a specific task, say a customer support chatbot or an AI sales development representative. They don’t really care in which ecosystem the solution lives. i10X sits as a neutral metalayer above individual ecosystems.

Also Read: The AI-first era: Why the model is the new runtime and how Asia can lead

Compounding usage data: Every task run in i10X teaches the Agent Graph what works best in which environment. That feedback loop improves results over time and is hard to copy without the same usage.

You’ve crossed 100,000 users at pre-seed. What metric matters more to you right now than user count? How much of that usage is habitual versus experimental, and what signals tell you i10X has become ‘mission-critical’?

We’re experiencing exponential growth in all key metrics across the board, including our paid user base. User count is nice, but we focus more on retained usage and repeat behaviour.

The metric that matters most is how many users return weekly and complete real tasks, not just browse. We look for signals like:

• repeat sessions without prompts from us
• users relying on i10X as their default place to try and run AI
• paid users staying even after the initial “AI exploration” phase
  teams consolidating multiple tools into one subscription.

What’s the most common reason users churn, and what does that reveal about the current limits of AI workspaces?

Our current churn rate is within industry standards, in line with the foundational model providers. It has improved by three times compared to where we started six months ago, mainly thanks to a laser focus on rapid improvements on the product side.

The most common churn is simple: some users come in expecting a single tool to instantly solve a vague problem. If they don’t have a clear use case, they won’t stick.

What that reveals about the current limits of AI workspaces is quite clear: the gap isn’t intelligence, but rather operational reliability – fast discovery, predictable outcomes, and an easy path from experimentation to daily use.

At US$25 a month, i10X is aggressively priced. Is this a wedge strategy or a long-term pricing belief? How do you prevent becoming a ‘thin-margin middleman’ between powerful AI providers and end users?

At US$25 per month, the intent is straightforward: make i10X an everyday “default tab”, not a high-friction procurement decision. So yes, it’s a wedge in the sense that it lowers adoption friction, but it’s also a long-term belief that AI should be priced like infrastructure, because it’s becoming part of daily work.

Also Read: The AI revolution in emerging markets: Local models, global impact

The “thin-margin middleman” framing doesn’t really fit i10X, because we’re not selling access to someone else’s product; we’re building the AI workspace where the user lives. The value compounds at that layer:

• We own the user relationship: users start with i10X to get work done; providers sit behind the interface.
• All in one space: discover, use, and orchestrate agents in a single workspace: one login, one subscription.
• Discovery that’s actually trusted: finding what works across all agents without trial-and-error.
• The Agent Graph: every task run improves indexing and recommendations, so results get better with usage.
• Workflow orchestration next: moving from “individual agents” to running repeatable multi-agent workflows.

Pricing stays simple: plans scale with credits and depth of access, and for B2B, we have seat-based pricing. The goal is strong unit economics from retention and consolidation, not from marking up tokens.

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