SEA startups with an ocean of funding

Sign up for the Daily Newsletter, sent exclusively to our Premium subscribers. We break down the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community. Get the newsletter in your inbox everyday with a Premium subscription.

Hello reader,

We’re well into the first week of 2022, and I hope you are sticking to your resolutions. The “new year, new me” phenomenon is rife, with exercise regimes and healthy eating habits being trumpeted across social media.

Funnily enough, the uncanny tradition of resolutions has lasted for millennia – some believe the ancient Babylonians were the first people to make New Year’s resolutions some 4,000 years ago.

The new year wonderfully sets the stage for fresh starts and, understandably, it’s easy to give in to the temptation of seeking a “newer” version of yourself. But resolutions aren’t always beneficial, and there are times when it’s better to stay on the path you’ve already set for yourself.

In our premium story pick today, you’ll see that the top-funded startups in Southeast Asia very rarely pivot from their core businesses, especially once the funding starts rolling in.

Today we look at,

• The top-funded startups and tech companies in Southeast Asia
• A tweak in Sea Group’s ownership structure
• Other newsy highlights such as cybersecurity checks for Chinese firms listing overseas and Reliance’s big bond sale

Also, if you’re an entrepreneur looking for funding, fill in this form to get your company featured on our list of fundraising startups.

Premium summary

The investors’ darlings of SEA

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Funding is the bread and butter of any startup ecosystem and is celebrated as a major milestone for a startup. While it may seem that most budding startups bag a funding round or two with relative ease, the difficulty of working towards and securing funding should not be understated. The countless stories of startup empires beginning from cramped garages exist for a reason.

Having said that, let’s look at some startups that have put in the hard yards and are now reaping the rewards of their labor.

• In a league of its own: Sea Group is a Southeast Asian tech behemoth with businesses spanning across gaming, ecommerce, fintech and, possibly, the metaverse. However, it did not reach the lofty valuation of nearly US$100 billion without massive funding. Sea Group leads our list with US$9 billion in funding – double that of logistics firm J&T Express, which comes in second.

Power play