Southeast Asia venture funding rebounds on big deals

Southeast Asia's venture market recorded a modest rise in deal activity in the second half of 2025, while funding value increased sharply on the back of a small number of large rounds, according to regional data compiled by Kickstart Ventures and DealStreetAsia.

Equity deal count reached 233 transactions in H2 2025, up from 228 in H1. Funding value climbed to USD $3.51 billion from USD $1.86 billion over the same period. The dataset pointed to selective deployment and tighter underwriting standards.

For the full year, startups and growth companies in the region raised USD $5.37 billion across 461 equity deals. Deal volume ranked among the lowest annual totals in more than six years, even as H2 showed signs of stabilisation.

Singapore leads

Singapore accounted for more than 60% of Southeast Asia's total deal count in 2025. The city-state recorded a clear pickup in H2 activity, as investors placed stronger emphasis on governance and fundamentals.

Elsewhere, Thailand improved in the second half from a low base. Indonesia stayed broadly flat between semesters. Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines weakened into H2, with declining deal volumes pointing to continued retrenchment in those markets.

The report described a region with thin deal flow across multiple markets. It also highlighted a shift towards more market-specific outcomes, rather than a broad-based rebound.

Late-stage returns

Late-stage deal flow more than doubled in H2, rising to 24 deals from 10 in H1. Late-stage proceeds reached USD $2.23 billion in H2.

A small number of transactions skewed the late-stage totals. Princeton Digital Group's USD $1.3 billion fundraise stood out as the largest cited round. The report said that, excluding outliers, late-stage deployment spread across more transactions with more conservative cheque sizes.

Early-stage activity moved in the opposite direction. Deals up to Series B slipped to 209 in H2 from 218 in H1. Early-stage proceeds increased modestly to USD $1.28 billion from USD $1.10 billion, driven by a limited number of stronger performers.

Fintech weak

Fintech remained the most active sector by deal volume in 2025. The vertical recorded 111 transactions for the year with a funding value of USD $1.3 billion. The report characterised those levels as historically weak, with the decline most pronounced at the early stage.

Health tech showed a stronger second half. The sector logged 35 transactions and USD $393 million in funding for the year. The dataset attributed part of the late-stage lift to Ultragreen.ai's USD $188 million round.

Green tech posted 39 deals across the year. Total proceeds reached USD $189.6 million. The report said cheque sizes varied widely.

Climate tech increased its share of total deal activity. Across equity and debt, climate tech represented 15.4% of total deal volume in 2025, up from 13.0% in 2024. Equity climate tech recorded 67 transactions with USD $288 million in value.

Climate-related debt reached USD $318 million across nine transactions. The report described a shift in lender confidence in mature, revenue-generating climate assets, while equity investors remained sensitive to valuation.

Data analytics and AI/ML recorded a weaker full-year outcome despite a second-half pickup. Deal volume fell to 20 transactions in 2025 from 35 in 2024, according to the report.

"The 2025 data suggests Southeast Asia has moved past the trough and into a consolidation phase, with deal volumes and values stabilising after the sharp correction from the 2021 peak," said Joan Yao, General Partner, Kickstart Ventures. "Capital is returning selectively, increasingly to later-stage, higher-conviction opportunities, as the market continues to shift from growth at all costs toward business fundamentals - governance, unit economics, and credible paths to profitability."

The dataset also pointed to concentration by stage, market and sector as investors narrowed their focus.

"The full-year dataset points to stabilisation, but also deeper concentration by stage, by market and by sector. We hope the report serves as a practical reference for founders and investors navigating a higher-scrutiny environment and planning cross-border growth," said Andi Haswidi, Head of Data Research, DealStreetAsia.

The report flagged geopolitics and global monetary conditions as risks for sentiment and deployment velocity in 2026, with the potential for renewed tightening in financial conditions or escalation in global tensions.