Profitability is reshaping ecommerce enablers, while AI is creating an unlikely side hustle across Southeast Asia.
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IN FOCUS

  • Marketplace fees force enablers to adapt
  • Workers get paid to train robots
  • Tracking SEA's funding slowdown

Hello reader,

I usually buy PS5 games on ecommerce platforms, but over the past few months, several of the stores I regularly buy from have disappeared.

The reason? Marketplace fees have risen. Many sellers have moved to platforms that promise zero admin fees, such as Toco, or to their own websites.

As a consumer, the impact has been relatively minor for me, as there are still plenty of video game stores to choose from.

For brands, however, the consequences are far more significant. Rising marketplace fees are squeezing already thin margins, especially for those that also rely on ecommerce enablers, which add another layer of service costs.

In today's first Top Story, I take a closer look at how ecommerce enablers are adapting to this new reality. Some services have become less relevant, while others, such as fulfillment and live commerce, remain essential.

As brands come under pressure to improve profitability, they're becoming more selective about the partners they work with, and they expect ecommerce enablers to deliver measurable returns.

Elsewhere, people are also finding some new ways to make money. Advances in robotics have created an unexpected side hustle across Southeast Asia: Workers are recording themselves performing everyday tasks and selling the footage to data firms.

Robotics companies use these clips to train machines to perform the same work. My colleagues Glenn and Pranav explore this emerging market.

As with many AI trends, the window of opportunity for these videos may be short. While they are inexpensive to produce and help fill gaps in existing datasets, it's still unclear how valuable they will ultimately prove for training robots.

Jofie Yordan, journalist


TOP STORIES

1️⃣ Rising fees are changing the role of SEA ecommerce enablers

The uptick in marketplace fees is forcing brands to shift their focus from maximizing gross merchandise value to protecting profitability. That means they're now cutting back on basic marketplace management services that ecommerce enablers have traditionally provided.

But ecommerce enablers aren't going away. Brands still need them for services that are harder to replicate, such as fulfillment, live commerce, online-to-offline integration, and analytics.

In the long run, ecommerce enablers have to prove that they can do more than just help brands sell.

2️⃣ Why the robot data gold rush is on borrowed time

The next AI gold rush may not be in chips or foundation models but in the data needed to train robots to operate in the physical world. As robotics companies compete for scarce egocentric datasets - data collected from first-person perspectives - new businesses are emerging across Southeast Asia to meet that demand.

But falling prices for these datasets suggest the window for easy money may close faster than many expect, raising questions about how long the egocentric data boom will last.


A VISUAL STORY YOU SHOULDN'T MISS

Capital SEA: Southeast Asia's funding landscape

Southeast Asia's funding slowdown has extended into the third quarter of 2026. Two weeks into Q3, startups in the region have raised just about US$140 million. While Q3 is in its opening weeks, this figure is just a fraction of the US$1.2 billion raised in the previous quarter.

The trajectory echoes last year, when funding declined through the first three quarters before rebounding in Q4 to US$3.6 billion, the strongest quarter of 2025.

Whether a similar rebound materializes this year is uncertain. What is clear is where investors are placing their bets. Many of the region's largest funding rounds over the past year have gone to AI startups, including Manus, UltraGreen.ai, and PixVerse.

Fintech firms Atome and Airwallex also secured sizable rounds.

Even if funding recovers this year, the bar for raising capital has shifted. While investors continue to reward companies with compelling AI narratives, startups in most other sectors face a much tougher fundraising environment.


TRENDING NEWS

1️⃣ Anthropic prepares for US IPO as early as October

Banks are arranging investor meetings in the coming weeks ahead of the possible launch. Sources said Anthropic and rival OpenAI have both submitted listing materials to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

2️⃣ SG-based agritech firm Rize raises $31m series B

The company said it will use the fresh funds to expand exports, enhance field-to-buyer traceability, invest in carbon and innovation initiatives, develop AI tools, and support growth beyond Vietnam and Indonesia.

Its platform provides financing and farm management tools to rice farmers while helping them produce export-compliant rice and participate in carbon credit programs.

3️⃣ Xpeng to launch humanoid robots globally next year

The Chinese electric vehicle maker aims to raise output to 1,000 units a month by the end of 2027, as Chinese manufacturers push robots into factories and other commercial settings. The plan builds on Xpeng's existing robotics program.

4️⃣ Nvidia to supply AI hardware, software to Toyota

These will be used in developing smart-city projects, traffic intelligence systems, and car factories. Toyota also plans to use these solutions at its Shizuoka Prefecture site to build digital twins of vehicle assembly lines and support robotics and automotive software development.

5️⃣ Food waste AI firm Winnow acquired SG's Lumitics

Winnow, a London-based AI food waste measurement company, acquired Lumitics to expand in Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Winnow added that the customers of the Singapore-based firm will keep access to their existing data during a phased transition in the coming months.


PRESS PEEKS

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  • Kisti - Kisti Wants to Become Asia's Default "Pay Later" Button, Starting in Bangladesh: Kisti is preparing to launch zero-interest Buy Now, Pay Later in Bangladesh in 2026, with a vision to expand across Asia.

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