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, before ushering into the new year.
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 case you missed it, here are the Top 15 most-read news articles of 2025 on TNGlobal:
1. VinFast launches EV assembly plant in India
2. Report discovers nearly 30,000 tech sector layoffs already in 2025
Report discovers nearly 30,000 tech sector layoffs already in 2025
3. Alibaba Cloud launches second data center in Dubai to accelerate AI-powered digitalization in Middle East
4. Digital 2025: nearly two thirds of Southeast Asia’s population are on social media
Digital 2025: nearly two thirds of Southeast Asia’s population are on social media
5. Mestron, Trinasolar forge strategic partnership to accelerate Malaysia’s energy transition
Mestron, Trinasolar forge strategic partnership to accelerate Malaysia’s energy transition
6. LABS Group to launch timeshare NFT-powered real estate fund for resorts and hotels
LABS Group to launch timeshare NFT-powered real-estate fund for resorts and hotels
7. Malaysia’s e-payments transactions continue to rise in 2024
8. Southeast Asia’s platform e-commerce GMV reaches $128.4B; top 3 platforms increase market share to 85 percent
9. SEA’s IPO capital market remains resilient in 1H with Malaysia, Indonesia take top spots
SEA’s IPO capital market remains resilient in 1H with Malaysia, Indonesia take top spots
10. Southeast Asia e-commerce up 15 pct on year to $114.B GMV in 2023
Southeast Asia e-commerce up 15 pct on year to $114.6B GMV in 2023
11. Malaysia government to establish sovereign AI cloud to safeguard national capabilities- report
Malaysia government to establish sovereign AI cloud to safeguard national capabilities – report
12. NUS expands start-up hub in Tokyo to propopel deep tech innovation
NUS expands start-up hub in Tokyo to propel deep tech innovation
13. Momentum Works: TikTok Shop U.S. GMV surpasses $9B in 2024
14. Indonesia’s eFishery unicorn allegedly faked most of its sales – report
Indonesia’s eFishery unicorn allegedly faked most of its sales – report
15. Malaysia’s PE firm Creador closes Fund VI at $930M, says Founder & CEO Brahmal Vasudevan
Malaysia’s PE firm Creador closes Fund VI at $930 million, says Founder & CEO Brahmal Vasudevan
Feature photo credits: BEYOND EXPO