It’s the time of the year again as we take a look back at what happened throughout 2023 in the tech and startup scene in Southeast Asia.
The tech industry in the year 2023 has generally been gloomier as compared to 2022. The global wave of layoffs hitting US tech companies like Meta, Amazon, and Twitter has also come to Asia and Southeast Asia amid a slowdown in fundraising activities for tech startups in the region.
In March, it was reported that e-commerce giant Shopee has laid off around 200 employees in Indonesia, mostly from the customer services team. In the same month, Indonesia’s biggest tech firm PT Goto Gojek Tokopedia announced another round of layoffs to streamline the organisation and boosting the company’s profitability.
About 600 roles will be affected, the company said then, following 1,300 jobs that were cut in late-2022.
Last month, it was reported that TikTok parent ByteDance will cut 1,000 gaming jobs in strategic shift. In the same month, Malaysia-headquartered used car platform Carsome is said to have cutting “hundreds of jobs” to reach profit.
Meanwhile, according to Traxcxn, the Southeast Asia tech sector received a total funding of $4.3 billion in 2023 year to date (till Dec 5, 2023), a 65 percent plunge from $12.4 billion raised in the same period last year.
The global software as a service (SaaS)-based market intelligence platform said in its “Geo Annual Report: SEA Tech 2023”, the tech startup ecosystem in Southeast Asia continues to face the effects of the funding winter, in line with other major economies.
According to the report, companies in this space attracted late-stage funding worth $1.9 billion in 2023 year to date, a sharp decline of 65 percent from $5.4 billion raised in the same period in 2022.
Early-stage funding stood at $1.9 billion in 2023 year to date, 67 percent lower than $6 billion raised in the same period in 2022.
Seed-stage investments, too, fell 52 percent to $546 million from $1.14 billion raised in the same period in 2022.
FinTech, enterprise applications, and retail were the top-performing segments in the tech startup ecosystem in 2023.
The FinTech sector received $2 billion in funding in 2023 till date, 65 percent lower when compared with the same period in the previous year.
In 2023, we have the privilege to talk to venture capital firms’ top executives, analysts and tech startups founders. Despite the more challenging environment, VC firms and tech companies are still investing and expanding. Tech entrepreneurs in the region are still proposing great ideas to digitalize businesses and solve some of the pain points in various industries.
As we usher into 2024, we hope you have had enjoyed reading our articles in 2023.
Here are some of the most-read analysis and feature articles on TNGlobal:
1. Antitrust approval could be biggest hurdle for Grab’s potential acquisition of Foodpanda’s business, analysts say
2. Southeast Asia’s used motorcycle platform iMotorbike targets $20M revenue in 2023
Southeast Asia’s used motorcycle platform iMotorbike targets $20M revenue in 2023
3. Ushering into an uncertain 2023: here’s what VCs & experts think
Ushering into an uncertain 2023: here’s what VCs & experts think
4. Singapore’s agritech firm Archisen eyes expansion to cities in APAC & Middle East while expanding capacity at home market [Q&A]
5. Tesla’s entry into Malaysia could lead to structural change in local automotive industry but lack of charging hubs remains a challenge
6. Alibaba Cloud sees increase in demand from various industries in Malaysia market, says VP [Q&A]
Alibaba Cloud sees increase in demand from various industries in Malaysia market, says VP [Q&A]
7. This Singapore-based insurtech firm offers unique microinsurance for ‘underserved’ groups including farmers, gamers & even your pets [Q&A]
8. PH startup PetPal plans to build ‘superapp’ as it targets $1.6B pet care market in Southeast Asia [Q&A]
9. Khazanah-backed insurtech firm PolicyStreet aims to serve underserved & underinsured communities including gig workers [Q&A]
10. ATM Capital’s Tony Qu: How to capture Southeast Asia’s next super unicorn in this golden age of entrepreneurship?
Feature photo credits: Tracxn