Who are Southeast Asian fintech startups’ biggest supporters?

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Hello readers,

I recently got my first credit card. Holding this shiny new thing for the first time did make me feel more like an adult, which is pretty funny considering that I’m almost 30.

As you can imagine, with its power in my hands, I splurged on a bunch of stuff right away. Let’s just say I’m only going to use that card for emergencies in the future.

I’ve never been the best at managing finances. So explaining fintech startups is always a challenge. But one thing I do know is that fintech companies ain’t joking around with their funding. They raise a ton and get lofty valuations. But who’s funding them, exactly?

Today we look at,

• The who’s backing Southeast Asian fintech startups
• The startup that’s making an at-home health-tracking device
• Other newsy highlights such as Justco lost a lawsuit and India birthed a new unicorn

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Bills bills bills: Which VC firms are writing the most checks to fintech startups

The fintech industry is on a roll. In Singapore, fintech startups collectively raised US$492.8 million in funding in the first quarter of 2021 – a 355% increase from the previous year – according to a Boston Consulting Group report. We also saw a similar trend in other parts of Southeast Asia where funding flowing into fintech startups has exploded since the start of this year. So who are the investors making these huge bets?

• 50% of the investors in the list are based in Singapore.
• 500 Startups leads the list, having closed 20 deals over the past 24 months. Two of the VC’s latest fintech plays are Vietnam-based investment app Infina and Singapore-based neobank for freelancers Friz.
• Next in line is Indonesia’s East Ventures, which funded 14 fintech startups in the past 24 months. Some of its latest investments include Indonesian peer-to-peer lending firm Komunal and insurtech platform Fuse.

Read more: Series SEA: Who’s investing in the region’s fintech startups?

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

Need a health checkup at home?

A lab-grade device that allows you to track and make diagnoses at home might sound like something from the distant future. But Japanese healthtech firm Bisu has managed to do just that. It recently raised about US$3.2 million in a seed funding round to bring its device to market.

These are some fine, fine companies