US$16.5B and counting: Inside the lopsided year that rewrote SEA’s funding charts

In the first ten months of 2026, Southeast Asia's tech startups have raised an astonishing US$16.55 billion, a figure that far exceeds any expectations set in January. October alone accounted for US$3.68 billion, with 14 rounds of funding. This is 1,666.2% higher than September 2026 and 933.7% higher than October 2025. However, the month-on-month changes are measured against a revised September total, which adds to the complexity of the numbers.

While the first half of the year witnessed a decline in funding, the second half has already surpassed the first half's total. The majority of the funding comes from a few key companies, mainly based in Southeast Asia, such as DayOne, Kling AI, Supabase, and Manus, among others. These deals have primarily focused on infrastructure, AI models, and developer backends, rather than consumer internet, reflecting the growing demand and investment in these sectors.