Funds for venture capital-backed fintech companies in Asia have skyrocketed in the first quarter of 2016, amassing a whopping $2.6 billion.

After the December quarter in 2015 recorded US$500 million worth of funds in Asian fintech firms, the profit level has increased more than five times to a staggering amount of close to $3 billion this year. The significant increase is said to have been fuelled by mega funding rounds, according to KPMG and CB Insights.

Since January there have been 13 deals worth around US$50 million each across Asia that went to VC-backed companies. Lyon Poh, head of digital and innovation for JMPG in Singapore said that the government’s push towards a culture of innovation has greatly aided investment in the industry.

“Many insurers are building innovation centres and programmes to rapidly identify and adopt fintech solutions to bring innovation back into their core business,” he said.

“This has in turn encouraged more fintech start-ups to come to Singapore and use it as a base for developing their propositions and fundraising.”