Alibaba Cloud honors 100 players in SEA’s tech and startup ecosystem in its new campaign

Let’s rewind 10 years and think about what Southeast Asia looked like.

Ride-hailing was nascent, food delivery was limited only to a handful of fast food restaurants, cash was still king, and ecommerce was a fledgling industry. “Startup” was a relatively unknown term, and the region’s tech companies were few and far between.

Today, things have changed tremendously. Southeast Asia saw 20 million new internet users come online this year alone, and digital services that were once unknown – like e-groceries and e-wallets – have become a part of everyday life.

Photo credit: tuiphotoengineer / 123RF

The region’s startup scene is also continuing to grow, raising US$25.7 billion in funding in 2021 and faring well despite the funding slowdown in 2022. It’s produced several notable tech companies that are now listed on global stock exchanges as well.

However, Southeast Asia still has a way to go. The penetration rate of digital services falls short in many parts of the region, and there’s certainly a tech talent crunch.

These are hurdles that Southeast Asia will need to overcome as its tech and startup ecosystem marches forward.

Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, is hoping to make a difference with Project AsiaForward.

Moving forward

Launched in June 2021, Project AsiaForward is an initiative that aims to drive tech development in the region. Through this initiative, Alibaba Cloud has committed to investing an initial US$1 billion of funding and resources to empower 100,000 developers and support the growth of 100,000 tech startups in Asia Pacific over the next three years.

Alibaba Cloud, as the leading cloud services provider in the region, also hopes to bring its expertise and capabilities to the wider market. It currently has 86 availability zones in 28 regions around the world, including in five Southeast Asian countries – Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. The firm has also established an international innovation center in Kuala Lumpur and runs startup accelerators, courses, and workshops to upskill talent.

Bridge Song, general manager at the multinational corporation key accounts business at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence / Photo credit: Alibaba Cloud

With Project AsiaForward, “Alibaba Cloud wants to foster and advance digitalization talent, digital entrepreneurs, and digital technologies in Asia,” says Bridge Song. He’s the general manager at the multinational corporation key accounts business at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

The project involves a wide variety of different programs and initiatives to achieve its goal.

For instance, Alibaba Cloud has also recently launched another element of this initiative – the AsiaStar 10×10 campaign, which honors 100 companies, communities, and projects that have affected meaningful change in the region over the past year.

Asia’s stars

According to Song, Alibaba Cloud decided to launch the AsiaStar 10×10 campaign in recognition of players in the Southeast Asia tech ecosystem that have made a difference by providing support and inspiration especially in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We believe that strong communities are the bedrock of any thriving innovation ecosystem in the world,” he says. “We want the campaign to not only be a form of encouragement but also a gesture of commitment from Alibaba Cloud that we are here to support the ecosystem.”

Photo credit: Alibaba Cloud

In this way, the AsiaStar 10×10 campaign is not only an avenue to pay tribute to the key players and contributors in the space. The project is also a way for Alibaba Cloud to paint a picture of the broader Southeast Asian tech and startup ecosystem.

“We wanted this list of 100 companies to be representative and a reflection of what’s going on for the innovation ecosystem in Southeast Asia,” Song shares. “It’s a way to evaluate and understand tech trends in the space, to identify areas where Alibaba Cloud can focus on [with Project AsiaForward].”

The first edition of the campaign kicked off in August and received over 300 nominations across its 10 different categories: Trailblazers, Gamechangers, Growth, Enablers, Explorers, Open Sources, Frontiers, Impact, Investors, and Launchpads.

The campaign identified 10 notable players within each of these categories. Companies and platforms recognized by the AsiaStar 10×10 campaign ran the gamut, from startups to VCs to accelerators and incubators in the region.

Each category had its own set of criteria for judging. For example, the Trailblazers category focused on series B to pre-IPO companies that have played an essential role in driving technological innovation in the region. Businesses under this segment were assessed according to rubrics such as innovativeness, product coverage, business performance, and influence and reputation.

Photo credit: Alibaba Cloud

Some awardees included Malaysian drone startup Aerodyne, Singapore-based logistics firm Ninja Van, and Thai insurtech company Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Investors category looked at criteria such as assets under management, portfolio sizes, number of exits, and the overall value creation for regional startups. Some VC firms who were recognized by the AsiaStar 10×10 campaign include AlphaJWC Ventures, East Ventures, and Gobi Partners.

The final list of awardees was decided by a panel of 23 judges, hailing from across the tech and startup industry. Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Singapore general manager Derek Wang, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India partner Gary Khoeng, and KrAsia managing director Robyn Tan were among the judges.

“With a mix of representatives from media outlets, government agencies, executives from Alibaba Cloud, and VC investors from all across Southeast Asia, we wanted to cover as much ground as possible,” shares Song.

The road ahead

The AsiaStar 10×10 campaign was well-received by the regional startup scene, says Song. Nominees and judges alike felt that it was a meaningful and essential way to encourage organizations in the space, especially given the challenging macroeconomic environment.

But for Alibaba Cloud, things have only just begun. This is the first edition of the AsiaStar 10×10 campaign, and it is still early days for Project AsiaForward as a whole.

“We hope the AsiaStar 10×10 list can become an annual landmark summary release to discover high-quality companies and institutions in the Southeast Asian startup ecosystem,” Song says.

And as Project AsiaForward continues to develop, Song shares that Alibaba Cloud will continue to contribute to the growth of innovation and tech development in the region the best way it can.

“We want to use our experience and technology to empower more developers and encourage more people to participate in the Southeast Asian technological innovation ecosystem and prosper together,” he concludes.

As part of Alibaba Cloud’s Project AsiaForward initiative, Alibaba Cloud is bringing together key players in the Southeast Asian innovation ecosystem to launch the AsiaStar 10×10 campaign. The initiative recognizes 100 companies, communities, and projects that have affected meaningful change in the region over the past year.

Check out the full list of awardees for 2021 here.

This content was produced by Tech in Asia Studios, which connects brands with Asia’s tech community. Learn more about partnering with Tech in Asia Studios.