SE Asia Deals Barometer Report: Startup funding surges in July on a billion-dollar data centre deal

Southeast Asia’s startup funding activity rebounded sharply in July, with total investment value more than quadrupling from the previous month, driven by a single billion-dollar transaction in Singapore.

Startups in the region raised $1.47 billion across 35 equity deals last month, compared with $349.7 million from 36 deals in June, DealStreetAsia‘s proprietary data show.

While deal volume dipped a tad, total funding surged 320% month-on-month, primarily due to a $1.3 billion investment by US infrastructure and real estate investment firm Stonepeak into Singapore-based data centre operator Princeton Digital Group, the largest disclosed deal of the year so far.

Princeton Digital Group is also backed by Warburg Pincus, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and Mubadala.

The $1.3 billion data centre deal in Singapore dwarfed all other transactions this year so far and marked a significant departure from June’s early-stage-heavy funding landscape.

No other deal in July topped $100 million. The second-largest was a $38.3 million raise by Indonesian e-commerce enabler SIRCLO, underscoring the outsized influence of the Princeton Digital deal on the month’s total.

Without it, July’s funding value would have fallen below June’s, highlighting the continued slowdown in big-ticket fundraising across much of Southeast Asia.

Top deals of July 2025 in SE Asia

On a year-on-year basis, July 2025’s total was 234% higher than July 2024, when 54 deals raised $0.44 billion. While deal volume dropped from 54 to 35, the jump in value was almost entirely attributable to the Princeton Digital transaction.

Out of the 35 deals publicly announced in July, 13 did not disclose funding size. The average deal size, calculated based on transactions with disclosed figures, stood at $66.9 million. In June, the average was $12.1 million.

The tally includes venture capital, private equity, and one corporate round; debt transactions were excluded.

Singapore leads

DealStreetAsia’s compilation further shows that Singapore maintained its stranglehold on regional startup capital, capturing 95.2% of total funding—$1.40 billion across 23 deals—up from 87% the previous month.

The city-state’s average deal size climbed to $93.4 million from $12.1 million, driven by the Princeton Digital deal.

Three of the top five deals last month were signed in Singapore—Princeton Digital ($1.3 billion), AND Global ($22.8 million), and Chocolate Finance ($15 million).

Indonesia ranked second with $41.9 million from six deals, led by SIRCLO. Vietnam followed with $27.36 million from four deals, including $14.4 million for used motorcycle platform OKXE from Korea’s Kwangju Bank and other investors.

Thailand and Malaysia recorded one deal each, with Malaysia’s amount undisclosed.

Sector snapchat

While data centre was the top sector in terms of amount raised, fintech and AI/data analytics were the most active, logging five deals each and raising $47.8 million and $24.5 million, respectively.

In June, fintech was also the most active with 12 deals that raised nearly $168 million in total.

The largest fintech deal in July was signed by Singapore-incorporated digital lending platform AND Global,  which raised about $22.8 million in a Series B funding round anchored by the International Finance Corporation.

E-commerce saw just two deals but secured $52.66 million, led by SIRCLO’s equity funding, while healthcare startups raised $11.6 million from two transactions.

Green technology attracted four deals worth $5.35 million, suggesting a growing institutional focus on sustainability investments, while robotics and drones attracted $11 million in a single transaction, signed by Augmentus, a Singapore robotics startup for manufacturers.

The rest of the sectors each recorded one to two deals.

Funding rounds by stage

Despite the outsized data centre deal, early-stage activity remained healthy, DealStreetAsia’s monthly compilation showed. Fourteen transactions did not disclose funding type or stage.

There were seven Series A rounds during the month, topped by Chocolate Finance, which raised $15 million anchored by Nikko Asset Management.

Seed and pre-Seed rounds made up 11 transactions combined. Only one Series B, one private equity investment, and one corporate round were recorded in the month.

In June, there were eight Series A deals and seven Seed deals. There were also six deals in pre-Seed stage.

Debt rounds

There were two debt deals in July that were not included in the monthly deal scorecard.

HSBC Malaysia extended its first asset-based lending facility worth $15 million to Carsome, while Cleantech Solar, a Singapore-based renewable energy developer, secured over $140 million in green financing through two loan transactions from ING and Clifford Capital.