Top SE Asian Startups In 2022

Startups are essential for the economy. They provide jobs, bring new products and services to market, and are responsible for a great deal of innovation. That is why it is important to know about startups, to get into the ground floor of something amazing. After all, you never know when the next big thing will appear.

The Southeast Asian market is particularly good for startups right now. People are starting to pay some serious attention to the region, with many investors from around the globe keeping an eye on the area. Moreover, there are some really impressive companies appearing, spanning across various sectors.

Since there are so many startups, it can be difficult to figure out which ones to watch. That is particularly true if you are unaware of the region and do not know where to get information about the startups in the area. In the article below, you will find information about the startup boom and some of the many great startups currently active.

The Rise of the SE Asian Market

In the first half of 2021, venture backers invested heavily in Southeast Asia. In fact, the amount of investment seen reached a record high, with a focus on early-stage deals. It is a sign of serious interest, especially in the tech scene, where many companies in the region are showing promise.

Places like Singapore and Indonesia saw the heaviest investments. Meanwhile, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand are also home to some interesting startups. Additionally, while some of the startups are focused primarily on the region, there are many who provide global services. And many of them have a good chance to grow.

SE Asian Startups

There are a lot of startups on the market, with many of them being focused on tech, whether it be fintech or ed-tech. On the list below, you will find a variety of startups, with some being large and others just getting started. However, regardless of their size or sector, these startups are poised to do great things in the near future.

Doctor Anywhere

Due to the pandemic, telemedicine has grown tremendously all over the world. Doctor Anywhere is one of the startups that has seen success in recent years. In fact, this Singapore-based startup acquired Thailand’s largest telemedicine platform, making it a major player in the region.

The telemedicine company allows people in Singapore to find a doctor anywhere, hence their name. And it goes beyond that. Doctor Anywhere is in five countries and serves over 2.5 million users. Moreover, they work with more than 2500 doctors. The services are not limited to simple appointments, either, including things like:

• Virtual and Local Clinics
• Home Care Services
• Disease Management Programs
• A Marketplace
• Mental Wellness

Doctor Anywhere takes care of health on multiple fronts, and their approach has attracted a lot of attention. Not only have they expanded their network, but they plan to take things even further. Plus, their last round of funding and list of investors is impressive.

Additionally, Doctor Anywhere publishes articles with health tips, news, and event highlights that help spread information to everyone. With so many resources in one place and passionate people behind the company, it is likely that Doctor Anywhere will continue to grow and thrive in 2022.

Grab

Services like Doordash and Uber have seen great success, and there are plenty of competitors lining up to do the same. However, in Southeast Asia, Grab is the one to beat. The company is absolutely massive, growing rapidly as it endeavors to provide its customers with a variety of services. Some of the things Grab offers are:

• Deliveries: Grab takes care of all delivery needs, starting with food. Not only will they deliver food from restaurants, but they take care of groceries and anything else you might need. Moreover, they will send packages, documents, and other items through their service as well.

• Mobility: Grab also offers taxi services, giving consumers plenty of choices to go from point A to point B. Their service works much like other big names, such as Uber and Lyft, where drivers sign up and work through their app on their own time. They even offer services to enterprises.

• Financial Services: One thing that makes Grab truly unique is the bevy of financial services they offer. There are options for cashless payments online and in-stores. Additionally, they offer accessible insurance and the ability to invest.

Grab is an ambitious company, but they are doing incredibly well in the region. Moreover, they clearly plan on becoming a one-stop-shop for travel and convenience. While Grab has been around for a bit, they show no signs of slowing down, so they are definitely one to watch in 2022.

Leena AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is another area that has seen a recent boom, expanding into many different markets and assisting various roles within companies. Leena AI is an autonomous conversational AI platform meant to redefine and improve the employee experience within an enterprise.

The way Leena AI works is that it automates workflow and query resolution using conversational AI. It starts with an easy-to-use dashboard that helps streamline case management and, though it does much more, including:

• Case Management: Employees can raise tickets quickly and automate their workflow. It also allows for automated updates during the resolution process.
• Knowledge Management: It allows the creation of a central hub for employee documents, policies, and information. Everything becomes easy to access.
• FAQ Automation: Automatically replies to frequently asked employee queries with conversational AI.
• Employee Workflows: Streamlines and automates employee workflow. There is self-service and faster request approval.

The features offered by Leena AI make it a powerful platform, and it already has some great numbers that show how successful it can be. Moreover, the company raised $8 million during its Series A funding. It even has a presence in India, Singapore, New York, and other areas.

Crypto.com

Another company out of Singapore is Crypto.com, which is a cryptocurrency exchange app. There is no doubt that cryptocurrency has a lot of attention in the market today, and people are picking it up every day. However, Crypto.com stands out in how quickly it is growing and the benefits it offers users, such as:

• Up to 8% back when using their Visa Card
• Rewards of up to 14.5% on crypto assets
• The ability to buy and sell over 250 cryptocurrencies

They have such an appealing app that more than 10 million users have joined since their founding in 2016. The app accepts over 20 fiat currencies and allows users to buy and sell at true cost. While it might not be the only cryptocurrency wallet out there, it is certainly one of the best, and it operates smoothly and securely.

Crypto.com’s growth is not limited to the number of currencies available. In fact, it is constantly looking to expand its influence, even striking deals with big names like LeBron James and the LeBron James Family Foundation (LJFF). It is a company that has already seen success and is clearly looking to make big moves in the year to come.

Grain

Everything is moving online nowadays or at least seeing an online equivalent pop up. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that an online restaurant exists. That is precisely what Grain is: an online restaurant. It is a company that seeks to provide people with a phenomenal food experience without going anywhere.

