The first half of 2026 delivered Southeast Asia’s strongest equity funding total since H1 2022 as venture-backed companies raised $7.25 billion across 217 transactions. Yet, deal volume fell to its lowest since at least 2018. A single deal—DayOne’s $4.5 billion Series C round—lifted overall funding in the first half of 2026. The market, therefore, has moved above the trough but not into a broad recovery.