The series A crunch in Southeast Asia isn’t over, but don’t be too worried

Venture capital investments are flooding Southeast Asia like never before. Startup fever is scorching at a level unseen since the Dotcom Bubble. You’d think the much-debated series A crunch plaguing Southeast Asia is over.

Hian Goh, founding partner of Singapore-based VC firm NSI Ventures, thinks otherwise. “We [still] have a series A crunch, but we’re having it for the right reasons,” he says at a keynote speech during the Tech in Asia Singapore 2015 conference.

The potential is massive

First, the good news. Seed funding activity has gone up five-fold from 2010, buoyed by generous support from the Singapore government, which watered the soil with initiatives like iJAM and the Technology Incubation Scheme.

Accelerators like JFDI have paved the way, and successful entrepreneurs from the first batch of startup exits are reinvesting. Singapore’s friendly legislation and efficient bureaucracy has positioned the country well as the place to do business and invest.

Southeast Asia – with Indonesia as “India on steroids” – is fertile ground for massive growth in internet services adoption given it has double the population of the United States:

Past series A, your chance at success shoots up

Since the market is brimming with potential, does this mean an easier ride for startups? Not quite. Goh presented a slide which shows the jumps in valuations after each stage: