SEA fintechs clinch $851m of funding in H1

Digital lender ANEXT Bank was one of two major funding rounds during the period.

Financial technology (fintech) startups in Southeast Asia attracted $851m of funding in H1, a 20% decline from the same period a year ago, according to data from data intelligence platform Traxcn.

This extends the decline in Q1, when funding to SEA fintechs fell by 13% from Q1 2023.

The fintech sector was named as the top tech sector in terms of investments during the first six months of 2024, edging past HighTech ($476m) and Enterprise Applications ($393m).

Two major funding rounds exceeded $100m during the period, one of which is ANEXT Bank. The Singapore-based digital bank raised $148m in a series D round led by Ant Group.

Overall, SEA tech startups– including fintechs– raised $477m in Q2, 85% lower than in Q2 2023, and 57% lower than the $1.12b raised in Q1 2024, according to Traxcn.  

Companies in the SEA Tech space raised $1.6b in H1 2024, 65% lower from H1 2023. 

No new unicorns were created in H1 2024, as against one unicorn in H1 2023. 

Meanwhile, acquisition activity increased, with 36 companies, compared to 30 in H1 2023. The most significant was that of Singlife by the Sumitomo Life Insurance Company, with the company valuing Singlife at $4.6b.

By market, Singapore’s tech startups led the region in terms of total funds raised in the first half of 2024, with $1.1b raised. Tech startups in Jakarta and Bangkok raised $185m and $150m respectively.