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Manila Startups Raise Record $480 Million in First Half of 2026

Philippine startups secured $480 million in funding from January to June, the strongest half-year on record, with fintech, logistics, and health-tech leading deal activity.

By Carlo Mendoza · Technology Correspondent ·

A startup team at work in a Manila co-working space. Fintech and logistics drew the largest funding rounds this year.
A startup team at work in a Manila co-working space. Fintech and logistics drew the largest funding rounds this year.

MANILA — Philippine startups raised a record $480 million in the first half of 2026, according to a report released Friday by a regional venture capital tracker, surpassing the previous full-year record set in 2024.

Fintech accounted for 42 percent of total deal value, led by digital lending and cross-border payments platforms serving overseas Filipino workers. Logistics and health-tech followed, with several Series B rounds closed by Manila-based firms.

Analysts credited the surge to regulatory sandboxes introduced by the BSP and the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the growing pool of returning Filipino tech workers from Silicon Valley and Singapore.

Five years ago our best engineers left to build other countries’ startups. Today they are coming home to build our own — and global capital is following them.

The report noted, however, that 78 percent of funding went to Metro Manila-based firms, prompting calls for stronger support for startup communities in Cebu, Davao, and Iloilo.

The Department of Trade and Industry said it will expand its startup grant program to 12 additional cities next year, with ₱600 million earmarked for early-stage founders outside the capital region.