![[Year in review] Southeast Asia’s Top 10 tech news in 2024 – TNGlobal](https://technode.global/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/tech-news.jpeg "[Year in review] Southeast Asia’s Top 10 tech news in 2024 – TNGlobal")
It’s time again to look back at what happened in the tech industry in 2024.
Some may hail the year 2024 as a “funding winter” for tech startups in Southeast Asia.
Southeast Asia faced a challenging year in 2024, marked by a significant contraction in funding, amid a weak global economy. According to Tracxn’s report, the region’s tech ecosystem experienced a steep decline in financial inflows and major shifts in the market landscape while continuing to innovate and adapt to the challenges.
Southeast Asia tech startups raised $2.84 billion across 420 rounds in 2024 (as of Dec 18), a striking 59 percent decline from $7 billion in 2023 and an 80 percent fall compared with $14.2 billion in 2022.
Late-stage investments were most impacted this year, plunging 76.9 percent to $948 million in 2024 from $4.1 billion in 2023.
Seed funding reached $373 million in 2024, reflecting a 52.4 percent decline compared to $783 million in 2023. Meanwhile, early-stage funding amounted to $1.5 billion, registering a 28.6 percent decrease from the previous year.
As we usher into 2025, hoping for a better year, here are Southeast Asia’s top 10 tech news in 2024:
Temasek-backed Indonesian unicorn eFishery suspends founders, appoints interim CEO, CFO – report
eFishery made it as one of the newsmakers in 2023, after it earned the unicorn tag following the companies’ Series D funding round.
Unfortunately, the aquatech startup came into the limelight near the end of 2024 for the wrong reason. The Temasek-backed unicorn has suspended the founders and appointed interim CEO and CFO, according to several media reports. (Singapore-based DealStreetAsia first reported the news).
The suspension and appointment were conducted amid an ongoing investigation into alleged embezzlement by its co-founders Gibran Huzaifah and Chrisna Aditya, The Jakarta Post reported, quoting local media KOMPAS.com.
eFishery counts Temasek, SoftBank, Sequoia Capital India, Northstar Group, Go-Ventures, Aqua-Spark, and Wavemaker Partners as its backers.
TNGlobal has reached out to eFishery for comments.
Malaysia ends 2024 as Southeast Asia’s top data center hub with $23B investments
Malaysia has ended 2024 as Southeast Asia’s top data center hub with $23 billion investments, solidifying its position as Southeast Asia’s leading digital hub, Knight Frank said in a report recently.
The global property consultant said in its released its Data Centre Research Report 2024 that Malaysia ranked first in the index for the second consecutive year, as the country recorded a significant annual take-up of 429 MW, outperforming regional peers.
This growth is driven by strategic investments from tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, and Oracle, totaling $23.3 billion.
Currently, the country hosts 54 operational data centers with a 504.8 MW capacity.
In a recent Linkedin post, Malaysian Trade Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said while Malaysia continues to welcome data center investments, the government is also placing greater emphasis on sustainable data centre investments.
“We are introducing guidelines for the development of Sustainable Data Centers which will contain efficient metrics of Energy Use (Power Usage Effectiveness – PUE), Water Usage Effectiveness (Water Usage Effectiveness – WUE), and good practices in controlling carbon emissions ie Carbon Usage Effectiveness (CUE) which will be used as a condition for tax incentive eligibility under the Digital Ecosystem Acceleration Scheme (Digital Ecosystem Acceleration Scheme – DESAC),” he wrote.
“We believe the new guidelines will contribute to the overall growth and stability of the data center market in Malaysia and ensure sustainable and responsible development of our digital infrastructure,” he added.
Vietnam says SpaceX’s Starlink plans $1.5B investment – report
SpaceX is proposing to invest $1.5 billion in Vietnam tied to its Starlink satellite service in the near future, the government said, citing a meeting between the company’s senior vice president Tim Hughes and the Communist Party’s General Secretary To Lam.
Lam, who was visiting the US to attend the United Nations General Assembly, said Vietnam was reviewing the proposal, according to a statement on the website of the country’s National Assembly, Bloomberg reported in September.
The recent interest shown by Big Tech to set up presence in Vietnam provide a great opportunity to the country, according to Bobby Liu, former Venture Partner at Vietnam-headquartered VC firm Touchstone Partners.
“Given the recent interest by Big Tech to establish presence in Vietnam, this can only augurs well for the technology sector in Vietnam; a great opportunity to propel into the lucrative high-end manufacturing in chips and fabrications, in the process elevating the overall talent base in Vietnam,” he told TNGlobal in a recent email interview.
His also comment came as Big Tech such as Meta Platforms Inc, Apple Inc, Alphabet Inc’s Google plans to expand in the country.
Vietnam Private Capital Agency launches to drive $35B in private investments by 2035
Private capital industry leaders have in September launched Vietnam Private Capital Agency (VPCA) to drive $35 billion in private investments in Vietnam by 2035.
VPCA said in a statement that the funding marks a transformative step in empowering Vietnam’s venture capital and private equity landscape by promoting best practices in the venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) sectors to accelerate capital output, industry talent, and value creation.
The VPCA is founded by private capital industry leaders from Vy Le (Do Ventures), Binh Tran (AVV), Vinnie Lauria (Golden Gate Ventures), Max-F. Scheichenost (Mekong Capital), and Justin Nguyen (Monk’s Hill Ventures).
It aims to channel the fund in private investments by 2035 to fuel economic growth, entrepreneurial development, and enhance Vietnam’s position in the global investment arena.
Google plans to invest $1B to build data center and cloud region in Thailand
Google has announced in October a $1 billion investment to expand its digital infrastructure into Thailand with the development of its cloud and data center infrastructure in Bangkok and Chonburi.
