SE Asia Deals Barometer Report: Startup fundraising up 18% in October

Equity fundraising by startups in Southeast Asia rose 18% month-on-month in October but it remained below the psychologically important $1 billion threshold, as the absence of megadeals continued to suppress total capital raised.

Startups across the region secured around $272 million from 44 equity funding transactions in October, up 18% from $230 million raised in September through 31 deals, show data compiled by DealStreetAsia.

However, the October fundraising was down about 46% compared to the same month last year, when 67 deals raised $500 million in total.

The funding transactions collated in October included venture capital deals and corporate funding rounds. Debt deals have not been included since DealStreetAsia has limited visibility into Southeast Asian startups’ debt financing rounds.

Nine transactions did not disclose their funding size.

October marked the tenth consecutive month in 2024 that equity funding in Southeast Asia fell short of the $1 billion mark (see chart below).

The last time fundraising crossed that $1 billion threshold was in December 2023, boosted by e-commerce giant Lazada’s $634 million fundraising from its parent company Alibaba, pushing overall fundraising to $1.2 billion that month.

In October, the average deal size, based on transactions with disclosed funding amounts, stood at $7.78 million, lower than the $12.1 million in the previous month.

Elusive megadeals

October’s subdued funding underscores a cooling investor sentiment, evidenced by a hesitance of investors to write big cheques. There were no megadeals, or transactions worth at least $100 million,

The biggest funding in the month was the $50 million secured by Singapore-based mixed martial arts (MMA) firm ONE Championship. The Philippines-based fintech firm Salmon signed the second-biggest deal, which was a $30 million Series A round.

Top Deals of October 2024

Singapore leads fundraising

DealStreetAsia’s compilation further shows that Singapore remained the dominant hub for startup funding in October, accounting for about 58% of the region’s fundraising after securing $159 million from 25 transactions.

The biggest deal in Singapore in October was sealed by ONE Championship. This was followed by the $20 million Series A funding in cybersecurity firm watchTowr.

The average deal size in Singapore last month, based on deals with announced amounts, was a mere $8.81 million. Seven deals did not disclose the amount raised.

Indonesia followed with seven deals totalling $58.1 million, while the Philippines secured $42.25 million from six deals.

The biggest deal in Indonesia was sealed by fintech firm Broom, which raised $24.87 million in its Series A funding round. In the Philippines, fintech startup Salmon secured $30 million in Series A funding from the International Finance Corporation and other investors.

Vietnamese startups raised $7.50 million from two transactions while their counterparts in Malaysia signed four deals that generated $5.65 million in total.

Fintech remains the top sector

With 10 deals that raised $61.37 million in total, fintech startups continued to account for the bulk of the fundraising activities in October, both in terms of value and volume, DealStreetAsia’s compilation show.

The largest fintech deal during the month was the $30 million consumer fintech startup Salmon raised in its Series A-2 equity round.

The startup is registered in the UAE and operates in the Philippines via three subsidiaries under the Salmon brand. The round was backed by some of its key investors, including IFC and Abu Dhabi-based alternative investment firm Lunate.

Startups in the media and entertainment sector raised $54 million from four deals while e-commerce firms secured $47.87 million, the compilations further show.

Seed rounds continue to lead

Investors continued to prefer smaller deals in the region, as evident in the scarcity of big-ticket transactions in October. In fact, of the 44 deals last month, 13 were Seed rounds and 5 were pre-Seed transactions. Twelve transactions did not disclose funding stages.

The largest Seed funding last month was signed by Singapore game company 81Ravens, which raised $4.5 million. The round was led by Japanese investors Digital Hearts Holdings and Gree Ventures.

There were six Series A rounds last month and four Series B fundings. Series C and corporate rounds registered two deals each.