Singapore, India among top countries by number of ‘scaleups’: report

Five Asian countries – China, India, Israel, Singapore, and South Korea – make up half of the top 10 countries with the most “scaleups,” a Startup Genome report found.

The Scaleup Report defined scaleups as startups valued at or above US$50 million. According to it, only 4.6% of startups worldwide have reached this threshold.

China tops the list in Asia, housing 1,491 such companies. This places it second worldwide, though that figure pales in comparison to the US’ 7,184.

India sits at fourth with 429 scaleups, and Israel at seventh with 246. Meanwhile South Korea takes ninth place with 164 and Singapore lands at 10th with 133.

Just missing the top 10 list is Japan, which came in 11th worldwide with 113 scaleups.

Notably, North American companies received 55% of VC funding worldwide, while Asian companies account for 31% of the total.

According to the report, Asian startups strictly focusing on markets beyond their home continent are less likely to hit the US$50 million valuation mark. Some factors that go into this include language and cultural barriers and the difference in market needs between Asia and its western counterparts.

The report also had one finding unique to Asia, which is that B2C startups are better positioned to become scaleups compared to B2B ones.

Globally, biotech and pharmaceuticals is the leading industry by number of scaleups, with more than 1,800 operating in that sector. Fintech follows closely with over 1,700.

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