Startup fundraising remains muted in February

What does startup fundraising in Asia’s biggest markets in January and February say about the prospects for private equity and venture capital investments in 2023? DealStreetAsia’s monthly newsletter Deals Barometer — a round up of the startup fundraising scene in Southeast Asia, China, and India — provides some answers.

Startup fundraising in Southeast Asia continued to move south in 2023 as total funding in February plunged to $409 million, down 44% from January’s $727 million. This is the third time in the last four months that fundraising has fallen below the $1 billion mark.

In India, too, deal value fell below the $1 billion mark for the first time since July 2022. Startups were able to raise only $866 million in funding in February, down 25% from $1.15 billion in January. There was a similar drop in deal volume to 76 transactions in February.

China alone bucked the trend thanks to a $3.1b mega deal sealed by 中粮集团 , which owns Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy Group and wine brand Greatwall. The megadeal accounted for 46% of February’s total financing of $6.7 billion, which is 23.1% up from January and the highest since September 2022.

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