Investors remain cautious even as tap for startup funding flows again

INVESTORS are not wildly writing cheques even as the South-east Asia startup ecosystem’s funding dry spell eases slightly.

Late-stage venture capital (VC) investors are still extremely cautious, said Dmitry Levit, partner at VC firm Cento Ventures. Nine out of 10 series B and C investors he has spoken to are extremely cautious compared to last year.

Some late-stage investors who were previously gung-ho about the situation last year are now saying that they aren’t interested in anything currently. Early-stage investors are divided between those who are not so active and those who are now in expansion mode, such as Cento, which has trebled its investment team.