“You can’t build AI without compute. And you can’t build trust with slogans.”— Kevin Brockland

“Singapore can’t handle everything. It really can’t.”— Kimberley Yeoh

Hey everyone,

Last week we talked cold hard cash, where it's flowing and why seed founders are getting squeezed while unicorns feast. This week? We're going deeper. Past the money, into the guts of what's actually getting built.

Episode 4B is about the unsexy stuff that'll make or break SEA's next act: compute power, policy theater, and who gets to control the digital future.

Let's start in Jakarta. There's a $2.3B hyperscale AI datacenter going up at breakneck speed. 144 megawatts of raw compute. Kevin calls it "a hyperscaler on steroids" — and honestly, that's not hyperbole. This thing is massive.

But here's the thing about infrastructure — it doesn't exist in isolation. Which brings us to Malaysia's latest reinvention attempt. Fund-of-funds? Yep. VC tax breaks? Sure. ASEAN chair flex with a cross-border startup platform? Obviously.

The playbook feels familiar. Kevin's not wrong when he says: "Same playbook, new name, new slogan... Let's just do more of the same."

Look, I get the skepticism. Malaysia's had a few false starts. But I actually think there's something here worth watching. They're not trying to out-Singapore Singapore ,they're carving out their own lane. Intent matters. Execution matters more.

The reality is this: if SEA wants to ride the next wave — AI, IoT, green data, whatever comes after ; We need more than VC dollars. We need the boring stuff. The cables. The cooling systems. The regulatory frameworks. The sovereign compute strategies that let countries control their own digital destiny.

This episode digs into those foundations. The less flashy bets that determine what becomes possible.

🧠 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

* Why Jakarta's AI beast could flip the regional power dynamic

* What Malaysia's policy refresh actually means (and where it'll probably stumble)

* How "sovereign compute" became the new national bragging rights

* Why Singapore might be hitting scale limits despite its strengths

* What this all means for founders trying to build on top

🧩 Key Founder Insights:

📌 Infrastructure isn't backend anymore- it's competitive advantage

📌 Policy theatre only works if you can actually execute

📌 Pay attention to infra shifts - they determine your costs, speed, and scale potential

📌 Singapore still leads but alternatives are getting real

📌 Sovereign cloud, tax structures, data laws — this stuff will matter way more going forward

🎧 Listen Now: "Infra Bets & Policy Plays: What's Next for SEA's Startup Ecosystem" on [Spotify] • [YouTube] • [Substack Audio]

🔮 Up Next:

Episode 5: From Infra Bets to Founder Grit — Why the Philippines Might Be SEA’s Next BreakoutPhilippines deep dive with Joseph De Leon-angel investor, strategist, and ecosystem whisperer. Everyone sleeps on this market — but something’s stirring. We’re going to find out what.

🔁 Missed Episode 4A?

Episode 4A was all about SEA's capital flows and why the funding game is so lopsided right now.

🎧 Listen to Episode 4A on Spotify

📺 Watch it on YouTube

📩 Subscribe. Share. You know a founder who needs this — go ahead and hit send.

This is SEA of Startups — where we skip the fluff and get real about what's happening.

Build smart. Build deep.

— Kim and Kevin

Usual disclaimer: This isn't investment advice. Just real talk from people who live this stuff.

🌐 Supporting Sources & Citations

* Jakarta’s $2.3 B AI Megacenter

* Edgnex (Damac Group) is investing US $2.3 billion in a 144 MW AI-focused data center in Jakarta, with phase one expected to launch in late 2026 BERNAMA+15DataCenterDynamics+15Capacity Media+15.

* Confirmed by the Indonesian government’s Ministry of Communications and Digital, calling it a key investment that will bridge digital infrastructure gaps Antara News.

* Malaysia’s VC Reboot via Jelawang Capital & Tax Incentives

* Khazanah’s Jelawang Capital has selected five VC firms under the Emerging Fund Managers Programme (EMP) and Regional Fund Managers Initiative, including Vynn Capital, Kairous Capital, AppWorks, and Granite Asia Capacity Media+13Jelawang Capital+13Jelawang Capital+13.

* The Malaysian government has approved concessionary VC tax incentives: a 5 % tax rate (for 10 years) for funds investing at least 20 % locally, plus a 10 % rate for fund management companies bloomberg.com+3thestar.com.my+3BERNAMA+3.

🚀 Thanks for diving into SEA of Startups. If you're into raw convos, sharp takes, and real stories from Southeast Asia’s startup trenches Subscribe for free to get new drops-straight to your inbox. No fluff. No FOMO. Just the good stuff.

Heard something that hit? This post is public — pass it on.

