Startups

15 January 2026
Alpaca Chief Product Officer Hitoshi Harada, left, and CEO Yoshi Yokokawa co-founded the company in 2015. (Alpaca)
Mujin develops software to control robots for manufacturers and warehouse operators. (Mujin)
Startups

Robotic software firm Mujin tops Japan startup fundraising ranks

AI, autonomous driving and entertainment sectors fill 2025 rankings

11 January 2026
A model of ispace's lunar lander. The startup has twice tried to land spacecraft on the moon. (Photo by Akitoshi Sugiura)
Aerospace & Defense Industries

Japan's ispace to work with Saudi Arabia in bid to win future lunar orders

Space startup to cultivate business ties by offering technical expertise

9 January 2026
Japanese startup CADDi uses its AI expertise to digitalize design documents and automate order placement under a common platform. (Source photos by screen shot of CADDi's Facebook page and CADDi)
Startups

Japan AI startup aims to build global platform for digital manufacturing

CADDi helps digitalize design process, order placement

6 January 2026
Australian startup Q-CTRL is developing a quantum navigation system. (Photo by Rurika Imahashi)
4 January 2026
Customers can rent Agibot's A2 Ultra humanoid robot, which can dance and play instruments, for weddings and corporate events.
China tech

Need a ring bearer? Chinese humanoid robots will step in for $2,200 rental

Startup Agibot offers package deals for events, targeting 400,000 users in 2026

26 December 2025
BOLD CEO Maya Kawana says she looks to bring Spiber to the forefront of the biotech startup space. (Nikkei montage)
Biotechnology

Daughter of SoftBank's Son to support Japanese unicorn Spiber

Kawana to assist cash-strapped biotech startup facing looming debt repayment

24 December 2025
ZUS Coffee canned beverages are displayed. The Malaysian cafe chain is increasingly expanding sales of ready-to-drink products. (Photo by Ahmad Mustakim)
Food & Beverage

Malaysian cafe chain ZUS Coffee expands reach with canned drinks

Fast-growing company also plans 200 new stores in 2026, including Indonesia entry

21 December 2025
A researcher works in a laboratory at life sciences investor ClavystBio's premises in Singapore. (Photo by Dylan Loh)
Biotechnology

Temasek's biotech VC arm pushes AI for medical breakthrough

Singapore's ClavystBio seeks as much as a tripling of life science startup returns

18 December 2025
May Mobility is one of four startups that Japanese telecommunications group NTT has partnered with or invested in.
Artificial intelligence

Japan's NTT to deploy more than 1,000 autonomous buses and robot taxis

Telco giant aims to alleviate driver shortages by scaling adoption nationwide

17 December 2025
India is rushing to be a global drone hub by 2030, with e-commerce platforms beginning to use the flying machines to bring orders to final-mile delivery workers.
Technology

As India pushes drone deliveries, gig workers fear added insecurity

Skye Air CEO touts efficiency; deliverers worry of being pushed to machinelike speeds

17 December 2025
Blood samples are processed and analyzed at Lucence's laboratory in Singapore. (Photo by Kentaro Takeda)
Health Care

Singapore cancer-testing startup sets sights on US expansion

Lucence aims to double revenue with Medicare coverage and lab partnership

16 December 2025
Forensic police officers inspect the Terra Drone Indonesia building damaged by fire in Jakarta on Dec. 9.
Society

Jakarta police find Terra Drone fire caused by improperly stored batteries

CEO of Japanese startup's Indonesia subsidiary arrested for suspected negligence with 22 dead

12 December 2025
China's Pudu Robotics has launched a four-legged industrial robot, dubbed D5, in a bid to push further into outdoor and rugged environments. (Photo by Tsubasa Suruga)
Interview

China's Pudu takes robot dogs outdoors to fuel growth

Cat-eared service machine maker rolls out quadruped model for delivery, surveillance

11 December 2025
More and more young Indonesians are joining the trend of investing in options such as stocks, cryptocurrencies and peer-to-peer lending. But many have suffered losses and fallen victim to alleged fraud after following advice from online financial influencers. (Nikkei montage/Source photo by Yuki Kohara) 
ASEAN Money

Indonesia's 'finfluencers' under scrutiny as P2P lending bubble bursts

Financial authority moves to regulate unlicensed financial advisers to protect novice investors

9 December 2025
Metha Meetam, co-founder and chief technology officer at Advanced Greenfarm, shows products made by his startup. (Photo by Kenya Akama)
Startups

