How old are Southeast Asia’s top-funded companies?

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Hello readers,

A decade can pass you by in a flash, and while I’ve lived less than 30 years (humblebrag!), it seems surreal to think I only began pursuing my diploma exactly 10 years ago.

Southeast Asia’s startups and big tech companies are just the same: The scene is a young one, and despite the successes of these companies now, there’s no telling what the future holds.

Today we look at,

• How long Southeast Asia’s top-funded startups have been in business
• The Indian company that’s offering two years’ pay in its bereavement policy
• Other newsy highlights such as WhatsApp suing the Indian government and Tesla’s new China-based data center

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Long live Southeast Asia’s startups

In the US, an estimated 96% of businesses fail in their first 10 years, but what about startups in Southeast Asia? We take a closer look at the region’s nascent startup market.

• Too young: Tech in Asia’s data for the region’s 50 top-funded startups since the year 2000 shows that 30% of the companies have now passed the 10-year mark. That said, the scene remains a young one: The oldest company on the list is Acronis, a Singapore-founded cybersecurity software firm that has been around for 18 years.
• Lion’s share: Naturally, tech major Grab claims the largest market share in Southeast Asia, having raised over US$12.1 billion in funding in less than a decade. Sea Group (11.8 years) and Gojek (10.9 years) follow closely behind with their total funds raised standing at roughly US$7.1 billion and US$5.4 billion, respectively.
• Fresh blood: Of course there’re newbies too – Indonesia’s LinkAja, a 2.5-year-old e-payments platform, is one of them. All of this shows promise, but our list reveals that only 0.26% of companies have exceeded the 20-year mark.

Read more: How old are Southeast Asia’s tech companies?

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