Investments

Cradle Fund, the Malaysian government's focal point agency for startup ecosystem development under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), has opened registration for the Cradle LIVE! Summit 2026.

Following a multi-year funding winter, Vietnam’s tech ecosystem is undergoing a flight to quality, driven by high talent density, disciplined unit economics, and a "Vietnam+" playbook where startups leverage local engineering talent to build for global markets. According to Vietnam-based venture capital firm Ascend Vietnam Ventures (AVV), early-stage…

Following a total of $26 million-Series C funding round—backed by investors including sovereign wealth funds Khazanah Nasional and Japan’s Cool Japan Fund— Malaysia-based insurtech firm PolicyStreet is doubling down on its Asian expansion, leveraging its newly achieved profitability to scale embedded insurance across digital platforms.

Egypt-based Fincart, a shipping platform, has closed an oversubscribed $2.8 million seed funding round co-led by Launch Africa and Antler MENAP, with participation from Yango Ventures, Five35 Ventures, Bluestream Capital, Hi2 Global, Kalahari Venture Labs, and other MENA and Africa-focused investors.

Singapore-based Ropedia, a data infrastructure company for physical AI and robotics, has raised $22 million in a Pre-Series A round, bringing its total funding to $30 million.

Vietnam should speed up the update of its regulatory sandbox framework for financial technology (fintech) sector as the country has established international financial centers in Ho Chi Minh City and Danang and pursues a double-digit economic growth target.

Thailand received $43.6 billion in foreign and domestic investment applications across 1,299 projects in the first half of 2026, a 37 percent increase year-on-year, with digital infrastructure and AI data centers accounting for the bulk of inflows.

"The Johor state government takes note of and fully supports the decision of the special meeting of the Iskandar Puteri City Council (MBIP) to revoke the business license and order all activities of NS0 Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (Network School) in Forest City to cease, effective July 22, 2026," the chief minister of Johor state Onn Hafiz Ghazi said in a Facebook…

Earlier this week, Malaysia launched an immigration probe into people associated with Srinivasan's startup school, saying that individuals may have flouted immigration rules.

The OPEC Fund for International Development has provided a $50 million loan to Vietnam's Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank) to expand financing for small businesses and climate-focused investments across Vietnam.