Latest news and trends about tech

Thailand’s data center sector is set to sustain strong medium-term growth, driven by a rapidly expanding pipeline of hyperscale investments and supportive government policies, even as execution risks around power supply, grid readiness and costs begin to emerge, BMI Country Risk & Industry Research said Monday.

Agentic commerce, bank-backed wallets, and Click to Pay are the three technologies expected to have the most significant impact on consumer payments over the next 12 months, according to the Consumer Payments Tech Horizon report, released by Juniper Research.

ChemT Biotechnology, an AI-driven biotechnology company based on Singapore, has closed a $4 million seed round led by Wavemaker Ventures and co-investment partner SEEDS, an arm of SG Growth Capital, with support from Wavemaker 360 Health, Draper University Ventures, and Temasek Life Sciences Accelerator.

The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) said Malaysia’s digital finance ecosystem is entering a more mature phase but faces key structural challenges, including fintech profitability pressures, rising cyber risks and regulatory gaps in fast-growing credit segments such as buy-now-pay-later (BNPL).

Southeast Asia-focused tourism platform Agoda has launched a public bug bounty program on HackerOne, inviting security researchers globally to test its platform and offering rewards of up to $6,000 based on the severity of valid findings.

Singapore-based digital asset infrastructure firm Libeara, announced Tuesday the successful close of a $14 million strategic funding round led by global market maker GSR.

Blackwall, a web traffic security company based in Estonia, has partnered with Vietnam's HOSTVN Technology Solutions Joint Stock Company to launch HOSTVN Website Protection, marking Blackwall's  entry into Vietnam, also its first market in Southeast Asia.

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.

Singapore-based transport operator ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited announced Monday the launch of public rides on its Zig Driverless shuttles in Punggol, marking its second autonomous public service globally after its robotaxi pilot in Guangzhou, China.

Singapore's Singtel has sold 2.8 percent of its stake in Gulf Development, Thailand's largest energy company, for approximately S$1 billion ($775 million), generating cumulative equity gains of approximately $109 million.