Asia's startup funding remained near record levels in the third quarter, with investors deploying $38.5 billion into seed through growth-stage companies, according to Crunchbase data. That was down from the prior quarter, which included DeepSeek's $7.4 billion round, but still the second-highest tally on record. Deal counts were relatively flat, suggesting capital is concentrating in favored startups without intensifying further.
AI was the dominant driver. An estimated $21 billion, or 55% of the region's total, went to AI-focused companies. The largest round was Moonshot AI's $3.5 billion Series F at a reported $35 billion valuation, followed by Kling AI's roughly $3 billion generative video financing backed by Baidu and Tencent.
China led by a wide margin, drawing about $27 billion, or 70% of the region's funding. India followed with $2.9 billion and Singapore with $2.5 billion. Late-stage investment totaled around $20 billion, nearly double year-ago levels, while early-stage funding fell 28% quarter over quarter but remained up 65% year over year. Seed funding hit its highest level in years at $4.9 billion, up 22% from the prior quarter.