Asia-Pacific's small companies and startups on the rise

Our fifth annual Forbes Asia 100 to Watch list provides a window into the vibrant world of small companies and startups in the Asia-Pacific region. It's a constantly evolving ecosystem, which is increasingly focusing on AI and deeptech to innovate and thrive.

- EDITED BY RANA WEHBE WATSON

The promising news is that VC funding in the region, which had fallen to a ten-year low at the end of 2024, has seen an uptick in some countries this year. According to a recent KPMG report, India, Japan and Singapore are drawing more risk capital this year, a trend this compendium also reflects.

A total of 16 countries and territories are represented on our list and India leads the pack with 18 companies, followed by Singapore and Japan (14 each), China (9), Indonesia and South Korea (8 each) and Australia (7).

Investors also favour fast-rising sectors such as biotechnology, spacetech and green tech, and our list is well-populated by companies in those fields—from enterprises developing gene-editing therapies for cancer treatments to those producing new anode material for lithium-ion batteries or building novel propulsion systems for spacecraft. They are grouped under 10 industry categories with the largest cohort (18) in biotechnology and health care followed by enterprise technology and robotics (16). Overall, the 100 companies on the list have drawn nearly $3 billion in funding to date, compared with $2 billion raised by last year’s group.

For the full list, please visit forbes.com/100towatch.

AETECH

SOUTH KOREA • ENERGY & GREEN TECH

YEAR FOUNDED: 2020

CEO: TAEHYUNG PARK