SE Asia Deals Barometer Report: Startup funding slumps 84% in Aug

Startup funding in Southeast Asia declined sharply in August, following a record-setting July, as the absence of megadeals pushed the month’s total to the third-lowest so far this year.

Privately-held startups in the region raised $233 million across 36 deals, show proprietary data compiled by DealStreetAsia. The total marked an 84% decline from July’s $1.47 billion raised from 35 deals, when US investor Stonepeak’s $1.3 billion capital injection into Singapore-based data centre operator Princeton Digital Group boosted the region’s funding numbers.

On a year-on-year basis, funding in August 2025 was down 25% from $310 million in August 2024, highlighting the cooling appetite for large-scale investments in the region’s startups.

The largest deal in August was sealed by Singapore-based oat milk startup Oatside, which secured about $43.2 million in a funding round backed by Asian secondary private equity firm TR Capital and venture capital investor Granite Asia (formerly known as GGV Capital).

The second-largest deal was valued at $26.5 million raised by Qapita, the Singapore-headquartered equity management platform. The company issued shares to a new investor, The Charles Schwab Corporation, and existing investors Citicorp North America and MassMutual Ventures.

No deal topped $100 million in August, underscoring the month’s reliance on the smaller, early- and mid-stage transactions.

Out of the 36 deals publicly announced in August, nine did not disclose funding size. The deals include venture capital and corporate rounds.

The average deal size, calculated based on transactions with disclosed figures, stood at $8.6 million, a steep drop from July’s $66.9 million, which was skewed by the Princeton Digital mega-transaction.

Top deals of August 2025 in SE Asia

The sharp drop in August underscores the region’s increasing reliance on sporadic megadeals to prop up monthly funding totals.

If not for Stonepeak’s $1.3 billion investment in Princeton Digital Group, July’s funding total would have fallen below June’s $350 million, suggesting that Southeast Asia continues to face a scarcity of big-ticket fundraising amid tighter global financing conditions.

Despite the funding slowdown in the region, Minette B. Navarrete, managing partner and founder of Kickstart Ventures, struck an optimistic note. “When you look at the numbers, there is growth in specific sectors. Certainly, when we look at investments, whether it is in Southeast Asia or outside the region, we are seeing some signs of growth sectors,” Navarrete said at the recently concluded Asia PE-VC Summit 2025, organised by DealStreetAsia in Singapore.

Singapore holds ground

Singapore retained its dominance in August, accounting for $183 million, or 79% of total funding, across 22 transactions. Of the top 10 deals in August by value, eight were signed in Singapore, with Oatside and Qapita leading the pack.

The city-state’s average deal size, based on deals with disclosed funding amount, stood at $10.2 million, down sharply from $93.4 million in July, which was driven by the Princeton Digital deal.

Despite the steep month-on-month contraction, the city-state continued to attract the lion’s share of capital, reflecting its entrenched role as the region’s venture capital hub.

Indonesia ranked second with $37.3 million from seven deals, supported by activity in fintech and consumer-focused sectors.

The largest Indonesian deal was worth $16.7 million, raised by jobs platform Pintarnya in a Series A round led by Square Peg and backed by existing backers Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India and East Ventures.

Malaysia followed with $7.5 million across five deals, while Thailand logged $5.2 million from two transactions. There were no publicly announced deals in Vietnam, the Philippines, and Myanmar during the month.

Fintech tops the sectors

Fintech once again led sector activity, raising $102.5 million from eight deals, nearly 44% of the month’s total. Qapita’s $26.5 million fundraise was the biggest for the sector in August.

This was followed by the $25 million that DigiFT, a Singapore-based exchange for institutional-grade, tokenized real-world assets, raised in its latest round led by SBI Holdings.

Consumer products followed in terms of value, with $45.9 million from two deals, led by Oatside’s raise, while HR tech attracted $26.7 million across two transactions, highlighting growing investor interest in workforce solutions amid regional labour market shifts.

Green technology startups secured $6.6 million from four transactions, continuing a steady flow of sustainability-focused investments, DealStreetAsia’s compilations showed.

Other sectors, including gaming ($15 million), agritech ($2.9 million), hospitality ($5 million), and media & entertainment ($8.4 million), saw modest inflows.

E-commerce, which has historically been one of the region’s biggest fundraising categories, logged no disclosed funding in August.

Early-stage activity resilient

By funding stage, early-stage activity remained relatively steady even as late-stage megadeals dried up.

There were 12 funding deals, which did not disclose their stages, that contributed the most at $132.3 million, accounting for more than half of the month’s total.

Series B deals made up $39.5 million, while Series A rounds added $34.8 million. Banking-as-a-Service provider Atlas Consolidated, headquartered in Singapore, signed the largest Series B funding in the month at $18.1 million.

In Series A, Indonesian jobs platform Pintarnya bagged $16.7 million in funding led by Square Peg.

Seed and pre-seed funding remained modest at $12.7 million and $0.76 million, respectively, underscoring ongoing investor interest in early innovation despite broader macroeconomic headwinds. Corporate rounds, though fewer in number, still accounted for $6 million.

The slowdown in August continues the trend seen in the first half of this year, when dealmaking in Southeast Asia had slowed to its weakest level in more than six years, according to DealStreetAsia’s Southeast Asia Startup Funding Report: H1 2025.

The funding winter has clearly persisted longer than expected, stretching back to the downturn that began in 2022. The first half of the year saw only 229 equity deals closed, with just $1.85 billion deployed, reflecting deep investor caution and a much higher bar for funding.