It’s the time of the year again as we take a look back at what happened in 2025 in the tech and startup scene.
In 2025, Southeast Asia’s tech ecosystem has moved beyond the “growth-at-all-costs” era, maturing into a region defined by monetization discipline and massive infrastructure scaling. ASEAN’s digital economy poised to surpass $300 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) by 2025, fueled by 7.4 times of GMV and 11.2 times of revenue growth in a decade, according to a report published by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company.
In the 10th edition of the annual e-Conomy SEA report with both GMW and revenue seeing steady growth of 15 percent year-on-year, they predicts that Southeast Asia’s digital economy is on track to surpass $300 billion in GMV by 2025 — 1.5 times the inaugural forecast years ago.
Revenues are also forecasted to hit $135 billion as profitability accelerates across the region.
It is noted that as the world’s fifth largest economy with a population of over 680 million, Southeast Asia has undergone a remarkable digital transformation over the past decade.
The region’s digital economy has also shown resilience, leveraging successful monetization strategies despite global headwinds such as COVID and inflation.
As for funding, the Southeast Asia tech ecosystem saw a steep decline in overall funding in the first nine months of 2025, (9M 2025), with total inflows down 58 percent from 9M 2023. Seed and early-stage investments weakened sharply, though late-stage activity more than doubled compared to 9M 2024. Enterprise Applications, Enterprise Infrastructure, and FinTech led sector funding, while six large deals above $100 million shaped the landscape. IPO activity gained momentum with 12 listings, but unicorn creation slowed, and acquisitions declined.
In 2025, TNGlobal has published more than 2,300 articles, a growth of 30 percent year-on-year. Our contributors grew from 150 to 240.
In case you missed it, here are the Top 10 most-read contributor’s articles of 2025 on TNGlobal:
1. Beyond job titles: How great leaders actually lead
2. Web3’s missing link: Why cultural experiences are key to winning mass adoption
Web3’s missing link: Why cultural experiences are key to winning mass adoption
3. Cybersecurity foundations: A strategic addition to university curricula
Cybersecurity foundations: A strategic addition to university curricula
4. From chatbots to agents: Why mid-sized companies are upgrading their conversational AI in 2025
From chatbots to agents: Why mid-sized companies are upgrading their conversational AI in 2025
5. From 11 to 2,500 employees: The trials of hypergrowth
6. From automation to augmentation: How AI redefines collaboration at the workplace
From automation to augmentation: How AI redefines collaboration at the workplace
7. We need to tame the data dragon – and ride it to new heights
We need to tame the data dragon — and ride it to new heights
8. Why AI is driving an invisible shift in risk management
9. Getting ready for a secure AI and post-quantum world
10. Ethical considerations when using customer data
Photo credits: XIN Summit
[Year in review] TNGlobal’s top 15 most-read news articles in 2025