South-east Asian fintech funding rises 206% as fewer startups secure deals
Four rounds worth at least US$100 million accounted for 86 per cent of funding, while seed-stage investment fell 46 per cent.
Fintech startups across South-east Asia attracted US$2.3 billion during the first nine months of 2026, according to market intelligence platform Tracxn. Its report, published on Oct 15, showed investment rising 206 per cent from US$748 million a year earlier, although funding rounds declined 44 per cent to 42.
Capital was concentrated in four rounds of at least US$100 million each. Together, they brought in US$2 billion, or 86 per cent of regional funding. Singapore attracted US$1.9 billion, representing an 83 per cent share. West Jakarta received US$270 million and Taguig in the Philippines US$60 million.
Ant International raised US$1.2 billion through a July Series A backed by Alibaba and Ant Group, accounting for about 52 per cent of the regional total. Singapore-based Crypto.com secured US$400 million in Series D funding with Citadel Securities backing, while SBI Group backed West Jakarta-based Ajaib’s US$270 million Series C.
The figures for younger companies were weaker: seed-stage investment dropped 46 per cent to US$53.3 million, and the count of companies receiving their first funding fell 48 per cent to 17. Series A and B investment increased 354 per cent to US$1.4 billion, largely because of Ant International’s round.
No initial public offerings took place during the period, compared with one a year earlier. Acquirers completed 12 deals, with the average price reaching US$501 million against US$22.9 million in the corresponding 2025 period.
Acquisitions included Grab’s US$1.5 billion purchase of buy-now-pay-later platform Atome. USDC stablecoin issuer Circle bought Singapore-based cross-border payments platform TazaPay for US$400 million, while trading platform Webull acquired Thailand’s Pi Securities for US$100 million.