Thoughts? Let us know what’s brewing? Lets go

🎧 Episode 4A: Funding’s Up, Startups Down? Southeast Asia’s Barbell Economy in 2025

Welcome to Part 1 of our two-part deep dive on the state of startup funding in Southeast Asia.One month into the SEA of Startups podcast, we’re marking the milestone with a special two-parter that cuts through the noise — and goes straight to where the money’s moving (or not moving).

In this episode, we unpack the hard numbers behind Southeast Asia’s $2B funding snapshot for H1 2025 — and what it reveals about the barbell effect:→ Fat late-stage rounds.→ Starved early-stage pipeline.→ Not much in between.

Spoiler: If you’re raising a seed round, this might explain a few things.

🧠 What We Cover:

The 80% drop in seed deals since 2022

Why Singapore accounted for 92% of all VC funding

Flight-to-quality behavior: big checks only for proven bets

Why the unicorn drought may signal a longer-term innovation gap

What this barbell dynamic means for the future of the SEA ecosystem

🔍 Key Stats:

$2B total raised in H1 2025

56 seed-stage deals (vs. 200 in H1 2024, 245 in H2 2022)

Only 1 unicorn minted: Sygnum Bank (Singapore)

10 late-stage deals accounted for $1.4B — avg. $140M per deal

92% of all funding routed through Singapore entities

🎧 Listen now on your favorite platform:Spotify | YouTube | Substack | Apple Podcasts

🛎️ Stay tuned for Part 2 — where we dig into Jakarta’s $2.3B AI data center, Malaysia’s startup policy reboot, and the infrastructure tailwinds shaping what comes next.

📌 Disclaimer: Everything discussed reflects personal perspectives only. This is not financial advice, and we’re not speaking on behalf of any organization.

“These APIs are pretty cool… they allow people to sell quickly without having to go through bureaucratic buying processes.”— Chris Birrell

🧠 Episode 3: Deep, Narrow & Agentic — with Chris Birrell (FUNC Ventures)

In this episode of SEA of Startups, we dig into the quiet revolution happening inside the software stack — where smart APIs, agentic AI, and vertical SaaS are giving focused founders an edge over generic platforms.

Our guest this week: Chris Birrell, Managing Partner at FUNC Ventures — a multi-exit founder and deep-tech operator who’s seen this shift from both the enterprise buyer’s seat and the founder’s side of the table.

This isn’t about building big.It’s about building specific.Precision, embedded value, and leverage — not noise.

💡 What You'll Learn

✅ What agentic AI actually is — and how it goes beyond automation to full-stack decision-making✅ How APIs act as distribution tools, not just plumbing✅ Why deep-and-narrow beats “all-in-one” in vertical SaaS✅ How to stay defensible as OpenAI and the majors keep moving fast✅ What founders in Southeast Asia need to do differently — mindset, model, and moats

🧩 Real-World Examples We Cover

• Using APIs to bypass enterprise red tape• Agentic flows for KYC, gym memberships, and onboarding• How Stripe and Twilio scaled by staying narrow, then expanding• What an “AI-native” stack might look like in healthtech, fintech, and transport• Why founders with specialist insight are best positioned to win the agentic future

🎧 Listen or Watch

📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SEAofStartups

🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gmMi2NyR

📨 Subscribe on Substack:https://lnkd.in/gVfiXaPz

If Episode 2 explored the funding terrain,Episode 3 dives into the stack itself —where the real leverage is quietly being built.

And if this feels like a calm before the storm… you’re not wrong. 💥

🎙️ EPISODE 2: The Road Less Funded – Seed-Strapping with Strategy

Welcome back to SEA of Startups — where Southeast Asia’s startup game gets real. No hype. No fluff. Just raw conversations with the people building and backing what’s next.

If Episode 1 was our reset, Episode 2 is the reframe — and we’re calling it: Seed-Strapping. That gritty middle ground between bootstrapping till burnout and fundraising your way into a diluted cap table (or a derailed vision).

This week, Kevin takes the hot seat as we unpack:

💡 What is Seed-Strapping?Not bootstrapping, not blitzscaling — it’s raising just enough to move fast without losing your soul (or equity).

🌏 Why it matters more in Southeast AsiaLess capital, more constraint = sharper strategy. Tools like AI are leveling the playing field.

📉 The risk of raising too much too soonIndigestion kills more startups than starvation. Go big only if the market demands it.

You’ll also hear Kevin’s story — from Wall Street to launching Indelible Ventures in Malaysia — and his deeper take on capital efficiency in his Tech in Asia article: “How seed-strapping is killing endless funding rounds" a must-read companion to this episode.

Cheat Sheet for Seed-Strappers:

Be ruthless with capital.

