How old are Southeast Asia’s tech companies?

 

It’s been said that 96% of businesses fail in 10 years, but that’s based on US figures. Does this statistic also apply to startups in Southeast Asia?

Tech in Asia’s data for the region’s 50 top-funded startups shows that 15 companies or 30% have passed the 10-year mark. Acronis, a Singapore-founded cybersecurity software firm, has been around for 18 years, but none of the companies on this list have been in business for over two decades. The youngest companies that got the most funding are Branded Group, an online consumer products platform established in 2020, and LinkAja, an Indonesian e-payment service that launched in 2019.

But when we take a comprehensive look at the data we’ve gathered since 2000, only 9.15% out of 2,667 companies have lasted a decade, while the ones that can exceed 20 years comprise only 0.26% of the total data. 

The market for Southeast Asia’s startups, however, is still very young. With the quick adoption of technology and the increasing number of investments pouring into the region, new players are expected to emerge. Hopefully, existing companies will prove sustainable and stay in the game.

SOURCES

Data: Queena Wadyanti
Infographics: Susi Susanti
Analysis: Susi Susanti
Editing: Eileen C. Ang