Tired of ads? Enjoy an ad-free experience by signing up.
Terence Lee · · 3 min read

9 Southeast Asian startups you should invest in right now

At the inaugural Asia Leaders Summit in Singapore, nine fundraising startups from Southeast Asia took the stage to present to a roomful of tech C-suites and investors about their goals and progress. One common trait about these startups is that they’ve gotten traction of some sort, and are set to see substantial growth this year.

Some of these companies are also reachable on Techlist.Asia – our platform for connecting investors with startups – so contact them if you’re interested to find out more. In no order of merit, here they are:

1. Coda Payments – Singapore

Coda Payments gives customers an easy way to buy stuff online using their pre- and post-paid mobile accounts. It helps mobile operators better monetize through direct billing. The company has partnered with 45 online publishers and telcos in Southeast Asia in the past year (contact on Techlist).

2. Piktochart – Malaysia

piktochart

Piktochart is a freemium web tool for users to easily create infographics using a drag-and-drop interface. It is approaching the 800,000 registered user mark, and while it can’t publicly disclose revenue figures, we can say that it is monetizing rather healthily. It currently has a team of 20, and is aiming to raise US$1 million to US$2 million for its next round (contact on Techlist).

3. Playbasis – Thailand

Playbasis is a gamification startup that enables companies to use rewards and social games as a means to engage employees and customers. The company has secured Samsung, Playboy, Accenture, Canon and others as paying customers since it was founded in 2012 (contact on Techlist).

4. Noonswoon – Thailand

noonswoon

Noonswoon is an online dating app that introduces singles to at least one match a day, at precisely noon. The app currently has over 30,000 registered users (contact on Techlist).

5. iMoney – Malaysia

iMoney is a free-to-use personal finance website that helps users compare loans, credit cards, and other banking services. Founded in April 2012, the company has made a low six-figures in annual revenue, and is aiming to hit US$1.6 million this year. It has a working relationship with a majority of Malaysia’s banks (contact on Techlist).

6. Appota – Vietnam

Appota is a mobile content distribution platform for developers and game publishers in emerging countries. It has an SDK and API to integrate features like user authentication, e-wallets, and mobile ads.

While it can’t publicly disclose revenue figures, we can say that its most recent monthly revenue number is equivalent to what it was earning in a quarter last year. It has completed a Series B round, and is raising its Series C (contact on Techlist).

7. Burufly – Indonesia

Burufly is a meta travel search site with a focus on user-generated and original travel-related content. The site has 950,000 registered users (it did not disclose active figures), with 20,000 reviewers sharing about 85,000 places. A total of 170,000 questions and comments were asked on the site. According to SimilarWeb, it is the second most visited travel site in Indonesia (contact on Techlist).

8. Qraved – Indonesia

9. Kalibrr – Philippines

Stay ahead in Asia’s tech landscape

You've reached your 2 free content limit for the month. Sign up for free to read the full story.

🏄 For casual readers / 👶 Free

Basic

US$0

Free forever

Get instant access to this article and more every month

0 premium content

Unlimited news briefs

5

5 articles

Ad-free reading experience

Just US$0 per day

⌛Sign up in 20s. No payment details needed.

📖 For learners / 👍 Starter

Lite

US$4.92/month

Billed annually at US$59/year

Get instant access to this article and more every month

4

4 premium content

Unlimited news briefs & articles

Ad-free reading experience

Just US$0.17 per day

Cancel anytime

Our subscriber community includes professionals from these companies:

Stay updated on the go with our mobile app.

Get latest insights with smoother, more personalized experience through TIA mobile app.

TIA Writer

Terence Lee

I like analyzing and digging into the real goings-on in the tech industry. Holds these crypto: BTC, Eth, Matic