It’s hot in Asia: VC funding doubled year-on-year in Q1 2016

Talks of a cooldown appears to be just that – talk. For now at least. According to Tech in Asia’s data, venture capital funding in Asia has doubled in Q1 2016 compared to the same period in 2015.

Things get even more interesting when we break down the numbers by region. China has grown at a blistering pace, with its venture capital funding doubling to US$14.5 billion in Q1 2016 against Q1 2015. The country’s cooling stock market appears to have not affected investor confidence yet.

Southeast Asia exhibited the most growth in terms of percentage: it grew 2.5 times to US$478 million.

Southeast Asia’s creeping up on India, which is bucking the trend with a slight decline. However, venture capital investing in India, at US$818 million, is still double of Southeast Asia.

Biotech rising

A surprise pops up when we examine industries with the fastest growing venture capital funding: biotech.

Most of the biotech deals involve Israeli and Chinese startups. However, Aslan Pharmaceuticals is a name you should know from Singapore. The company, which develops therapies for tumors, has raised a US$34 million series C round led by a subsidiary of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings.

Hong Kong’s Prenetics is another noteworthy startup. Armed with US$10 million in funding led by a Chinese insurance giant, the startup is developing a test that makes sure prescribed medication doesn’t harm its users.

But in terms of deal volume and size, biotech still forms a small minority of deals in Asia.

Transportation renaissance in China?

Logistics and transportation startups got a ton of funding in Q1, making it one of the top verticals in Asia. Here’s a chart showing the top deals by size:

Cautious optimism