Weekly SEA Fundraising Digest

AI is eating SEA's funding — but the smart money is local

Fundraising in Southeast Asia is picking up pace, with Indonesia's Wishlink securing a $17.5M Series B led by Vertex Ventures and Vietnam's M Village raising $26M, while Singapore's Bioactivx closed a $3M round for wound tech. Meanwhile, AI is the hot ticket: Singapore fintechs are on a hiring spree, and Thailand is betting $43.6B on AI apps at Techsauce, but a report warns over half of SEA retailers are stuck in AI pilots. Exits are stirring too—StashAway acquired digital wills startup MakeGoodwill, Finnomena plans a Thai listing, and Techcombank eyes a $2B stake sale. Policy-wise, Indonesia is drafting rules for 100 GW of solar, and Vietnam is pushing startup support, but Thailand faces green regulation trade risks. Globally, AI agents like Runable raise big bucks, but SEA's edge is in localized execution.