These funds aren’t biting in SEA

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Hello reader,

I’ve picked up a lot of hobbies over the years. Knitting, sewing, K-pop photocard collecting, pole dancing, embroidery, junk journaling, cycling, bouldering … there’s a reason my room is filled with so much stuff.

When it comes to my hobbies, I’ve noticed that my interest in them tends to come and go. I’ll go through a period where I’m sitting down at my sewing machine every weekend, and then months will go by where it just stays in storage.

I haven’t cycled in years, but I recently bought a helmet and have been taking my dad’s old bicycle out on adventures around the neighborhood.

Life is full of ebbs and flows, and I guess the same can be said for investing. There’ll be periods of time where investors are super excited about a market or a region, but there’ll also be periods where the excitement fades and other markets take priority.

So on that note, in today’s premium story, we take a look at some funds where it seems Southeast Asia may be taking a bit of a backseat.

Today we look at:

• Who has not been funding startups in SEA recently
• What 2024 was like for Indonesia’s startup scene
• Other newsy highlights such as ByteDance’s 2025 spending plans and 500 Global’s new fund based in Saudi Arabia

Premium summary

Has SEA lost its shine?

Image credit: Timmy Loen

There are many reasons why a fund may hit pause on investing in a region. Right now, I can’t tell you the reasons, but I can tell you which funds haven’t backed Southeast Asian startups in a hot minute.

(Note: This list includes funds that have backed at least one company in Southeast Asia in the past two years but haven’t done any funding rounds over the last 12 months.)

• The most active: US-based SOSV closed nine deals in Southeast Asia in the past 24 months, which includes startups such as iMotorbike, Allozymes, and BioMetallica. It started 2024 on a good note with a funding round, but it’s been quiet since.
• Followed by: Singapore’s EDBI backed seven companies in the region in the last two years, the latest being in November 2023.
• In third place: Global Founders Capital, which is based in Germany, invested in five Southeast Asian startups in the past 24 months, with the last round also in November 2023.

The state of Indonesia’s startup scene

Quick bytes