Founders, are you ready to put your best pitch forward?

Dear community,

It’s that time of the year again – we’re gearing up for the annual Tech in Asia Conference. This year’s edition of our flagship event will be held from October 18 to 19 in Jakarta, Indonesia. This also means that the latest edition of Startup Arena, our highly anticipated pitching competition, is just around the corner.

In case you didn’t know, Startup Arena is where promising early-stage startups across Asia show what they’re made of as they compete for cash prizes and global visibility. For the third consecutive year, Tech in Asia is partnering with East Ventures to bring this event to life.

In the 2022 edition, Zuno Carbon, an end-to-end carbon management solutions firm based in Singapore, emerged as the champion, taking home a cash prize of US$10,000.

In addition, third placer Little Wallet – a money management app designed to teach teens and kids the value of money – went on to raise a US$1.6 million pre-seed round.

CBE Eco-Solutions CEO and co-founder Yao Zhiyi at Tech in Asia Startup Arena 2022 / Photo credit: Tech in Asia

“It is with great enthusiasm that we are again teaming up with Tech in Asia for this year’s Startup Arena,” says Willson Cuaca, co-founder and managing partner at East Ventures. “We anticipate a wave of ingenuity sweeping across Southeast Asia. The stage is set for brilliant minds to illuminate the path forward with their innovative ideas and solutions.”

Important details

The battle begins anew. This year, we’re looking for firms that:

• Operate in Southeast Asia
• Have a prototype, minimum viable product, or existing operations
• Have raised less than US$10 million
• Have a compelling English-language pitch explaining the problem, solution, risk, and potential that drives their business

Here’s the evaluation criteria:

• Targeted problem, solution, and scalability of solution
• Caliber of the founding team
• Business model and ability to generate future financial returns
• Technology and business innovation
• Execution abilities and traction

Based on these criteria, six applicants will be selected.

If you’re up for the challenge, apply now! Submissions will close on September 29, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. (GMT+7).

The numbers that matter

Competing in our Startup Arena will draw millions of eyeballs to your business and connect you to investors and fellow founders. The winning teams can also look forward to prizes worth over US$10,000.

Being a participant also means you get to join an exclusive group of alumni. Since 2012, Tech in Asia has run over a dozen Startup Arena pitch battles and screened thousands of submissions, choosing 126 companies across 17 countries to date. Out of the 126 startups, 109 are still operating (that’s 86.5%) and 67 have raised a total of over US$486 million in venture funding.

We’re looking forward to your turn at the Arena as you take another step towards realizing your startup dreams. See you on stage!