Fundraising in Singapore

Selective Rebound, Strong Policy Support, Higher Bar for Quality

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Singapore | 15 January 2026

Fundraising conditions in Singapore remain competitive, but signals across 2024 to 2025 point to a market that is reopening for companies with clear product market fit, disciplined burn, and credible paths to scale. Deal activity has been uneven, with fewer transactions overall, yet periodic big ticket rounds are meaningfully lifting total capital raised, especially in AI and sustainability linked themes.

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What the latest data suggests

• Singapore continues to anchor Southeast Asia’s venture activity. Enterprise Singapore noted that Singapore secured nearly 60% of Southeast Asia’s deal volume and a total deal value of US$4.8 billion in 2024, reinforcing its role as the region’s primary fundraising hub.
• Quarterly funding can spike even in a cautious deal environment. Crunchbase reported that Singapore startups raised a combined US$2.4 billion in Q3 2025, nearly triple year on year levels, illustrating how a small number of larger rounds can drive headline numbers.

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What investors in Singapore are prioritising now

Founders should expect sharper diligence and stronger expectations around:

• Unit economics and runway discipline: credible cost controls, measurable retention, and realistic growth assumptions.
• AI native differentiation, not just AI enabled: proprietary data, workflow ownership, or defensible distribution, not AI feature layering. Recent high profile activity involving Singapore based AI talent underscores investor appetite for category leaders.
• Sustainability and transition finance readiness: solutions that can link product impact to measurable outcomes, including emissions reduction, energy efficiency, climate risk, and more, increasingly relevant for larger ticket checks and strategic capital.

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Public sector and ecosystem tailwinds that matter for fundraising

Singapore’s funding environment is supported by a mature capital stack, including government co investment, tax incentives, and sustainable finance initiatives:

• Startup SG Equity, co investment: Government co invests with qualified third party investors into eligible startups, helping catalyse private capital, particularly relevant for early and early growth rounds.
• Sustainable finance enablers: MAS continues to support sustainable capital formation via mechanisms such as the Sustainable Bond Grant Scheme, which provides cost offsets for eligible issuances.
• Transition capital mobilisation: MAS announced the Green Investments Partnership first close at US$510 million to back sustainable infrastructure across the region, indicating growing pools of climate aligned capital operating from Singapore.\

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Practical implications for founders fundraising in 2026

To raise efficiently in Singapore’s current market:

1. Pre wire the round earlier: build investor conviction over multiple touchpoints, as one meeting closes are rare.
2. Instrument your story: metrics matter more than narratives, especially sales cycle, churn, gross margin, activation and retention.
3. Target fit for stage capital: match round size to milestone risk, including technical, commercial, and regulatory risk, and to investor mandate.
4. Design for optionality: consider venture debt, strategic capital, and grant linked pathways where suitable, without overcomplicating governance.

Note: This update is informational and does not constitute financial advice.

Call to action:

Contact InsightForge to discuss your fundraising strategy in Singapore, including investor targeting, pitch refinement, data room readiness, and go to market milestones.

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