Startups see nearly 30% decline in funding amid regional slump

There were 54 deals, down 34%, the report by government agency Enterprise Singapore and financial news platform DealStreetAsia showed.

The number and value of deals in the six largest startup markets, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, fell by 29% and 53%.

Vietnam saw the smallest drop in value while Malaysia and Thailand both experienced over 80% declines.

Singapore was the region’s startup hub with US$6.1 billion flowing into new businesses, accounting for 73% of the region’s total, followed by Indonesia ($1.28 billion) and Vietnam.

But Singapore also experienced a huge 45% decline.

With the decline in funding, new Southeast Asian businesses are choosing to restructure their payrolls, cut back on recruitment and utilize artificial intelligence.

A survey with 10,000 data points of senior personnel and founders done by recruitment platform Glints and venture capital firm Monk's Hill Ventures indicated that new businesses are slashing salaries for IT jobs and hiking them for their business departments.

In Vietnam, back-end programmers saw the biggest pay cut of 8.2%.

Conversely, sales-related positions are among the three most sought after by enterprises, reflecting their focus on revenue generation.

"Throughout the past year, Vietnamese startups have continued to adapt to the challenges stemming from the economy’s difficulties," Jessica Le, CEO of Glints Vietnam, said.

"They are restructuring, becoming more streamlined and efficient."