Google said the investment will help meet growing demand for cloud services in Southeast Asia and around the world.
Google also announced new, expanded initiatives designed to help Thailand thrive in the artificial intelligence (AI) economy, including continued investments to make AI and digital skills more accessible.
This announcement demonstrates shared progress following Google’s collaboration agreement with the Royal Thai Government in November 2023.
PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk (GoTo), the largest digital ecosystem in Indonesia, announced its 2024 third quarter financial results in October.
The group’s adjusted EBITDA, turned positive, reaching a new high of 137 billion rupiah ($8.73 milion) versus a loss of Rp559 billion ($35.6 million) in the same period last year. This strong performance was underpinned by a 21 percent year-on-year increase in Monthly Transacting Users (MTUs)8 across the GoTo ecosystem, the group said.
Simon Ho, GoTo Group CFO, said, “Our business is progressing swiftly, particularly the financial technology segment, while we continue to be prudent in terms of cost management.”
“This is clearly reflected in our top-line growth and bottom-line improvements, both by business segment and at the Group level, with the third quarter marking our ninth consecutive quarter of year on year adjusted EBITDA improvement,” he added.
“Looking ahead, we expect to continue on our growth trajectory over the coming months, while booking further cost savings and solidifying improvements in our bottom line. We are squarely on track to reach our target of Group adjusted EBITDA breakeven for the full year,” he said.
GoTo’s rival, Singapore-headquartered superapp Grab is expected to perform better in 2024.
Grab has in November raised its full year revenue forecast following its improved revenue in the third quarter. Grab said it has raised its annual revenue projection to $2.76 billion to $2.78 billion, from $2.7 billion to $2.75 billion. The new revenue projection signals an annual growth of 17 percent to 18 percent.
It is not all gloomy for the tech startup ecosystem in Southeast Asia.
Earlier this month, Malaysia has launched the ASEAN Startup Initiative in a bid to support startups, foster a dynamic and interconnected innovation ecosystem across the region, its Science, Technology and Innovation Minister announced.
“I am delighted to announce the launch of the ASEAN Startup Initiative, a significant milestone in fostering a dynamic and interconnected innovation ecosystem across the region,” Chang Lih Kang wrote in a Linkedin post.
Spearheaded by Cradle Fund, an agency under Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), this initiative demonstrates ASEAN’s collective commitment to empowering startups, driving entrepreneurship, and enabling cross-border collaborations to tackle regional and global challenges, he said.
As Malaysia prepares to assume the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, this initiative aligns perfectly with our vision to position ASEAN as a global hub for innovation and entrepreneurship, Chang noted.
“Malaysia is committed to leveraging our strengths in innovation ecosystems and advancing the goals of the ASEAN Startup Initiative through programs like the National Technology and Innovation Sandbox (NTIS), Malaysia Startup Ecosystem Roadmap (SUPER), and the KL20,” he wrote.
“The ASEAN Startup Initiative will serve as a catalyst for regional partnerships, providing startups access to funding, market opportunities, and shared resources. By fostering collaboration and innovation across ASEAN, we aim to position our region as a leader in addressing global challenges and driving economic growth,” he added.
Indonesia blocks e-commerce app Temu over regulatory violations – report
The Indonesian communication and information ministry has blocked the Temu application in October, citing non-compliance with regulations and its aim to protect micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and consumers, Malaysian national news agency Bernama reported.
Spokesman Prabunindya Revta Revolusi of the ministry said Temu – a Chinese online marketplace that connects products directly from factories to consumers – has raised concerns about potential predatory pricing and price dumping.
In a statement, he warned that if foreign products enter the market at significantly lower prices than those of MSMEs, consumers will certainly choose the cheaper option, making it difficult for our MSMEs to compete.
China’s BYD opens EV factory in Thailand, first in Southeast Asia – report
China-based electric maker BYD, has opened an EV plant in Thailand in July, its first factory in Southeast Asia.
“Thailand has a clear EV vision and is entering a new era of auto manufacturing,” BYD CEO and President Wang Chuanfu said at the opening ceremony, according to Reuters. “We will bring technology from China to Thailand.”
The BYD plant is part of a wave of investment worth more than $1.44 billion from Chinese EV makers who are setting up factories in Thailand, helped by government subsidies and tax incentives, according to the report.
Thailand is a regional auto assembly and export hub in Southeast Asia, and has long been dominated by Japanese car makers such as Toyota Motor, Honda Motor Co, and Isuzu Motors.
By 2030, Thailand aims to convert 30 percent of its annual production of 2.5 million vehicles into EVs, according to a government plan. BYD has been aggressively expand in Southeast Asia amid a stiff competition in the EV industry in China.
Meanwhile, three countries in Southeast Asia namely the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia are competing to host an EV assembly plant for BYD, the world’s second-largest maker of EVs, Bloomberg reported in November, quoting a top Philippine trade and investment official.
In August, Hong Kong-based Asian investment firm EQT Private Capital Asia announced it will acquire Southeast Asia leading proptech company PropertyGuru for $1.1 billion.
PropertyGuru said that it has entered into an agreement and plan of merger with affiliates of BPEA Private Equity Fund VIII Limited, part of EQT AB, a purpose-driven global investment organization, pursuant to which the company will be acquired by EQT Private Capital Asia in an all-cash transaction at an equity value of approximately $1.1 billion.
PropertyGuru’s Board of Directors, acting upon the recommendation of a special committee of its Board of Directors, has unanimously approved and resolved to recommend approval of the merger by its shareholders.
PropertyGuru’s headquarters will remain in Singapore. PropertyGuru is a proptech firm connects 28 million property seekers with over 46,000 agents monthly to find their dream home.
With more than 2.1 million real estate listings, the firm offers its services across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Featured photo: created by AI tools
