This story appeared in Forbes Asia on August 31, 2021. Subscribe to Forbes Asia
From underwater drones to satellite propulsion systems and everything in between, the first Forbes Asia Top 100 Watch List focuses on well-known small companies and startups emerging in the Asia-Pacific region. As the global economy is struggling in a pandemic, these agile companies are on the path to growth. Part of the reason they were included on the list was to solve problems such as improving traffic in crowded cities, expanding affordable connectivity in remote areas, and preventing food waste. Represents 17 countries and regions. Popular categories include biotechnology and healthcare, e-commerce and retail, food and hospitality, and education and recruitment. The lively startup communities in India and Singapore produced 22 and 19 companies respectively. There are 10 in Hong Kong and 8 in Indonesia. There are only four candidates in mainland China, because many candidates’ income or funds have exceeded the prescribed maximum limit.
Edited by Jeanhee Kim and John Kang
Reporting by Jonathan Burgos, Rina Caballar, Ramakrishnan Narayanan, Danielle Keeton-Olsen, Amit Prakash, James Simms, Yue Wang and Ardian Wibisono.
Method: In order to select our 100 companies worthy of attention, Forbes Asia Online collected submissions and invited accelerators, incubators, SME advocacy organizations, universities, venture capitalists and others to nominate companies. The last 100 submissions were selected from more than 900 submissions. To be eligible for consideration, the company must be headquartered in the Asia-Pacific region, established for at least one year, privately owned, for-profit, and its latest annual revenue or total capital as of August 1st does not exceed US$20 million. Our team evaluated the content of each submission, examining indicators such as the positive impact on the region or industry, strong revenue growth or the ability to attract capital, promising business models or markets, and persuasive stories. The editor reserves the right to delete or replace any company or individual listed on the list based on any new information that may disqualify them from being listed.
With the popularity of self-driving cars, the safety of their computer systems has become more and more important. Autocrypt is a spin-off of Seoul-based Penta Security Systems, which provides cyber security and data theft protection for these cars. Autocrypt said it has raised US$15 million from investors including Hyundai Venture Capital and Ulmus Investment, with a valuation of approximately US$45 million. The company expects this year's revenue to reach 8.5 million U.S. dollars, higher than last year's 3.4 million U.S. dollars. In addition to South Korea, Autocrypt said it has offices in Canada, China, and Japan, and will expand to Europe, Singapore, and the United States
After 15 years of using crutches in the motherland, Sun Xiaojun obtained a prosthesis in Japan, moved there and obtained a doctorate. Doctor of Engineering from the University of Tokyo. Sun founded BionicM to develop more natural and safer prostheses, including battery-powered knees and ankles. For example, it says that its robot's ankle can leave the ground and cross obstacles. He said that BionicM will start selling its robotic prostheses this year, priced at approximately US$45,000-lower than the cost of similar prostheses from the United States or Europe. In August 2020, BionicM stated that it raised US$4 million from investors such as the Japan Agency for the Promotion of Science and Technology and the investment department of the University of Tokyo in its Series A financing, almost doubling its total funding.
Captain Fresh, developed by Infifresh Foods, uses digital technology to simplify India's $30 billion seafood industry. The company said its real-time B2B platform uses artificial intelligence to help 550 retailers (a base that grew by more than 500% in a year) match customer orders with Indian fishermen and fish farms. Founder Utham Gowda said that the predictive model helps to purchase a supply of specific fish a few days before the customer places an order, so that it can be delivered to certain cities overnight. In July of this year, Captain Fresh stated that it had raised US$12 million in a Series A financing led by Accel Partners and Matrix Partners India.
Nalagenics is a genetic testing company focused on Asian populations. In response to the pandemic, it helped Indonesian hospitals set up Covid-19 testing laboratories and launched a saliva-based test in July, which is faster and cheaper than PCR testing. Nalagenetics is using its Covid-19 proceeds to focus on pharmacogenomics-studying how a person's genes respond to drugs. The company expects its annual revenue to grow by 80% next year, partly due to insurance company reimbursements and pharmaceutical company licensing data.
Main supporters: Entrepreneur First, Lumis Partners
Located in a city full of skyscrapers, RaSpect uses a combination of artificial intelligence, IoT sensing technology and robotics to inspect buildings for hazards-it says this is a more accurate, faster, and cheaper way than traditional inspections. method. RaSpect said it also extends to the predictive maintenance of elevators, escalators, heating and other systems used in buildings. This year it expects revenue to grow by 275% to US$3 million. In addition to the Alibaba Entrepreneur Fund and the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship Fund, it also stated that it has also received funding from the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, MindWorks and the accelerator ParticleX.
The main supporters of Betterplace, Qzense Labs and Raglan Food have been updated.