Southeast Asia’s VC fundraising hit a four-year low in 2024, despite a late surge in final closes.
Persistent headwinds, cautious limited partners (LPs) and prolonged fundraising cycles continued to weigh on the market while the uncertainty further deepened following the recent probe into allegations of financial irregularities at the Indonesian aquaculture startup eFishery.
Regional VC firms secured nine final closes in the second half of 2024, raising a combined $915 million. This brought the annual total to 14 funds and $2.15 billion in capital, according to DealStreetAsia DATA VANTAGE’s newly released biannual report, SE Asia’s VC Funds: H2 2024 Review.
The annual performance fell sharply compared to the previous year, when 32 funds had hit final closes, securing $6.77 billion. The 2024 figures also mark a four-year low in both value and volume, only marginally surpassing 2020, when the global pandemic significantly restricted fundraising activity.
A similar trajectory is also evident among foreign VC funds with full or partial mandates in Southeast Asia. In 2024, they closed nine funds, raising $2.93 billion, closely aligning with the previous year’s figures. However, fundraising levels remain a far cry from the peak years of 2022 and 2021.
While the slowdown reflects a natural correction after the pandemic-era surge in easy capital, other factors have also contributed to reduced global investor deployment in Southeast Asia, with some shifting their focus to greener pastures.
“Southeast Asia’s growth trajectory has historically been compelling, but challenges such as market fragmentation, regulatory complexity, and the lack of large-scale exits have led some LPs to reallocate capital toward alternative emerging markets like India,” said David Chang, founding partner of Hong Kong-based MindWorks Capital.
First-timers hit harder
First-time fund managers face a tougher fundraising environment as LPs prioritise familiar faces with proven track records. The biannual report by DATA VANTAGE shows three Southeast Asia-based VC firms secured final closes for their debut funds in the second half of 2024, bringing the annual total to five, with combined proceeds of $500 million.
Among them, Singapore- and Paris-based Shift4Good closed its debut fund at $230 million, while VinVentures, a corporate VC fund, raised $150 million from its parent company, Vingroup, rather than from traditional LPs.
While the number of debut fund closes matched 2023, it remains far below historical levels. In 2022 and 2021, 12 and 10 debut funds reached their final closes, respectively. Before the pandemic curtailed capital deployment in 2020, the region saw 13 debut funds close annually in 2019 and 2018, each surpassing $1 billion in total proceeds.
“As liquidity cycles extend, LPs are adapting by consolidating commitments into fewer, more established fund managers with proven track records rather than spreading capital widely,” said Antler’s Co-founder & Managing Partner Asia Jussi Salovaara.
This shift, Salovaara said, has led to larger ticket sizes for top-performing VCs, making it increasingly difficult for newer or first-time funds to raise capital.
ESG-focused funds, too, have not been immune to the broader downturn in the fundraising environment. Fundraising data shows a significant slowdown in this category, reflecting the overall challenges in capital commitments across the region.
In 2024, only two ESG-focused funds reached their final close—Shift4Good’s $230 million debut fund and Intudo Ventures’ $50 million Natural Resources & Renewable Energy Fund. This represents a sharp decline from six ESG-focused funds in 2023 and four in 2022.
Looking beyond final closes to include all fundraising milestones of ESG funds, which include interim close updates, the report shows that 2024 recorded just four milestones, raising a total of $305 million. This pales in comparison to 13 milestones in 2023 and 11 in 2022.
Interim backlogs
Fundraising data indicates a significant backlog of funds stuck at the interim closing stage. Among the 49 funds that have reached interim closing since 1 January 2021, 20 have yet to report any updates in the past three years. This highlights the challenges fund managers face in progressing toward a final close.
In 2024, 11 funds reached interim closing, matching the total from 2023, most of which are by Singapore-based firms. The largest interim close was by Jungle Ventures, which secured $250 million for its $600 million fifth flagship fund, making it the most notable raise of the year.
Meanwhile, Indonesia—Southeast Asia’s largest economy—recorded zero interim closings in 2024. This marks a stark contrast to previous years, reflecting investor caution in the country’s VC landscape.
However, early 2025 has shown some movement, with East Ventures—Indonesia’s most active VC firm—announcing the first close of its joint fund with South Korea’s SV Investment. While the amount was undisclosed, this signals that some firms are still finding ways to secure commitments in a difficult market.
Commenting on Indonesia’s slowing consumer spending amid high interest rates and the rising US dollar, sector-agnostic Alpha JWC Ventures said the evolution of spending patterns in the country has led to greater opportunities in lower-tier cities and mass-market propositions over premium-luxury segments.
“These underserved populations often have limited access to modern consumer options beyond traditional warungs, yet demand continues to grow despite macroeconomic challenges,” said co-founder and general partner Chandra Tjan.
Overall, 98 funds managed by Southeast Asian venture firms are currently in the market, collectively targeting at least $9.87 billion, with only 20% secured so far. The slow pace of capital commitments underscores the difficult fundraising climate.
Governance in the spotlight
The fraud investigation into eFishery has brought risk management and governance into the spotlight, raising concerns about the due diligence and oversight practices of regional fund managers. For LPs, the key question is how such fraudulent activities went unnoticed by seasoned investors who sat on eFishery’s cap table.
“Corporate malfeasance and fraud are global risks, and developing regions must work even harder to implement the right governance, regulation and penalties to disincentivise bad actors,” said Shane Chesson, the founder and general partner of Openspace, who also serves as vice chair of the Singapore Venture and Private Capital Association.
Most venture capital and growth investors would have faced a variation of this issue in the past, said Chesson. As a result, the whole ecosystem must continue to learn from the most recent, disappointing revelations, and frustrations must be channelled into collectively improving its future mitigation.
Salovaara noted that while fraud cases remain isolated incidents rather than indicative of broader market trends, they serve as a wake-up call for both investors and founders to prioritise transparency and accountability.
“They have reinforced the critical need for rigorous due diligence, stronger governance frameworks, and greater operational oversight across the venture ecosystem,” he said.
Separately, Genesis Alternative Ventures Co-founder & Managing Partner Jeremy Loh emphasised the need for structuring covenants and conditions that ensure companies maintain financial discipline while executing growth.
While acknowledging that fraud is an unfortunate reality in any investment ecosystem—whether in Southeast Asia, India, or even the US—Chang argues that in the case of eFishery, the scale of funding it secured amplifies its impact, potentially eroding investor confidence in the region.
SE Asia VC Funds: H2 2024 Review covers fundraising by VC firms based in Southeast Asia and global funds with a mandate to invest in the region. It offers:
- Fundraising data for SE Asian VC firms since 2018
- Fundraising data for Asian, APAC and global funds with SE Asia allocations since 2018
- List of funds currently in the market
- Insights from prominent investors in the region’s VC landscape
