Indonesia's Startup Funding Is Up 9.5% in 2026. One Deal Explains Most of It

Key takeaways

• Indonesian startups raised US$392 million in 2026 up to 5 October, according to DS Group data cited by the government. That is already 9.5% more than the US$358 million recorded for all of 2025.
• The number of deals fell much further than the money rose: 24 transactions so far this year, against 97 in 2025 on the same count.
• One round explains most of the gain. Ajaib's US$270 million Series C from Japan's SBI Holdings in August equals about 69% of the year's total. Without it, the other 23 deals add up to about US$122 million, roughly a third of 2025.
• Regionally, money is concentrating in the same way. Singapore took 94% of Southeast Asian tech funding in the first nine months of 2026, and three deals made up 54% of the regional total.

A record that rests on one cheque

On 14 October 2026, as Komdigi opened Bali Tech Week, the government had a rare piece of good news for Indonesia's startup scene. Funding in 2026 had reached US$392 million, or about Rp7.02 trillion, by 5 October, already above the full-year total for 2025. Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid called it a positive signal, but added that it was not yet enough to say that access to funding had improved across the ecosystem.

Her caution was justified. The same data show 24 transactions in 2026, against 97 in 2025. More money is going to far fewer companies, and a single deal accounts for most of it. On 28 August, the stock and crypto trading app Ajaib announced a US$270 million Series C led by SBI Holdings, the Tokyo-listed financial group, for a stake of about 20%. Ajaib called it the largest raise by an Indonesian tech company in more than four years.

Take Ajaib out, and the picture is very different. The remaining 23 transactions raised about US$122 million in nine months, roughly a third of 2025's total and less than 2% of what Indonesian startups raised at the 2021 peak.

69% share of Indonesia's 2026 startup funding that came from Ajaib's single round

24 funding transactions in 2026 up to 5 October, against 97 in all of 2025

US$6.9B raised by Indonesian startups in 2021, the peak of the boom (DiscoveryShift)

How far the market has fallen

The 2026 number only looks strong against a very weak base. Indonesia's startup funding peaked in 2021, when DiscoveryShift, the research arm linked to DailySocial, counted US$6.89 billion across 214 deals. Since then it has fallen almost every year. Tracxn, which uses a different methodology, puts 2022 at US$3.24 billion, 2023 at US$1.3 billion and 2024 at US$323 million. For 2025, DiscoveryShift counts US$355.7 million across 91 deals, while Tracxn records only US$213 million.

The trackers disagree on the exact figures, because they define startups, debt and disclosure differently. They agree on the shape: in four years, annual funding fell by roughly 95%, and the number of deals fell by more than half. No new Indonesian unicorn has emerged since 2024, according to DealStreetAsia.

What the Ajaib deal says about who is still buying

The identity of Ajaib's investor matters as much as the size of the cheque. SBI Holdings is not a venture fund looking for a 10x return. It is a Japanese financial group building what it calls an APAC digital economic zone, a network of digital asset exchanges across Southeast Asia, and it will account for Ajaib as an equity-method affiliate. The round was priced above Ajaib's 2021 unicorn valuation; at about 20% for US$270 million, it implies a value above US$1.3 billion. This was a strategic purchase of a licensed broker and crypto exchange with an established user base, not a bet on an early-stage idea.

That pattern runs through the rest of the year's disclosed deals. A public list compiled from Tech in Asia, TechNode Global and Fintech News counts 16 announced Indonesian rounds from January to mid-October. The seven equity rounds with a disclosed amount total US$322 million, and Ajaib alone is 84% of that. The next largest are in the low tens of millions: Green Rebel Foods at US$12.5 million, Jago Coffee at US$12 million in a Series B led by Beenext, Floq at US$11.3 million and Pluang at US$10 million. Several other rounds, including those for Kopi Kenangan and the payments app Dana, were announced without an amount, and some of the larger figures, such as Akulaku Finance's US$27.5 million, are debt.

Fintech and consumer brands dominate, which matches 2025. DiscoveryShift's 2026 report found that new retail raised US$130.9 million and fintech US$77.2 million last year, the two largest sectors. Investors are funding businesses with licences, revenue or physical outlets, and are much less willing to fund the growth-first models that defined 2021.

Indonesia's startup market has not recovered. It has narrowed, to a handful of companies that strategic buyers or late-stage investors already understand.

Southeast Asia is concentrating in the same way

Indonesia's pattern is a smaller version of what is happening across the region. Tracxn's report for the first nine months of 2026 shows Southeast Asian tech funding up 176% to US$13.5 billion, while the number of rounds fell 28% to 189. Three deals, two for the Singapore data center operator DayOne and one for the video generation company Kling AI, made up US$7.3 billion, or 54% of the total. Singapore-based companies took 94% of all the money. West Jakarta, the best-performing Indonesian location in Tracxn's city ranking, raised US$270 million, almost all of it Ajaib.

Part of the reason is where capital is being raised. In the first half of 2026, three pan-Asian private equity funds from EQT, Blackstone and Bain Capital closed with US$39.2 billion between them, about 85% of all private equity capital raised in Asia Pacific, according to DealStreetAsia data. The only Southeast Asian venture fund to reach a final close in that period was a US$8 million vehicle. Large funds write large cheques into companies that can absorb them, which in Southeast Asia now means data centers, AI and a few mature fintechs. Early-stage founders in Jakarta are competing for a much smaller pool.

