Companies in the Southeast Asia (SEA) tech space has raised $1.6 billion in the first half of 2024, a substantial 65 percent drop compared to the $4.5 billion raised in the first half of 2023, and 37 percent lower than $2.5 billion raised in the second half of 2023, Tracxn said on Friday.
The global software as a service (SaaS)-based market intelligence platform said in its “Geo Semi-Annual Report: SEA Tech H1 2024” that the SEA region ranks ninth globally in terms of tech startup funding in the first half of 2024.
According to the report, the funding landscape across different stages indicated varied trends.
Late-stage funding was the most impacted, falling 69 percent to $421 million in the first half of 2024 from $1.3 billion in the second half of 2023, and an 86 percent plunge from $3 billion in the first six months of 2023.
Early-stage investments stood at $946 million in the first half of 2024, a decline of 19 percent from $1.2 billion raised in the first half of 2023.
However, this is an 8 percent uptick from the $878 million raised in the second half of 2023.
This space attracted seed-stage funding worth $234 million in the first half of 2024, a decrease of 27 percent from $323 million in the latter half of 2023 and a drop of 42 percent from the $407 million raised in the first half of 2023.
Meanwhile, SEA tech startups raised $477 million in the second quarter of 2024, an 85 percent decrease from $3.16 billion in the second quarter of 2023 and 57 percent lower than $1.12 billion raised in the first quarter of 2024.
Notably, this period witnessed two major funding rounds exceeding $100 million.
ANEXT Bank raised $148 million in a Series D round led by Ant Group, while GuildFi secured $140 million in a Series A round.
No new unicorns were created in the first half of 2024, as against one unicorn in the first half of 2023.
However, acquisition activity increased, with 36 companies, compared with 30 in the first half of 2023 and 42 in the second half of 2023.
The most significant acquisition was Singlife by Sumitomo Life Insurance Company, which valued Singlife at S$4.6 billion, followed by the acquisition of GHL by NTT DATA for $154 million.
MaNaDr, RYDE, and Topindoku were the only three companies to go public in the first half of 2024.
Only three initial public offerings (IPOs) took place, a decline from seven in the first half of 2023 and four in the second half of 2023.
The leading sectors in terms of performance in the first half of 2024 were FinTech, HighTech, and Enterprise Applications.
Companies in the FinTech space attracted funding worth $851 million in the first half of 2023, 20 percent lower than $1.07 billion in the first half of 2023.
Funding in the HighTech segment stood at $476 million, a 47 percent jump from $323 million in the first half of 2023.
The Enterprise Applications sector witnessed a 49 percent decrease in funding, from $775 million in the first half of 2023 to $393 million in the first half of 2024.
Singapore led the region in terms of total funds raised in the first half of this year, followed by Jakarta and Bangkok.
Tech startups based in Singapore raised $1.1 billion in the first half of 2024, while those based in Jakarta and Bangkok raised $185 million and $150 million respectively.
Investment activity remained robust, with East Ventures, 500 Global, and Wavemaker Partners emerging as the overall top investors in the SEA Tech ecosystem in the first half of 2024.
SEEDS Capital, Temasek, and Seventure Partners were the leading investors in early-stage funding, while MUFG Innovation Partners, NewView Capital, and Avataar Ventures topped the late-stage investment charts.
Antler, 500 Global Ventures and East Ventures are the top investors in the seed stage for the SEA Tech ecosystem in the first half of 2024.
These developments highlight the evolving dynamics of the SEA Tech startup ecosystem as it navigates through varying stages of growth and investment trends, said Tracxn.
Editor’s note: This article includes corrections regarding the valuation of Singlife.
Tracxn : SEA tech startups see 13 pct decline in funding in first quarter