Asian countries have substantially upped their game when it comes to investments in innovative tech startups. Gone are the days when tech innovations would only come from the western hemisphere. China remains ahead among its other Asian counterparts when it comes to innovative tech startups. With its reputation as the world’s leading destination for raising venture capital funding and its ambition of leading the world in technology, China has been on a spree of incubating its homegrown unicorns, private companies that have a valuation of a billion dollars or more.
Within a year’s span, China was able to add 50 more of these unicorn companies to its name. While China may be an undisputed leader in the region for raising innovative tech startups, other Asian countries have also picked up a healthy pace and have been going down a similar trajectory as they cultivate startup culture and ecosystems.
For a long time before the rise of China in the startup scene, it was Singapore and Australia that led the way. Singapore still has one of the most dynamic and healthy startup economies in the world. It boasts an astounding 55,000 plus startups today and a vibrant startup ecosystem. The favorable government policies and forward-looking regulations created crystal clear laws and regulations regarding the technologically-driven financial sector. This helped Singapore to firmly establish itself as a dominant regional as well as a global venue for FinTech startups. Today, it boasts over 490 of these FinTech startups, making itself a dominant force in the sector.
South Korea is certainly one of the dominant players in the region when it comes to tech startup activity. There were over 30,000 new startups as of 2017. The government fully backs this wave of heightened startup activity. The Korean government created a $9 billion venture fund to provide a strong impetus to the startup economy. Korea has been at the forefront of the recent wave of the cryptocurrency revolution as it has been the most active cryptocurrency exchange in the world. There is now a great focus on blockchain innovation in the startup circles within Korea.
Moving over to the South East Asian region, Indonesia and Vietnam are two powerful players with vibrant startup ecosystems. Indonesia is leading the way with the most unicorns in the region. Traveloka, Bukapalak, Go-Jek, and Tokopedia are four of the local Indonesian startups that are valued at over a billion dollars, while 5 more are expected to join them by the end of this year.
All in all, from China to economies in the farthest corners of South East Asia, the investment in innovative tech startups has been on the rise, and if the present is to be any guide, the Asian region will be a significantly dominant force in the tech area in near future.
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