As the year of 2024 comes to an end, we sought insights from prominent figures across the Southeast Asian tech landscape. These leaders reflected on their triumphs throughout the year, sharing valuable perspectives on their achievements and the challenges they overcame. Furthermore, they unveiled their ambitious aspirations, meticulously outlined their strategic plans for 2025, and offered insightful predictions on the trajectory of the tech industry in the coming year.
We talked to James Tan, Managing Partner at Quest Ventures, to learn more about the firm’s achievements in 2024, its plans and priorities in 2025. He also shared his views on the outlook of the tech ecosystem in Southeast Asia for the new year.
Quest Ventures is one of the top venture capital firms in Asia. Anchored by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, investors in Quest Ventures include sovereign wealth funds, institutional investors, family offices, and well-known senior executives and entrepreneurs in Asia.
Since 2011, Quest Ventures has focused on an overarching ‘digital economy’ strategy across Asia, and is a top venture capital firm in artificial intelligence, e-commerce and marketplaces, entertainment, finance, food, insurance, logistics, media, property, sports, and the Islamic digital economy. Portfolio companies include industry leaders such as 99.co, Carousell, Carro, Glife, Hepmil, Kamereo, Oddle, Shopback, VulcanPost, and Xfers.
1. How was Quest Ventures’ 2024?
2024 saw an uptick in venture capital funding for our portfolio companies. This is despite the ongoing startups global funding winter which we believe is soon turning the corner.
2. What are your expectations/aspirations for 2025?
The uptick in venture funding capital will continue. If President Donald Trump’s previous term of office is indicative of the future, renewed political and trade tensions will result in the flight of capital to other geographies, and Southeast Asia and Singapore startups are well-positioned to be net beneficiaries.
Exits will increase as many unicorns in Southeast Asia are nearing or have passed their exit obligations for the funding that they received years ago. We will see upticks in mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings. This is the time when the tide goes out and we get to see if the swimmers are publicly worth their private valuations. Crypto investments will return with vigor.
3. What are your plans in 2025? What is the focus in the new year?
We will intensify our presence in Southeast Asia, in particular, the Philippines and Vietnam. The startup and innovation ecosystems in these countries are taking shape and we are confident that, baring any black swan event, they will drive funding and market expansion.
As early-stage investors, we are tracking the strong emergence of meaningful startups and exits in emerging Asia. These include Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.
4. How is the outlook for 2025 of the tech ecosystem in Southeast Asia?
Southeast Asia should focus on self-reliance. Capital inflows from outside of Southeast Asia will remain important but it is also time for capital within Southeast Asia to circulate in the ecosystem. Public listings, for example, tend to take place outside of Southeast Asia due to our undeveloped and unattractive public offering platforms. Unless and until we have a strong NYSE/ NASDAQ/ HKEX/LSE, exits will continue to happen elsewhere.