Singapore start-ups secured S$5.9 billion in venture capital funding in 2025, marking a 34% decline from 2024 levels, according to reports released in May 2025 by EY-Parthenon and Enterprise Singapore [1, 2]. The number of venture deals in the city-state also dropped 35% to 472, reflecting a broader pullback in funding activity [1, 2].
Despite the overall decline, investors concentrated capital in AI and deep tech sectors, which saw deal values increase significantly. AI deals grew 28% in value to between US$1.4 billion and US$1.8 billion, depending on the source, while deep tech investments rose to approximately US$1.13 billion to US$1.5 billion, accounting for nearly 24.7% of total deal value [1, 2]. However, deal volumes in these sectors fell: AI deals decreased from 224 to 202, and deep tech deals dropped from 125 to 91, as investors became more selective [2].
The largest funding sectors in Singapore remain fintech, enterprise software and data infrastructure, healthcare and biomedical, and advanced manufacturing [1]. Singapore continues to be viewed as a regional hub for deep tech innovation, benefiting from strong institutional support and cross-border connectivity [1]. Emily Liew, assistant managing director for innovation at Enterprise Singapore, said, "The strong foundations of Singapore’s ecosystem have allowed us to weather challenges and continue to build capacity in priority emerging areas" [2].
The EY-Parthenon report noted that "Capital is being concentrated into a smaller pool of 'high-conviction start-ups' with stronger technical differentiation and clearer commercialisation pathways, and AI has emerged as the primary capital driver" [1].
The decline in venture funding follows a regional trend, with ASEAN-6 countries also hitting a four-year low in deal volume and value in 2025 [1, 2]. The reports were published in late May 2025 by EY-Parthenon and Enterprise Singapore [1, 2].
