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

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 favor 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 ten industry categories with the largest cohort (18) in biotechnology and healthcare 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.

Edited by Rana Wehbe Watson

Assistant editors: Catherine Wang and Yue Wang

Research and reporting: Jonathan Burgos, John Kang, Yessar Rosendar, Ian Sayson, James Simms, Jennifer Wells and Ardian Wibisono

Aetech has devised an automated alternative to the laborious task of manually sorting waste: an AI-powered robot, Atron, which the startup says can double recycling efficiency. So far, some 20 Atrons have been deployed at South Korean waste management facilities, logistics centers and industrial complexes. With more than $13 million raised, including from GS Ventures, the VC arm of South Korea’s GS Group, it’s eyeing expansion into Australia, Singapore and Vietnam. Aetech took a bronze in the category of manufacturing and logistics production process innovation at the 2025 Edison Awards.

Aeterlink, which started out at Stanford University, has developed wireless power transfer technologies for a range of applications, including in factory automation and building management. Its wireless temperature sensors for air conditioning units, for example, ensure cooled air is directed to where it’s needed. The Tokyo-based company has raised ¥6.8 billion ($46 million) in equity, debt and grants from the likes of Jafco Group, Sparx’s Mirai Creation Fund and Mizuho Capital, including ¥3.9 billion in a series B round in February.

This e-fuels startup has developed technologies to convert waste carbon feedstock into sustainable fuels for the aviation and shipping industries. Aether Fuels says it can convert materials such as agricultural waste and industrial waste gases into green fuels by extracting and processing carbon content in an economically viable way. It has inked agreements with Singapore Airlines and JetBlue to supply sustainable aviation fuel once it begins producing it on a commercial scale. Aether Fuels has raised over $40 million, including a $34 million series A round in June 2024 from investors such as AP Ventures and Temasek’s Xora Innovation.

Growing up with asthma led Adrian Ang to found medtech firm Aevice Health, which makes non-invasive, wearable devices that can help manage respiratory diseases remotely. The company’s AeviceMD is a smart wearable stethoscope that continuously monitors heart and respiratory rates. In May, AeviceMD received U.S. Food & Drug Administration clearance for its use on children above the age of three. Last year, the startup raised $7 million in a seed plus funding round led by Coronet Ventures, the Singapore-based venture unit of Cedars-Sinai Intellectual Property. Other investors include East Ventures, A&D Company and Seeds Capital.

AI Hay’s Vietnamese chatbot and app, based on a proprietary large language model, can identify linguistic patterns and cultural context as well as track user behavior to generate answers sourced from curated content. The mobile app is primarily used by students, and allows them to snap a photo of their assignments and receive step-by-step guidance for subjects such as math, literature and essay writing. It also offers social networking tools. In July, AI Hay raised $10 million in a series A round led by Argor Capital, bringing its total funding to over $18 million.

Unlike chemotherapy, which harms healthy cells, antibody-based treatments that target only cancer cells have caught on. Seoul-based Aimed Bio is developing one such potent targeted therapy called antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs. A spinoff from South Korea’s Samsung Medical Center, the biotech startup has also developed linker-payload technologies, which are crucial in ensuring the complex ADC treatments work. Aimed Bio has raised $82 million so far, including over $36 million in a June pre-IPO round from investors such as Intervest, DS Asset Management, Samsung Life Insurance Foundation, SMB Investment Partners and Mirae Asset Securities.

Developing a new drug involves reams of clinical paperwork and preparing those manually is a laborious, time-consuming process. AlphaLife Sciences says its cloud-based medical writing tool AuroraPrime can help pharmaceutical companies draft clinical study reports and regulatory documents at record speed. A graduate of startup accelerators including Nvidia Inception and the Microsoft for Startups Pegasus program, the company has raised tens of millions in funding from investors such as Hankang Capital and B Capital.

Asuene offers a cloud-based CO₂ emissions management and carbon accounting platform, which helps companies measure and reduce their carbon footprint. With more than 10,000 customers, the Tokyo-based firm has raised a total of ¥10.6 billion ($71 million) from investors such as Salesforce Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund and Temasek-owned Pavilion Capital, including ¥5 billion garnered in a series C round last year.

Augmentus has developed AI-powered industrial robotic systems that don’t require extensive coding. The company’s vision system–combining 3D scanning cameras that act as the robot’s “eyes” with its AutoPath software, which serves as the “brain”–enables the robot to collect and analyze spatial information to generate optimal toolpaths. In July, the company raised $11 million in a series A round led by South Korean investment firm Woori VP, with participation from EDBI, Sierra Ventures and Cocoon Capital.

Worn-out tires are often the cause of serious car crashes, which Seoul-based BANF says can be prevented by real-time monitoring and predictive analytics. The company has developed tire-mounted sensors that track tire pressure, temperature, tread depth, wheel alignment and road conditions, which can alert drivers to any potential hazards. BANF, which has partnered with Hyundai and DHL, says its sensors can reduce tire-related accidents by 40%. The startup won an innovation award in the Vehicle Tech & Advanced Mobility category at CES 2024.