Thailand's food tech startups bloom, from superfoods to plant-based milk

Advanced Greenfarm finds success with pond weed thanks to government support

6 December 2025
Anduril founder Palmer Luckey says his startup could partner with Japanese defense companies. (Nikkei montage/ Source photos by Mitsuru Obe and Reuters)
Startups

US defense tech startup Anduril eyes manufacturing in Japan

Founder Palmer Luckey says it is exploring 'Arsenal J' factory concept

3 December 2025
YouTrip has plans to expand further into markets such as Hong Kong, Japan and New Zealand. (Photo by Dylan Loh)
Startups

Singapore's YouTrip expands into Australia ahead of possible IPO

CEO Caecilia Chu cites 'high travel potential' of new market as competition heightens

2 December 2025
A man walks past the Bombay Stock Exchange in Mumbai. Amid a hot run of listings, some of workers have sold millions of rupees worth of employee stock options, but others are waiting on the sidelines in the belief values will rise further.
IPO

As India's IPO run mints billionaires, some staff wait to cash in

Tax, share vesting considerations limit stock sales, while staff exodus not seen yet

2 December 2025
Digital security tokens are making it possible for retail investors to invest more directly in startups. (Source photos by Nikkei)
Finance

Nomura, B Dash tap retail investors for VC using digital securities

Partners prepare first Japanese fund with tokens to link individuals, startups

2 December 2025
StraitsX showcases QR code-based stablecoin payment for vending machines at the Singapore FinTech Festival on Nov. 13. Users choose stablecoin on their smartphone app. (Photo by Fumika Sato)
Finance

Southeast Asian fintech sector embraces wave of tokenization and AI

Stablecoin payments for vending machines showcased at Singapore event

24 November 2025
Startups from around the globe are testing their technologies and services at an entertainment complex that is centered on the home field of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters baseball club. (Photos by Sakura Hashikawa) 
Startups

Testing ground: Startups use Hokkaido ballpark complex to try out products

Companies hoping for hits head to home of Nippon-Ham Fighters baseball club

22 November 2025
An SGX-Nasdaq program seeks to attract growth companies valued at SG$2 billion looking to list simultaneously on both markets. (Source photos by Akio Endo and Reuters)
Markets

Singapore taps Nasdaq for dual IPO scheme to boost interest

SGX leverages US market's 'deep capital pool' for Asia's growth companies

19 November 2025
The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange in Vietnam, which had two major listings from the financial sector this year.
IPO

ASEAN's 2025 IPO proceeds soar over 50%, led by Singapore, Vietnam

Deloitte report shows shift to larger deals, number declines in Indonesia, Thailand

19 November 2025
Turing is one of Japan's few startups building autonomous systems for passenger cars. (Turing)
Artificial intelligence

Japan's Turing partners with Denso on self-driving cars after raising $63m

AI startup aims for mass deployment by 2030 as country races to catch Tesla and China

17 November 2025
Amirul Feisal, managing director of Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, in Kuala Lumpur. (Photo by Ahmad Mustakim)
Trading Asia

Malaysian fund Khazanah sharpens domestic focus in industrial push

State investor sets aviation, energy, digital infrastructure as core sectors while also nurturing startups

17 November 2025
State-backed unicorns -- unlisted companies valued at $1 billion or more -- are set to multiply in China as dollar funding dries up amid worsening tensions between Beijing and Washington.
Datawatch

Beijing takes the reins of dollar-starved unicorns

Chinese startups struggle to secure the greenback as U.S.-China rift grows

16 November 2025
Reports of a merger between Grab and GoTo, parent of Gojek, persist. A combination of the two ride-hailing companies would create a dominant player in Southeast Asia. (Photo by Yuki Kohara) 
Technology

Grab president downplays talk of merger with Indonesian ride-hailer GoTo

Bar for a deal would be 'very high,' Alex Hungate says at Vietnam business summit

14 November 2025
Foodie Media CEO Lim Pinn Yang poses for a photo. (Photo by Ahmad Mustakim)
IPO

Malaysian food influencer with 46m followers set for local IPO

'Creator-driven' Foodie Media plans to raise $18m and expand AI use, says CEO

13 November 2025
Singaporean startup Transcelestial is working on a version of its laser communication device to be deployed in space. (Transcelestial)
Technology

Singapore laser communication startup raises $9.7m with eye on Japan

Transcelestial sees expansion opportunity in disaster recovery and space applications

11 November 2025