Southeast Asia Tech Investment – H1 2022

2022 started strong with US$ 6.6B going into the regional ecosystem, second only to first half of 2018 thanks to Southeast Asia’s core venture funding “stack”, now able to supply the region with nearly US$ 5B every half a year.

Yet the number of deals done slipped 23% from H2 2021 to early 2021 levels as more companies opted to cut costs or borrow rather than issue new equity in the face of rapidly deteriorating capital markets.

As public markets nose-dived across the world and IPO window(s) closed, pre-IPO mega-deals slowed down across growth markets, Southeast Asia being no exception with just 9 US$ 100M+ investment events in H1 2022.

Surging instead is the late growth stage, with deal activity in US$ 50-100M per deal range growing 3X+ year on year as late stage investors retreat from mega deals and shore up the finances of their portfolio companies.

In addition, the report covers the following topics:

• Surging Series B valuations
• Battle of narratives and search for the next growth story
• Imbalances and contradictions abound
• Exit proceeds hit a high note
• Digital financial services remain key to the Southeast Asia market
 
Here are some highlights of the report:

• Southeast Asian investments reached $6.6 billion in H1 2022
• Digital financial services capture ~50% of VC funding in Southeast Asia
• Why super apps no longer attract investments
• Southeast Asia sees a large valuation gap within markets