This owner of over 30 global patents uses gene-editing technologies to develop treatments for advanced tumors. The Shanghai-based company’s flagship product is NK510, an injection of enhanced immune cells that can target and destroy cancer cells. Base Therapeutics has raised $34.5 million in funding from investors including Chinese search giant Baidu, Great Eagle VC and Gobi Partners. It plans to conduct clinical trials for the drug in Beijing later this year.

This biotech startup, which originated at Waseda University, leverages AI to sequence and catalog microbial genomes to develop new enzymes for a gamut of uses, from novel drugs to cosmetics. The company says that only 0.001% of all microbial species on Earth have been discovered, and its single-cell sequencing technology is more efficient than other DNA-sequencing methods.

That has enabled it to build a massive database of 2.4 billion genome sequences, which can be engineered for specific applications. With a slew of development projects in hand with major companies such as Ajinomoto Group and Kirin Holdings, bitBiome has secured a mix of grants and equity funding totaling ¥4.3 billion ($28.9 million), including from The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners, Global Brain and Kirin Health Innovation Fund.

Paper business cards are passé, according to Blinq, which has been pushing the digital alternative since its founding eight years ago. Users can tap into the company’s platform to create digital business cards with personal QR codes. That cool convenience has so far drawn 2.5 million users across 189 countries, according to the company, with some 80% of them in the U.S. In June, it raised $25 million in a series A funding round led by Touring Capital with participation from Blackbird Ventures, Square Peg Capital and HubSpot Ventures. Founder and CEO Webb is an alumnus of the 30 Under 30 Asia list.

BRIK sources a variety of construction materials, from green cement to heat reduction paints, for its customers, who range from large Indonesian property players, such as Ciputra and Sinarmas Land, to small and midsized developers, who are often overlooked by bigger suppliers. Cutting out intermediaries, orders and deliveries are easily tracked online. BRIK raised $10 million in a series A round in May led by Jungle Ventures, following its $12 million pre-series A in 2023. The company operates in Jakarta and cities in West Java, and is expanding to Bali and Central Java.

Operators of heavy machinery, whether at construction sites, ports, quarries or factories, have to contend with lurking dangers. Making their workplace safer is the focus of Beijing-based BuilderX Robotics, which can retrofit machinery such as excavators and wheel loaders with sensors and cameras so that they can be operated remotely. BuilderX Robotics sells in both China and Japan to customers such as Baogang Group, China Huaneng Group and Sumitomo Corp.

The rising costs of personal gadgets, from smartphones to laptops and tablets, underpin the Device-as-a-Service (DaaS) business model of three-year-old Cinch. It offers such devices on a monthly subscription basis to both individuals and companies, with the option to upgrade or buy later. The company says its services, available in Singapore and Malaysia, include refurbishing, repairing and recycling devices to extend their life, offering an alternative to e-waste. In April, Cinch raised $28.8 million in a debt and equity funding round, with the equity portion led by Monk’s Hill Ventures and participation from Z Venture Capital and 1982 Ventures.

Cloudphysician’s AI-based software to monitor patients in the intensive care units of hospitals and nursing homes may just be the answer to overworked doctors and nurses. Its AI-powered digital agent, AINA, analyzes the video feed from the patient’s hospital bed to detect any movement, while comparing it with their medical history. It sends out alerts to hospital staff if it perceives any risks. Last year Cloudphysician raised $10.5 million in a series A round led by Peak XV Partners, after completing a $4 million pre-series A round in 2021. The company says it now monitors over 2,000 beds across more than 300 hospitals in countries including India, Bangladesh and Kenya.

Datumo (formerly SelectStar) helps companies assess their AI models and provides training data. The Seoul-based startup’s flagship product, Datumo Eval, helps validate the reliability of large language models. The startup raised over $25 million in funding, including a $15.5 million series B in August from investors including Salesforce Ventures. Datumo’s other investors include Kakao Ventures and SBI Investment.

DexForce Technology develops AI-based 3D vision software to help robots “see.” It also makes its own hardware, including the W1 series of wheel-based humanoid robots. The startup says its products are used in the automotive, logistics and home-appliance manufacturing industries with clients such as Midea, Panasonic and TCL. DexForce Technology has raised several rounds of funding from investors including Lenovo Capital, Green Pine Capital and ZhenFund.

With its range of power management products, Queensland’s EcoJoule Energy aims to help manage the problem of electricity-grid instability as more households opt for solar power. Its battery storage device, EcoSTORE, stores excess solar energy while its EcoVAR regulator helps reduce voltage swings. In March, EcoJoule Energy raised A$15 million ($9.9 million), in what was its first round of external funding, from investors including Ellerston Capital and Fifth Estate Asset Management. The company’s customers include Ausgrid, AusNet Services and Endeavour Energy.

Starting with a small rooftop farm, Eeki, a name derived from the Japanese word ikigai, denoting life’s true........

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