Hire with intent, not ego.

Just say no — especially to dumb money.

Default alive > Growth theater.

Build fast. Don’t fall down the mountain.

👀 Next up: What happens when your co-founder isn’t even human? We deep dive into Agentic AI with Chris Birrell. Think founder energy… made of code.

This isn’t a fluffy reset. It’s a recalibration.

SEA of Startups is back — sharper, bolder, and more real than ever.

In this special kickoff, co-hosts Kevin Brockland (Indelible Ventures) and Kimberley Yeoh (Producer & Co-host) share what inspired this new chapter, and what listeners can expect from the episodes ahead.

This isn’t just a podcast — it’s a space for authentic conversations, layered perspectives, and the untold stories shaping Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem.

🎯 In this episode:

Why we’re relaunching with fresh energy and deeper intent

What kind of founder and funder stories we’re spotlighting

How ambition, vulnerability, and iteration define this region

Our vision for building a more connected, honest startup conversation

🎙 If you're a founder building in the thick of it, or a funder tired of surface-level noise — this one's for you. Tune in and be part of the conversation.

Follow, share, tag us — or just send it to someone who needs to hear this.

This time around, we are sharing a recent presentation that our host gave at a recent event in which he discussed the different players in a startup ecosystem and how the current environment in Malaysia shapes up.

This week we are joined by Jeremy Au. You may know him from the BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast or from Monk’s Hill Ventures. We cover a lot of ground chatting about the VC ecosystem.

I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Jeremy Au. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone that you’d like to hear me speak to, drop me a message.

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Where to hear more from The Indelible VC:

• Newsletter: 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/IndelibleVc

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kbrockland/

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This week we are joined by Hanif Wahid the Founder of Delyva, which is is a multi-courier delivery platform recommends the best-performing courier service for every delivery.

This was a great conversation with Hanif as we talked about the founding story and how they have grown.  We talk about the importance of customer feedback in building the product and scaling the business.

I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Hanif Wahid. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone that you’d like to hear me speak to, drop me a message.

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Google, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and YouTube.

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Where to find Hanif Wahid:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanifwahid/

• Delyva: https://delyva.com/

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Where to hear more from The Indelible VC:

• Newsletter: 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/IndelibleVc

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kbrockland/

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This week we are joined by Ganesh Bangah, a serial entrepreneur with a resume longer than this podcast. He built MOL Global which listed on NASDAQ and later sold to Razer and is currently focused on Commerce.Asia as well as ASX-listed Netccentric.

This was a great conversation with Ganesh where navigate the evolution from cyber cafes to selling points to gaming.  We talked about acquiring Friendster, one of the earliest social media players and then listing on NASDAQ. We wrap up by focusing on his current endeavors with Commerce.Asia and what drove him to acquire control in Netccentric, an ASX-listed company.

I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Ganesh Bangah. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone that you’d like to hear me speak to, drop me a message.

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Google, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and YouTube.

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Where to find Ganesh Bangah:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ganeshbangah/

• Commerce.Asia: 

https://www.commerce.asia/

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Where to hear more from The Indelible VC:

• Newsletter: 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/IndelibleVc

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kbrockland/

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In this episode, we cover:

[1:38] Building MOL Global from cyber cafes to NASDAQ listing.

[9:40] The acquisition of Friendster and leveraging the community.

[17:44] Transitioning towards strategic investments.

[25:33] Investing in an influencer marketing company and other initiatives.

[33:53] The new technologies that will shape the future.

[41:53] Closing questions.

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This week we are joined by Ben Bagg the Founder of Nectar Group, which is focused on enabling companies looking to expand across the APAC through as a Sales & marketing driven revenue generator.

This was a great conversation with Ben where we talked about the early days of bootstrapping a lead generation business.  We talk about merging his business with a co-founder and building off of the business synergies between the two.  A lot of takeaways from this conversation on sales and marketing.

I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Ben Bagg. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone that you’d like to hear me speak to, drop me a message.

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Google, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and YouTube.

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Where to find Ben Bagg:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-bagg/

• Nectar Group:  https://nectargroup.my/

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Where to hear more from The Indelible VC:

• Newsletter: 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/IndelibleVc

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kbrockland/

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In this episode, we cover:

[0:38] The origins of becoming an entrepreneur and leading toward Nectar Group

[9:25] The challenges of scaling up lead generation and sales qualification across various industries.

[18:00] Merging companies and combining strengths in B2B marketing and lead generation.

[26:40] Helping clients with lead generation and expanding their businesses across the APAC region

[36:00] Vision for the company and becoming known as a "unicorn maker" by helping startups grow and scale.

[38:55] Closing questions

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