- Popular Fintech
- Posts
- It started with a game
It started with a game
Sea didn’t start as a Fintech, but it sure became one
Jevgenijs Kazanins
June 29, 2025
Hey!
I continue to explore companies that aren’t traditionally seen as Fintechs, but have quietly built sizeable Fintech businesses along the way. This week, it’s Sea Limited. Headquartered in Singapore, Sea operates three major platforms across Southeast Asia: Garena (gaming), Shopee (e-commerce), and Monee (financial services).
Sea started as a gaming company and used profits from Garena to fund its push into commerce and financial services. The result? One of the largest e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia, and one of the region’s biggest Fintech players.
Like Mercado Libre, Sea’s Fintech journey began with a wallet to support online purchases. And like Mercado Pago, it’s consumer credit that’s now driving the next wave of growth. The synergy between e-commerce and financial services is real, and both Sea and Mercado Libre are proof of that.
Let’s dive in!
Jevgenijs
p.s. if you have feedback, just reply to this email or ping me on X/Twitter
In today’s article, I continue to explore companies that aren’t traditionally seen as Fintechs, but have built serious Fintech businesses along the way.
This week it is Sea Limited $SE ( ▲ 0.51% ) (and if you missed Mercado Libre $MELI ( ▼ 0.01% ) , you can check it here). Headquartered in Singapore, Sea operates three major platforms (primarily) across Southeast Asia: Garena (gaming), Shopee (e-commerce), and Monee (financial services).
Image source: Free Vector Maps
To avoid any confusion: in early 2025, Sea rebranded its Digital Financial Services business from SeaMoney to Monee. So, when you see SeaMoney or Monee in the text below, they refer to the same business.
Sea started as a gaming company back in 2009, when it launched Garena, its digital entertainment arm that licensed and published global hits like League of Legends and Call of Duty: Mobile across Southeast Asia.
But it was Garena’s own title, Free Fire, launched in 2017, that turned the company into a regional gaming powerhouse. Free Fire became one of the world’s most downloaded mobile games, especially popular in emerging markets like Indonesia, India and Brazil.
Image source: Garena
“We began our digital entertainment business, Garena, at our inception in 2009, and have since expanded our game operations globally with the launch of our self-developed game, Free Fire.”
Garena remains one of the largest mobile gaming platforms in the world. In Q1 2025, 662 million people played Garena games (reported as “Quarterly Active Users”), and nearly 65 million of them made in-app purchases (reported as “Paying Active Users”).
In 2024, Garena generated $1.9 billion in revenue, down sharply from its pandemic peak of $4.3 billion, but still a massive cash engine for Sea. Sea’s gaming business has been highly profitable, helping fund the company’s expansion into new verticals.
Data source: Sea
“ Garena is a global game developer and publisher. Garena provides users with access to popular and engaging mobile and PC online games that we develop, curate, license and localize for each market.”
At its peak in 2021, Garena delivered $2.8 billion in adjusted EBITDA, making it one of the most profitable mobile gaming operations globally. In 2024, Garena generated $1.2 billion in adjusted EBITDA, up from $0.9 billion in 2023, a clear sign that the company has adjusted to the post-pandemic reality and returned to growth.
Data source: Sea
“2024 was a great year for Garena, marking Free Fire's remarkable comeback. After the post-pandemic headwinds, in 2022 and 2023, Free Fire responded with annual bookings growing at 34% year-on-year in 2024, and we expect continued growth in 2025.”
Garena’s profitability gave Sea the financial power to invest aggressively in building its commerce and Fintech businesses. And it would be a completely different story if Sea had remained just a gaming company. In 2014, digital entertainment made up 96% of the company’s total revenue. A decade later, in 2024, that figure dropped to just 11%.
Data source: Sea