Trust is another factor. The failures of eFishery and TaniHub damaged investor confidence in Indonesian startup reporting, and in June 2026 four former executives of two state-owned venture arms were convicted over investments in TaniHub, which caused state losses estimated at about US$25 million. Indonesia's financial regulator OJK tightened its enforcement rules in December 2025. For foreign investors, who supply about 90% of the venture capital in Indonesia's digital economy according to the economist Nailul Huda of Celios, the bar for due diligence has risen.

What the government is doing about it

Bali Tech Week, held from 19 to 23 October, was Komdigi's main response. It brought 13 events across startups, gaming, AI, cybersecurity and digital assets to Sanur, with 1,762 confirmed participants by mid-October, including 135 from more than 30 countries. Matchmaking sessions put 81 Indonesian startups in front of 80 investors from 13 countries. Edwin Hidayat Abdullah, Komdigi's director general of digital ecosystem, said he hoped about Rp1 trillion in startup investment could close by the end of the year, with about Rp400 billion reached so far and Rp600 billion to Rp700 billion expected from the event. That target appears to cover a narrower set of deals than the US$392 million tracker total.

Danantara, the sovereign investment fund, is the other potential source. It has said it is interested in AI-focused funds, and it is hosting a technology investment forum in Jakarta from 26 to 28 October. If it starts to act as a large domestic limited partner, it could partly replace the foreign capital that left after 2021. So far, it has announced no specific venture commitments.

The broader economy is still growing. Google, Temasek and Bain estimate that Indonesia's digital economy reached about US$99 billion in gross merchandise value in 2025, up 14% from a year earlier. The gap between a growing digital economy and a shrinking startup funding market suggests that much of the growth now comes from established platforms, payments and commerce, rather than from new venture-backed companies. Much of the policy attention has followed that shift too, as in the new rules on marketplace fees and QRIS merchant fees.

What to watch next

• The final 2026 count. With 24 deals by early October, Indonesia is on course for far fewer deals than in any recent year, even if the value ends above 2025.
• Bali Tech Week follow-through. Whether the matchmaking sessions produce announced rounds before year-end, and how close Komdigi gets to its Rp1 trillion goal.
• Danantara as an investor in funds. Any commitment to venture or AI funds at its October forum or at the New Asia Forum in December would be the biggest change in domestic capital supply in years.
• More strategic buyers. Ajaib's round came from a Japanese financial group, not a VC. If Japanese, Korean or Gulf corporates follow, the next large Indonesian rounds may look more like partial acquisitions than venture deals.

Frequently asked questions

How much did Indonesian startups raise in 2026?

About US$392 million, or Rp7.02 trillion, from January to 5 October 2026, across 24 transactions, according to DS Group data cited by Komdigi. That is 9.5% more than the US$358 million recorded for all of 2025.

What is the biggest startup funding round in Indonesia in 2026?

Ajaib's US$270 million Series C, led by Japan's SBI Holdings and announced on 28 August 2026. SBI took a stake of about 20%. Ajaib says it is the largest round raised by an Indonesian tech company in more than four years.

Is Indonesia's startup funding recovering?

Not broadly. The total rose in 2026 because of one large deal. Without Ajaib, the other 23 transactions raised about US$122 million, roughly a third of 2025's total, and the number of deals fell from 97 to 24.

How much did Indonesian startups raise at the peak?

About US$6.89 billion across 214 deals in 2021, according to DiscoveryShift. Tracxn data show funding falling to US$3.24 billion in 2022, US$1.3 billion in 2023 and US$323 million in 2024.

Why do different reports give different figures for Indonesian startup funding?

Trackers such as DiscoveryShift, DS Group, Tracxn and DealStreetAsia use different definitions of a startup, treat debt and undisclosed rounds differently, and assign companies to countries in different ways. For 2025, estimates range from about US$213 million to US$358 million.

Which sectors attract the most startup funding in Indonesia?

In 2025, new retail (US$130.9 million) and fintech (US$77.2 million) raised the most, followed by e-commerce, according to DiscoveryShift. In 2026, the largest disclosed rounds have also been in fintech and consumer brands.

How does Indonesia compare with Singapore in startup funding?

In 2025, Singapore-based startups raised about US$4.2 billion, 78.1% of Southeast Asia's total, while Indonesia took 6.3%, according to DealStreetAsia. In the first nine months of 2026, Singapore's share rose to 94% in Tracxn's data.

Sources

• Investasi Startup Indonesia Sudah Tembus Rp7 Triliun pada 2026, InfoDigital, 14 October 2026
• Investasi Startup Hanya Rp 7 Triliun, Komdigi Genjot Lewat Bali Tech Week, Katadata, 14 October 2026
• Investasi Startup Baru 40% dari Target 2026 Sebesar Rp1 Triliun, Katadata, 21 October 2026
• Ajaib raises US$270M in Indonesia's biggest tech funding round since 2022, e27, 28 August 2026
• SBI Holdings invests $270 million in Ajaib, taking 20% stake, The Block, 28 August 2026
• Indonesia startup funding 2026: every announced round, Plainwork Digital, 17 October 2026
• Indonesia Startup Funding Falls to $355.7M in 2025 Amid Global Tightening, Jakarta Globe
• Startup Funding in Indonesia Continues Its Decline in 2025, Databoks, 29 May 2026
• Discover Indonesia's Startup Resilience, DailySocial, 5 March 2026
• The great decline: How Indonesia's tech funding hit a 3-year low, e27, 23 January 2025
• Southeast Asia tech funding jumps 176% to $13.5B, 3 deals drive growth: Tracxn, TNGlobal, 5 October 2026
• Southeast Asia Startup Funding Hits Record Low as Pan-Asia Giants Absorb Billions, Tech Times, 31 August 2026