Singapore’s Most-Funded Startups of 2017 (so far)

Though tech startup investment is in decline across Asia, a new data analysis from Tech in Asia should offer some hope for startups in Singapore looking for funding.

Tech firms have netted nearly $2.7B in the country’s 10 biggest funding deals of 2017 — the bulk going to Uber-rival Grab in the largest single financing deal in the history of Southeast Asia.

In general, transportation, internet infrastructure and fintech firms seem to be attracting the bulk of investments, according to the Tech in Asia Database.

The Top 10 Deals of 2017 (So Far)

1) Grab, $2B, Logistics/Transportation

2) AirTrunk, $307M, Internet Infrastructure

3) Hooq, $95M, Music and Entertainment

4) Trax, $83.5M, Recognition Tech/Software as a Service

5) TenX, $81M, Fintech

6) Singapore Life, $50M, Fintech

7) CXA, $25M Health/Professional Services

8) Astroscale, $24M, Clean Tech/Space

9) EndoMaster, $14.6M, Health

10) Instarem, $13M, Fintech

Reading the List

The headline number needs a little context. Grab’s $2B accounts for roughly three quarters of the $2.7B total, so the other nine companies shared about $700M between them. Take Grab out and the list looks less like a funding boom and more like a healthy spread of mid-sized rounds across very different industries.

That spread is the more interesting story. Ride-hailing, data centres, video streaming, retail image recognition, crypto payments, digital life insurance, employee health benefits, space debris removal, surgical robotics and cross-border money transfers all appear in the same top 10. It’s a sign that Singapore was working as a regional base for companies with very different ambitions, not just as a home for one or two consumer apps.

Fintech’s three entries also stand out. TenX, Singapore Life and Instarem were each trying to do something banks traditionally did, whether that was payments, insurance or sending money abroad. Singapore’s role as a financial hub made it a natural place to try.

What Happened to Them Next

The years since 2017 show just how different the outcomes of a single “most-funded” list can be.

Grab kept growing. In March 2018, Uber pulled out of Southeast Asia and sold its operations there to Grab, taking a 27.5% stake in Grab in return. Singapore’s competition regulator later found that the deal substantially lessened competition in the ride-hailing market. In December 2021, Grab debuted on Nasdaq after merging with Altimeter Growth Corp, in what was then the largest SPAC merger to date. Its shares fell about 20% on the first day of trading.

AirTrunk became one of the biggest success stories on the list. In September 2024, Blackstone and CPP Investments agreed to buy the data centre operator from Macquarie Asset Management and PSP Investments at an implied enterprise value of more than A$24B. Blackstone called it its largest investment in the Asia Pacific region.

Hooq went the other way. The streaming service, a joint venture of Singtel, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros., filed for liquidation in March 2020 and shut down at the end of April, citing the cost of competing in a crowded video market.

Singapore Life agreed to merge with Aviva Singapore in September 2020, in a deal valuing the combined business at S$3.2B, described as the largest insurance deal in Singapore. Instarem rebranded as Nium in October 2019, repositioning itself as a global payments platform for businesses, while keeping Instarem as its consumer money transfer service.

Astroscale, the space debris company on the list, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market on June 5, 2024.

What It Means for Founders

A top 10 funding list is a snapshot of investor confidence, not a prediction. From this one, one company went public in New York, one was bought in a deal worth more than A$24B, one merged into a bigger insurer and one shut down within three years.

For founders looking at Singapore today, the lesson is that the city’s appeal in 2017 wasn’t tied to a single sector. Investors were willing to back infrastructure, financial services, health and even space from the same base. Raising a big round can buy time, but the companies that did best were the ones whose businesses kept getting more valuable after the money arrived.