Editor’s note: graphics, data & information provided by data platform Tracxn
The Southeast Asia (SEA) Monthly Funding Tracker for May 2025 indicates a sharp decline in funding activity. Total funding stood at $128.8 million across 16 rounds, which represents a 70.70 percent drop from April 2025 and a 26.42 percent decline from May 2024.
Early-Stage Rounds Continue to Dominate in May 2025
Early-stage funding made up the lion’s share at 89.1 percent, while seed-stage rounds contributed 10.9 percent of the total funding in May 2025. Whereas in April 2025, late-stage funding accounted for 79.6 percent of total investments.
IPOs and Acquisitions Show Modest Activity
May 2025 saw four acquisitions and three tech IPOs whereas April 2025 witnessed 4 IPOs and 4 acquisitions. May 2025 saw 1 IPO and 4 acquisitions.
Acquisitions in May 2025:
Headquarters by Gnosis (May 15), Wakuliner by DailyCo (May 6), Salary Board by Revelio Labs (May 1), and Bigetron by Vitality (May 15).
IPOs in May 2025:
Mirxes, Antalpha, and Oasis Home went public.
Top Funding Deals in May 2025
The largest deals were Nuevocor (Singapore), raising $45 million, followed by VFlow Tech ($20.5 million) and CloudSEK ($19 million), both based in Singapore.
City-Wise Trends
Singapore continued its dominance with $115 million in funding, far ahead of Kuala Lumpur ($6.5 million), Jakarta ($5.1 million), and Ho Chi Minh City ($2.1 million).
Key Investors and Types of Funding
Venture Capital (VC) Investors:
● Kurma Partners: Invested in Nuevocor ($45 million)
● OMVC: Invested in CrediLinq.AI ($8.5 million)
● Openspace Ventures: Invested in BrioHR ($6.5 million)
Incubators:
● 500 Global invested in CrediLinq.AI ($8.5 million, Singapore) and Volt14 ($1.9 million, Singapore)
● Entrepreneur First invested in VFlow Tech ($20.5 million, Singapore) and Volt14 ($1.9 million, Singapore)
● Y Combinator: BrioHR ($6.5 million, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Key Takeaways from the Data
1. Funding Decline: May 2025 marked a significant decline in overall funding activity.
2. Early-Stage Dominance indicates investor preference for younger startups
3. Singapore-Led Ecosystem, which highlights that the country remains the hub for major funding activity in SEA. Most of the major investments and incubator activity were concentrated in Singapore, reinforcing its position as the regional startup hub.