It is a bit different from a food delivery service. Grain has many unique and high-quality dishes that truly reach the level of restaurant-quality food. Moreover, they sell seasonal dishes and offer the ability to mix and match with bundles that let you customize the meal you want to have. And it is not just meals on-demand.

Grain also offers meals for a group of people, including mains, sides, and desserts. There is even a meal plan option in its beta phase, which will allow consumers to pick a plan and have delicious dishes delivered regularly. Catering is yet another option, with curated sets meant to elevate a celebration or event.

Other companies have a similar business model, but Grain has already found success in Singapore due to its tasty meals. Grain could see further growth going forward with such dedication to high-quality products. Their resilience through recent years is proof of this, with Grain staying strong when many faltered.

Aspire

The financial sector always has room for growth, and financial technology, also known as fintech, is particularly strong. Therefore, it is not a surprise that an all-in-one business finance operating system has done well in the market. In fact, the company has done so well that it has raised over $200 million since its founding in 2018.

This Singapore-based neobank aims to allow businesses to do everything in one place. Basically, it eliminates the need to have an account for each financial service you need to grow. That is why Aspire offers multiple services through their software, including:

• Business accounts for cross-border businesses
• Automated invoice processing
• Corporate cards
• Company spending management

Aspire saves businesses time and money, and they do so with a secure platform that includes reliable customer support. While the company’s success speaks for itself, there is plenty of room to grow. And since they received a hefty amount of funding in September 2021, they will likely do just that.

Homage

Another fantastic platform is Homage, which focuses on care and health services. It works by connecting professionals with consumers through their platform, making it easy for adults to find care in their area, both medical and otherwise. Homage is already operating in Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia, providing services that include:

• Home Personal Care: Local caregivers assist with activities of daily living (ADL), such as eating, bathing, and getting dressed. They allow people to live safely and independently.

• Home Nursing: Licensed nurses come and save people a trip to the hospital. They can provide care in a variety of ways, including simple and complex nursing procedures.

• Home Medical: Licensed doctors can show up if someone is feeling sick and take a look. They can respond 24/7 anywhere in Singapore and do anything from examinations to simple medical procedures.

There is more to Homage as well, including therapy, telemedicine, and medicine delivery. Moreover, they do it all through a slick platform that makes it easy to customize a plan and get needed care.

The company has already seen four rounds of funding, with the last being in 2020. During that previous round of funding, it partnered with one of Japan’s largest healthcare IT providers, positioning it for massive growth. That growth is expected to continue in 2022 and beyond.

LingoAce

Yet another promising startup from Singapore is LingoAce, an education platform meant to teach people the Chinese language. Their main target is young learners, with the company attempting to cater to them with fun and engaging lessons. In fact, one of its biggest accomplishments is combining traditional teaching methods with technology.

• Gamification
• Bold Illustrations
• Interactive Quizzes
• Singing

The company does many things to create passive learning opportunities, making learning the language entertaining. But there is more to it than simple games and illustrations. The Chinese syllabus is globally accredited. It is also taught by native-speaking teachers with experience.

Additionally, LingoAce utilizes optimized content and personalized reports to ensure every student gets the most out of it. Not only are there different plans to follow, but the small class sizes and frequent engagement keeps every student at the center of attention.

Over its lifetime, LingoAce has seen six rounds of funding, with their most recent being Series B and C funding, both in 2021. During their Series C funding in December 2021, they raised over $100 million, providing the resources for growth. Therefore, they are definitely a SE Asian startup to look out for in 2022.

Prytek

Founded in 2017, Prytek is a corporate investment group. Their main focus is combining tech and service companies. In fact, they create legacy service businesses to combine with tech, creating innovative solutions and increasing margins. Basically, they make investments and control companies.

Their reach is quite extensive, with Prytek involved in various sectors, including financial services, tech education, and HR. Moreover, their stats are quite impressive, with Prytek involved in over 50 tech products and solutions. They have also invested in more than 30 technologies since their founding.

Prytek has nine offices around the world and works with over 250 clients. So, while it has its headquarters in Singapore, it is already looking to have greater reach. Moreover, after recently receiving over $100 million in funding in November of 2021, it is in a prime position to grow.

Near

Near is a company that is in the business of intelligence. It is a massive source of intelligence, ranging from people and places to products. In fact, they connect the physical and digital world with data on more than 1.6 billion people from over 40 countries. Moreover, it is all privacy-led, mitigating risks on both ends.

Near provides data intelligence in a variety of ways, leveraging multiple products to give businesses exactly what they need to find success.

• Carbon: Focuses on enriching digital-world customer data with real-world attributes. The goal is to give businesses a complete understanding of their customers. Carbon makes data better, syncs and enriches data, manages privacy, and gives actionable intelligence.

• Vista: There is a focus on places with Vista, which gives businesses data, analytics, and insight on locations. The insights also include historical data and the data needed to outperform competition using visitation trends. Moreover, custom analysis is offered for things like travel and tourism and real estate.

• Allspark: The purpose of Allspark is to simplify marketing with AI. AI is becoming more and more important, and Near is already utilizing it effectively. It analyzes data to help maximize return on investment (ROI), customer acquisition and retention, and lifetime value.

The technology and insights of Near make them stand out. Not only are they a major player in data intelligence, but their use of AI is sophisticated and only becoming more relevant. Moreover, their recent activity might make Near even more successful in the future.

Final Thoughts

The region of Southeast Asia has seen considerable investment in recent years, and there is a good chance the trend continues upward. That provides the startups in the area to gain the capital they need to grow and expand. Moreover, with so many great companies appearing, it is incredibly important to keep an eye on these startups.