This week, we tracked the March startup fundraising data from our core markets – India, Greater China, and Southeast Asia.
Startup fundraising failed to cross the three-digit-dollar mark in Southeast Asia in March. Deal value last month plunged by nearly 61% month-on-month to a low of $97.5 million, according to our proprietary data.
There were 43 equity transactions during the month, compared to 32 equity deals in February that raised $247 million. On a year-on-year basis, too, deal value fell by nearly 38%, from $160 million in March 2024.
In India, venture funding once again crossed the psychologically significant $1-billion mark in March, thanks to three major deals in the fintech and software sectors, reflecting a shift in investor focus towards high-growth-potential startups.
Indian startups raised $1.4 billion across 105 transactions last month, a 49% increase in value from the $943 million (raised from 108 deals) in February.
After a period of caution, risk capital investors seem to be regaining confidence in sealing big-ticket deals in Indian startups. A total of seven megadeals ($100 million and above), worth $1.34 billion, were closed in Q1 2025, recording a sharp jump from just three deals valued at $323 million in Q1 2024.
Meanwhile, startup funding activity in Greater China suffered a steep 71.4% year-over-year decline in transaction value in March, a month that recorded deals worth almost $4 billion.
Firms headquartered in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan completed a total of 207 funding deals in March. Deal value was up by 46.9% MoM, while deal volume was up by 20.3%.
Deal news
Bangladesh’s biggest full-stack B2B commerce platform ShopUp and Sary, a B2B marketplace and services platform in the Gulf, have merged to form SILQ Group, creating the largest B2B commerce platform connecting the Gulf and Emerging Asia. The merger was backed by a $110-million funding round led by Sanabil Investments, owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures.
Bang Jamin, an Indonesian digital insurance platform, is closing a $4-million pre-Series A funding round led by Singapore-based investment firms SBI Ventures and Braxton Capital.
World Bank member IFC is considering an investment of up to $20 million in OEM agnostic electric vehicle fleet operator Transvolt Mobility Limited.
Nafas, an Indonesian air quality solutions provider, is in the final stages of closing a nearly $3-million investment round with Rigel Capital and Qatar Development Bank.
Singapore-based device-as-a-service platform Cinch has raised up to $28.8 million in a combination of debt and equity, in its latest funding round anchored by Southeast Asian venture capital firm Monk’s Hill Ventures.
LP-GP quarters
Bahrain-based alternative asset manager Investcorp, which unveiled plans to ramp up its assets in India to $5 billion, is finding that its investment activity in the country has slowed down amid persistent macroeconomic challenges. Investcorp’s Head of India Investment Business, Gaurav Sharma, said the slowdown in deployment is “not at all a function of not wanting to deploy but a function of a difficult market from a deployment point of view.”
Southeast Asia’s oldest private equity firms may be edging towards consolidation, as pressure from a tough fundraising environment pushes local GPs to consider mergers with global investment platforms, potentially shrinking the pool of standalone fund managers in the region.
Private equity exit value in Southeast Asia rose about 30% to $4.7 billion in 2024, according to Bain & Co‘s latest report, Southeast Asia Private Equity 2024 in Review. The bulk of that value was driven by KKR’s $1.1 billion divestment of PropertyGuru to EQT and Affinity’s $966 million sale of Island Hospital.
Andreessen Horowitz is seeking to raise about $20 billion in what will be the largest fund in its history, to capitalise on global investors’ interest in backing US artificial intelligence companies, Reuters reported.
IFC is weighing an investment of up to $25 million in Trifecta Capital’s fourth venture debt fund to increase access to credit and alternative financing for Series A and beyond startups in India.
Analyses and interviews
The Indonesia Stock Exchange’s target to host 66 IPOs this year is facing fresh headwinds as a steep fall in the benchmark Jakarta Composite Index has cast doubts over market appetite for, and the near-term viability of, new listings.
Kiwi infra giant Morrison is betting big on Asia’s infrastructure, driven by lower risks in the region and the potential for high returns. “As we moved our Asia headquarters to Singapore, the priority has been renewable energy,” said Paul Newfield, CEO of Morrison. The firm has invested about $200 million in Asia-based projects.
Singapore-headquartered B2B fintech firm Aspire is shifting its strategic focus from regional markets towards a more global expansion, triggering an organisational restructuring that includes downsizing its Indonesian team.
Even with limited direct ties to the US supply chain, Southeast Asia’s Nasdaq-listed superapp Grab Holdings and NYSE-listed consumer Internet firm Sea Ltd were not spared from the market rout following US President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement last week, with both tech majors suffering significant stock declines.
Amid Vietnam’s ascent as a key player in the AI industry, its leading private conglomerate Vingroup has divested stakes in two of its subsidiaries to US tech giants Nvidia and Qualcomm. The high-profile deals have sparked a debate among experts about whether such stake sales could hinder the potential for independent, homegrown innovation.
