Diving deep into the SEA tech startup ecosystem in 2016

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This presentation outlines the key insights on the SEA tech ecosystem, from the capital flows in the private and public markets to exit landscapes and sectors to watch. It also lists 110 active private tech investors in the region.

To founders, investors, and regulators in SEA, here are a few reasons why we should take the tech market more seriously.

(Feel free to download and use the charts below. A shoutout to @rictan0 on Twitter will be very much appreciated.)

1. The private tech market outstripped the public market in the past three years.

Since 2013, we observed that five public markets have fallen short of the 10 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in six countries: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Only Vietnam’s VN index achieved more than 10 percent CAGR.

However, it is worth noting that Vietnam’s growth was mainly driven by its government’s increasing privatization efforts led by the government, as outlined by Deloitte in their latest SEA IPO Market Report 2016. This is in contrast to a CAGR of 58 percent in private funding for SEA tech startups, which shows a strong growth.

SEA also went from having one unicorn in 2012 to seven unicorns after four years. This signifies a grown-up class of SEA private technology companies that have been fueling economic growth in an unprecedented way. As these companies come of age, we can expect them to play a pivotal role in the regional economy.

2. 110 active investors, US$2.2 billion in 274 deals in 2016 alone

3. SEA funding is more concentrated on Seed and Series A rounds compared to the rest of the world

4. SEA and Australia Stock Exchange won’t be home-run exit destinations in the near future.

5. Huge, successful startups will be the biggest acquirers in SEA.