Southeast Asia Private Funding Rises 15% Year-on-Year to USD7.7bn

Private funding for Southeast Asia’s digital economy grew 15% year on year to USD7.7bn in the 12 months to June 2025, though it remains about 70% below the 2021 peak, according to the Google-Temasek-Bain report. Growth lagged the global 25% pace, with capital concentrated in late-stage rounds while early-stage deals dropped from 30% to about 20%. The study, expanded to 10 markets, found that AI accounted for 32% of total funding in H1 2025, up from 30% in H2 2024, as over 680 AI startups raised USD2.3bn—mostly in Singapore. Data-centre capacity in the region is projected to rise 2.8 times, led by Malaysia’s planned 2,415MW out of Southeast Asia’s 4,620MW pipeline, driven by Big Tech and Chinese cloud giants.