Surfin Meta Digital Technologies, a Singapore-based financial technology platform that services the unbanked and underbanked in emerging markets, has announced raising $26.5 million in its latest funding round.
The round secured funding commitments from Korean investment firm Woori Venture Partners, Washington University in St Louis, and Singapore-based private equity firm Phillip Private Equity.
The funding round was oversubscribed, Surfin Meta said, and followed the $12.5 million funding in October 2024 led by Singapore-headquartered venture capital firm Insignia Venture Partners.
Surfin Meta, which provides consumer lending and credit cards, payments and remittances, wealth management, and B2B services, plans to use the proceeds to enter new markets and strengthen research and development for its financial product offerings.
Surfin Meta CEO and founder Dr. Yanan Wu said the company sees financial inclusion as key to supporting underserved communities in emerging markets, where access to basic financial services remains limited.
Surfin Meta said its institutional clients use the company’s risk management, credit scoring, and digital banking solutions, which leverage machine learning and AI technologies through its Surfin Lab, Surfin Score, and Surfin Cloud platforms.
Surfin Meta’s funding round comes as fundraising by venture-backed companies in Southeast Asia hit a sharp decline in value and volume in the first quarter of this year.
According to DealStreetAsia’s Southeast Asia Deal Review: Q1 2025, startups in the region secured 113 deals in the March quarter, raising a total of $555 million, a sharp 43% decline in deal count and a 46% drop in capital raised compared with the same period in 2024.
Debt financing also lost momentum in Q1 2025, with Southeast Asian startups securing just seven deals worth $154 million. This represents a significant drop from the 16 debt deals closed in Q4 2024 that had collectively raised $720 million.
The decline in fundraising to historic lows reinforces the view that the market remains in a prolonged recalibration.
