SEA

Grab has held on-and-off talks with GoTo for years, according to earlier media reports. But a merger never materialized, partially due to antitrust concerns likely to arise from combining Southeast Asia’s two dominant ride-hailing and food-delivery groups.

Atome, Singapore-based buy now pay later (BNPL) provider and part of Advance Intelligence Group, announced Monday that it has secured a $75 million asset-backed financing facility from Lending Ark, to accelerate financial inclusion in the Philippines.

The BEYOND Expo Greater Bay Area 2025 Innovation Tour provided an insightful experience into the technological advancements and innovative spirit thriving within the Greater Bay Area.

Danantara has started preliminary discussions with GoTo to acquire a minority stake in a combined entity, according to people familiar with the matter, the report said.

Southeast Asia’s startup funding landscape saw a remarkable rebound in April 2025. The region recorded $439 million across 9 funding rounds, marking a 334.7 percent surge from March 2025’s $101 million and a 218.1 percent increase from $138 million in April 2024.

This year’s BEYOND Expo attracted more than 800 companies, 800 investors and 25,000 visitors, across sectors from AI, HealthTech and Clean Energy to Robotics and SportsTech, making it the biggest BEYOND Expo yet and one of the largest annual pan-Asian technology gatherings.

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.

Chinese multinational technology company Alibaba Group and German multinational software firm SAP SE announced Wednesday a strategic partnership to jointly accelerate enterprise innovation and digital transformation through advanced cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

73 percent of Southeast Asian shoppers prefer artificial intelligence (AI) to augment, not replace human service, highlighting strong demand for hybrid experiences that combine AI efficiency with human empathy, SleekFlow whitepaper showed Tuesday.

Lazada, a Singapore-based eCommerce platform, announced Monday an annual investment of $100 million in the Lazada Affiliate Program (LazAffiliate Program) in Southeast Asia.