Author: TechNode Global Staff

Funding to startups in Asia in the first half of 2023 dropped 50 percent from the previous year — spurred on by fewer large, late rounds, and mirroring the global venture market, Crunchbase said Thursday.

Home loans and online loans are the most popular in Southeast Asia, Robocash Group said on Thursday. Based on search requests related to lending, housing loans make up 46 percent of all queries over the past 12 months. The second place by popularity is taken by online loans (30 percent).

Total funding into Southeast Asia (SEA) tech startups fell 71 percent to $2.3 billion in the first half of 2023, from $8 billion a year ago, said Tracxn Technologies Ltd on Thursday. The total funding in the first half is also 45 percent lower than $4.3 billion raised in the second half of 2022.

Singapore-based venture capital firm Antler is extending its international footprint into Malaysia through a partnership with the sovereign wealth fund of Malaysia Khazanah. Khazanah said in a statement on Thursday that Antler is aiming to invest in over 30 startups across Malaysia over the next three years.

Teleport, the logistics venture seeded by Malaysia-listed firm Capital A Berhad, has officially inducted its first Airbus A321 Freighter (A321F) aircraft into its air logistics fleet, which is set to strengthen its position as the market leader in terms of most air cargo volume by tonnage across Southeast Asia, as certified by the World ACD.

Orderfaz, an Indonesian fintech startup for social commerce sellers, has on Thursday announced the completion of a pre-seed round of financing led by 1982 Ventures. With this round of financing, the firm plans to bring on new hires across all functions to drive platform development and market expansion.

EHang Holdings Limited (EHang), the United States-listed Chinese autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) technology platform company, has raised a total of $23 million in private placement led by strategic South Korean investor Lee Soo Man.

Indonesia-based insurtech startup PasarPolis has appointed industry veteran Peter Van Zyl as its President. Former Director and Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Indonesia, Van Zyl will bring his deep expertise and leadership to bear on the firm's ongoing mission to democratize insurance.

Indian Fintech Unicorn Razorpay has on Wednesday launched a full-stack payment gateway in Malaysia through Curtech, a Malaysian fintech firm it acquired last year. The Curlec Payment Gateway will serve more than 5,000 businesses with a target of MYR 10 billion ($2.15 billion) in annualized gross transaction value (GTV) by 2025.

SoLeLands, an Indonesia-based immersive game-based learning platform to support kids’ self-discovery, has on Wednesday announced that the company had raised funding led by East Ventures, with the participation of SMDV.