Venture Capital

Indonesia's digital competitiveness score rose to 42.2 in 2026, up from 38.8 in 2025, according to East Ventures's Digital Competitiveness Index 2026, marking a more than 50 percent increase in the average provincial score since 2020.

Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology has proposed establishing a National Venture Capital Fund with an initial capital of $100 million for the 2026-2028 period.

Ovum, an Australian women's health company founded by Ariella Heffernan-Marks, has raised $4 million in seed funding to address the gender health gap, tripling its valuation just one year after securing $1.7 million in a pre-seed round.

Early-stage investor Antler has unveiled 28 startups from Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia as part of its Asia Regional Portfolio Showcase, highlighting a shift from AI copilots and productivity tools toward autonomous systems capable of independently executing complex tasks.

Gobi Partners has invested in GreatAsic through multiple funds, including Gobi Dana Impak Ventures, a fund backed by Khazanah Nasional Berhad through Dana Impak, as part of GreatAsic's recently closed $6.9 million Pre-Series A round led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India.

An imbalance in capital sources, with foreign capital dominating Vietnam's startup market, is pushing startups toward establishing holding companies overseas to more easily receive funding, said Bui Thanh Do, Founder and CEO of ThinkZone Ventures.

Singapore-based Golden Gate Ventures has launched its Uzbekistan office, in a move to help technology companies in its Middle East - North Africa (MENA) portfolio expand to the country and the broader region.

Malaysia-based fabless custom chip design company GreatAsic has raised $6.9 million in a Pre-Series A round led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, with participation from Ehsan Kapital and Gobi Partners.

LOTTE Ventures Vietnam has launched L-CAMP Vietnam 2026, an open innovation program offering up to $80,000 in proof-of-concept grant funding to connect high-potential Vietnamese startups with LOTTE's network of affiliates in Vietnam for pilot collaborations and long-term business partnerships.

After two years of correction that saw deal volumes shrink and investor caution set in, Vietnam's private capital market rebounded to $4.5 billion in 2025, according to the Vietnam Innovation & Private Capital Report.