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In a cooling Southeast Asian tech scene, investors start asking tougher questions
Venture capital now focuses more intently on data and founders’ profiles before approving business proposals.
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An illustration of venture capital funding.
(Shutterstock/Panchenko Vladimir)
A
s an ongoing tech winter casts a chill on fundraising this year, investors have become more cautious about where they put their funds, scrutinizing start-ups’ prospects and founders more intently before approving business proposals.
Venture capital firms (VCs) are shifting their focus to data-driven decision-making, emphasizing metrics such as operating performance, unit economics and financial stability, beyond just profit and loss statements.
“The metrics are changing, reshaping our investment thesis. We’re looking deeper into the companies, not just at the face value but also [at the value] deeply rooted in its origins,” Vertex Ventures investment executive director Joshua Agusta said at the Tech in Asia Conference on Tuesday.
Deal-making in Southeast Asia dropped by nearly 72 percent month-on-month (mom) in August to some U$486 million, the third-lowest monthly figure this year, according to data compiled by DealStreetAsia.
At the pre-seed stage, investment in the second quarter of this year was half of what it was in the same period the year before, according to Tech Crunch.
In 2022, 25 percent of successful fundraising took six weeks or less, according to a Dropbox Docsend report quoted in TechCrunch. However, that number plummeted to 13 percent this year.
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