Bangkok, Thailand. Photo by Aaron Thomas on Unsplash April 15, 2021 Southeast Asia-based startups kicked off 2021 in style, raising a record $6 billion in the first quarter of the year. Deal count, too, jumped amid signs of economic recovery and mass inoculation programmes to curb COVID-19 across the region. According to our latest report, companies in the region inked at least 211 deals in the first quarter to raise close to 70% of the total capital secured in 2020. Of this, $4 billion was raised by ride-hailing giant Grab and Indonesia-headquartered logistics firm J&T Express—both companies raised $2 billion each—as they prepare for their public market debut in the US.