Private capital: Start-ups must demonstrate growth amid capital slowdown in the region

Across Southeast Asia, the startup ecosystem is entering a tougher funding environment. Recent high-profile startup failures have reinforced a more cautious approach to funding, bringing recurring red flags into sharper focus, including poor governance, inflated revenues, and unsustainable burn rates.

This current retreat is a much-needed correction that is also reshaping what investors look for next. Investors are increasingly backing start-ups with strong intellectual properties and differentiated artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities compared to those focused solely on operational execution, says Karen Lau, chief operations officer of Sunway Innovation Labs (Sunway iLabs), the innovation lab and corporate venture capital (CVC) arm of Sunway Group.

The Edge — December 29, 2025
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