Daily Newsletter

• Tracking the 2025 financials of Funding Societies, Waresix, and Temus
• Spotlight: why SEA apps want us hooked on AI microdramas
• GoTo shareholders clear 2.7% share cancellation

Hello Demo,

Indonesia’s P2P lending industry has had a rough few years. Several players have either shut down or been embroiled in scandals, including Investree and KoinWorks.

Among those still standing is Modalku, the Indonesian arm of Funding Societies, which also operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Despite the funding slowdown, Funding Societies narrowed its net losses by 10% in 2025. But it’s hardly out of the woods, with losses still running at a substantial US$35 million.

You can dig into its other financial metrics in our updated tracker, which also features the latest numbers from Waresix and Temus.

Meanwhile, tech companies across Southeast Asia appear to have caught the microdrama bug. YouTube, Shopee, and Grab are all jumping on the bandwagon, hoping that bite-sized dramas will keep users glued to their platforms.

For YouTube, the appeal is obvious. But for Shopee and Grab? Do people really open a shopping or ride-hailing app for a dose of drama?

In today’s Spotlight, I take a closer look at the microdrama craze sweeping tech platforms.

Jofie Yordan, journalist

SEA financials tracker: Funding Societies grows revenue by 24%

Photo credit: Funding Societies

We’ve compiled official filings and financial statements to help readers see which private tech firms are growing, profitable, or cash-generative.

Microdrama push on SEA’s platforms raises questions about its payoff

Image credit: Ulla

Microdramas seem to be everywhere these days. YouTube is pushing short-form dramas through Shorts, Shopee has a dedicated tab for them, and even Grab is reportedly getting in on the action.

I spent some time browsing microdramas on Shopee Indonesia, and most, if not all, seemed AI-generated. The quality, to put it mildly, was hardly impressive.

The visuals also had AI written all over them, while the voices sounded stiff and unnatural.

In August, we took a deep dive into AI-generated microdramas – a trend described as a “multibillion-dollar business.” The format first took off in China before spreading to other markets, including Southeast Asia.

On Shopee Indonesia, I learned that microdramas are racking up thousands of likes and hundreds of comments despite their questionable production quality.

Yet Shopee is giving users a reason to tune in: coins. By watching these shows, viewers can earn loyalty points that they can use to offset purchases on the platform.

The logic is simple: Keep users entertained, give them a little incentive to stay, and hope they’ll eventually buy something.

For Shopee and Grab, whose core businesses are shopping and ride-hailing, the calculation is more interesting. After all, those coins aren’t free.

Shopee, in particular, is effectively paying users to spend more time watching videos, betting that their attention will eventually translate into more purchases.

But will a few extra minutes of screen time generate enough sales to make the investment worthwhile? And do we really need consumer apps giving us even more ways to mindlessly scroll?

1️⃣ GoTo shareholders approve canceling 2.7% of shares

The extraordinary shareholders’ general meeting, held on October 14, approved all agenda items. These included the cancellation of 32 billion treasury shares and the resignation of vice president director Catherine Hindra Sutjahyo.

2️⃣ Anthropic opens Singapore office, signs AI safety pact

The US-based AI company opened its fifth Asia-Pacific office in Singapore and signed a memorandum of understanding on AI safety with the SG government. The memorandum covers technical exchanges on model evaluation, testing standards, and incident response, as well as research on AI adoption and its impact.

3️⃣ SG VC firm Antares Ventures raises $50m, targets $100m fund

The deeptech VC firm, which focuses on science- and engineering-led startups, said the fund’s backers include family offices, as well as corporate and strategic investors from Southeast Asia, Japan, and Korea. It added that it will continue raising funds while deploying capital selectively.

4️⃣ Spacetech startup Aliena raises $5.5m to expand into Europe

The Singapore-based spacetech startup’s series A1 round was led by investment firm In Group Holdings. Founded by two former NTU doctoral researchers, the company develops electric propulsion engines that help satellites maintain their positions in space.

5️⃣ Coins.ph may face BSP action over alleged dealings

The Philippines’ central bank may take action against cryptocurrency exchange and financial services platform Coins.ph over alleged dealings with offshore gambling firms, CoinDesk reported, citing sources.

Coins.ph said it was aware of the situation and took the matter seriously, but denied knowingly serving offshore gaming or gambling operators.

PRESS PEEKS

The following press releases were published as they were received, without any editing from the Tech in Asia team. You, too, can publish your own press release on our site by simply filling out this form. Our team will get back to you by the next business day.

• Starling Studio - Cosmo5 Acquires Brew Group, strengthening its Southeast Asia Presence: Cosmo5, a leading independent global marketing performance group, has acquired Brew Group, a Singapore-headquartered marketing group.
• SotaTek - SotaTek expands cloud capabilities with AWS Cloud Operations Competency: SotaTek strengthens its AWS capabilities from architecture to operations with the AWS Cloud Operations Competency.
• Beldex - Beldex Launches $1M Global Grants Program: Beldex launches $1M Grants Program at Korea Blockchain Week, funding privacy apps, tools and infrastructure worldwide.

WHO'S HIRING

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• Digital Marketing Intern at Ematic Solutions | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
• Digital Marketing (for Fresh Graduates) at Deliveree On-Demand Logistics (Southeast Asia) | Manila, Philippines
• Account Manager at Boleh Dicoba Digital | Bandung, Java, Indonesia