As rising applied sciences redraw the aggressive map, Southeast Asia’s startup founders are rewriting the foundations—not by chasing unicorn standing, however by constructing resilient, impact-driven corporations that resolve real-world issues.
That was the highly effective message from a panel dialogue on the Asia Tech x Singapore Summit that includes Yinglan Tan (Founding Managing Companion, Insignia Ventures), Dr. James Ong (Founder, AI Worldwide Institute), and Yanan Wu (Founder & CEO, Surfin Group).
Yanan Wu: The following billion customers
For Wu, the mission is evident: convey monetary entry to underserved communities utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and social information.
“We use social conduct information to provide them a credit score rating, to provide a micro-learning program in order that they’ll begin a journey,” mentioned Wu, whose fintech platform serves 70 million customers throughout 10 international locations.
“Everybody deserves a monetary advisor, whether or not you’re wealthy otherwise you’re underprivileged.”
Wu emphasised the huge untapped potential in underserved and emerging markets, stating that the true alternative for unicorn creation lies not simply in mature markets however in reaching the “subsequent billion customers.”
“There are nonetheless tons of of tens of millions of individuals on this area who’re both unbanked or underbanked. That’s an enormous alternative,” he mentioned. “The tech needs to be scalable, sure, nevertheless it additionally needs to be significant to individuals. What’s the utility? That’s what drives sustainable development.”
Wu added that understanding hyperlocal wants—whether or not in rural Indonesia or secondary cities in Vietnam—will decide which companies can truly scale throughout Southeast Asia.
His drive isn’t simply mental—it’s private. A former nuclear physicist turned entrepreneur, he lives on red-eye flights to guide a multi-country operation.
“You want resilience to cross over totally different cycles… Typically, it feels lonely. However you at all times should cherish the second the place you got here from, why you wish to do that, and the place you’re going,” he shared.
Wu’s ambition goes past scale. He believes Southeast Asia has a singular alternative to leapfrog conventional monetary fashions and embrace what he calls “agentic AI“—monetary co-pilots for the underbanked.
“Prior to now, banks couldn’t attain these distant areas. Now, expertise will be flat. Expertise will be scalable. Expertise will be sustained.”
Yinglan Tan: Progress occurs in cycles
Tan, whose enterprise fund backs corporations like Wu’s, echoed the significance of imaginative and prescient and grit. When evaluating founders, Tan appears for one factor: “They’re unstoppable.” He described successful entrepreneurs as those that “see a wall—they go on high of it, round it, dig beneath it, or make mates with the wall to get issues accomplished.”
Past hustle, Tan emphasised the power to rent properly, function globally, and preserve perspective.
“They don’t deal with opponents as enemies. They see every day as a soccer match—you play to win, however you play by the foundations. And when the day is finished, it’s one other match.”
Tan believes Southeast Asia is transferring previous a correction part and coming into what he known as a “refounding” part—an setting that favors innovation constructed on stronger fundamentals.
“What we’re seeing is that corporations which have gone by means of that self-discipline are actually popping out stronger. There are a variety of corporations that are actually going regional. I believe that’s the subsequent part of development,” mentioned Tan. “We additionally search for founders which can be missionary reasonably than mercenary since you want a missionary to final the ten years required to construct an incredible firm.”
He added that venture capitalists (VCs) usually are not merely trying to find flashy tech or development tales. The appropriate founder-market match, the power to adapt, and a transparent understanding of enterprise fundamentals are simply as essential—if no more so—than hype.
James Ong: AI as Infrastructure
Dr. Ong urged founders to assume past self-importance metrics like valuations.
“Why are we specializing in unicorns? In Silicon Valley, it’s all a monetary engineering play. In Southeast Asia, we’ve got an opportunity to reset the narrative,” he mentioned. As a substitute of unicorns, he champions “zebra-cons”—startups that steadiness revenue with function. “We additionally measure how a lot better life individuals are attaining, how a lot power we’re utilizing.”
Ong provided a perspective rooted in deep tech and AI, framing AI not simply as a device however as an infrastructure layer that may drive exponential worth—if harnessed correctly.
“We see AI as the following type of infrastructure, like electrical energy or the Web,” he mentioned. “However the problem is tips on how to democratize AI, so it’s not simply within the palms of the massive gamers.”
He believes the following unicorn may emerge from an organization that not solely makes use of AI but additionally builds platforms that allow others to make use of AI to resolve native issues—from agriculture and healthcare to logistics and finance.
“Democratization and localization of AI will probably be key. And which means constructing fashions, information, and interfaces which can be really educated and examined in Southeast Asia, not simply imported from someplace else,” he famous.
Key takeaways
Southeast Asia isn’t simply using the AI wave—it’s shaping a brand new one.
“Southeast Asia is at an inflection level,” mentioned Dr. Ong. “Entrepreneurs right here usually are not solely delivering economic value—they’re fixing humanity’s issues with resilience and coronary heart.”
Watch: Alex Ball on the way forward for tech: AI growth and entrepreneurship
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