Sailing through Sea’s changing finances

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Hello reader,

I’m a firm believer in pursuing different areas of interest. For example, I might read and write a lot about tech because it’s part of my job, but I also like sports, video games, and history.

I’ve found that at the macro level, there are actually many similarities between these disparate fields. The rise and fall of tech firms mirrors that of basketball teams and imperial dynasties, for example. Alternatively, some of the most memorable video game stories take inspiration from myths and historical events.

Reading widely can help people see patterns and get a feel for the ebbs and flows of life, methinks. Not that it will allow us to predict the future to a T, but knowing that lean periods often follow abundant seasons keeps us humble and focused. And knowing that good times will come after bad can provide some much-needed comfort.

For Sea Group, it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster recently, with both highs and lows. Today’s premium piece looks at the Southeast Asian tech major’s key financials over the last few years.

Today we look at:

• Sea’s financial situation, in graphic form
• Why Alibaba is investing even more money into AI
• Other newsy highlights such as Temasek’s reported interest in backing OpenAI and application season for virtual banking licenses in Thailand

Premium summary

Be aware and adjust accordingly

Image credit: Timmy Loen

If being managing editor of Tech in Asia Studios has taught me anything, it’s the value of being flexible enough to pivot on short notice over planning out everything 100%. Circumstances change all the time in the startup world, and getting too stuck on a course of action is tantamount to setting yourself up to fail.

That looks like what Sea Group is doing. While its numbers don’t look as amazing as they did when the firm could afford to hire football star Cristiano Ronaldo for a (cringe-tastic) ad, changes are afoot to secure its future.

• Dipping, but for a reason: The firm’s cash and cash equivalents have been steadily plummeting since Q3 2021. However, this is because it’s putting a lot of money into short-term and liquid investments to earn interest.
• Not as entertaining: Its digital entertainment division, led by gaming arm Garena, used to be Sea’s unassailable source of revenue, but that has seen a decline over the past couple years.
• A pivot on the cards? On the bright side, revenue from Sea’s digital financial services has been growing. Is this the company’s next cash cow?

Read more: Sea Group’s financial health in 7 charts

Big money from Alibaba for this AI startup

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