🌏 East Asia Startup Guide 2025: AI, Chips & Unicorns
Everything founders need to know — region-wide + country spotlights, backed with data and insight.
👋🏽 Intro
Hey friends! It’s Lolita Taub from Ganas Ventures kicking-off our Ganas Global Tour across East Asia. This guide pulls insights from top ecosystem players including Brinc, Betatron, AppWorks, Coral Capital, and Incubate Fund.
Why East Asia? Spanning Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mongolia and China, East Asia is home to some of the world’s most advanced tech ecosystems. Together, they’re home to over 1.6 billion people and some of the world’s top tech talent. China alone spent over $440 billion on R&D in 2024, while South Korea invests more than 4.8% of its GDP in innovation, one of the highest rates globally. East Asia dominates in semiconductors (Taiwan’s TSMC controls over 50% of the global market) and AI (China is second only to the US in AI investment, with $14.6 billion raised by AI startups in 2023). Governments across the region back startups with major funding and policy support, making East Asia a launchpad for breakthroughs in AI, chips, climate tech, and beyond. (Tech Collective, Technode, Hyphen)
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🧭 How to Use This Guide
- Founders: Navigate key local investors, programs, and workspace networks to scale effectively.
- Investors: Identify rising sectors and top-tier startups for smart early entry.
- Ecosystem Builders: Learn where to build bridges whether via corporate pilots or hyper-local innovation hubs.
🌐 Region-Wide Analysis
- 📉 Q1 2025 slowdown: Asia-wide funding dropped 40% YoY to $13B — first decline since 2014 (KPMG, Hyphen Partners)
- 🏙 Startup Density & Scale: Japan hosts ~22,000 startups and 2,300 scaleups, with Seoul and Taipei following closely (Bridge, Monde)
- 🦄 Unicorn Pool: East Asia is home to over 330 unicorns as of 2025 — a sharp rise from under 150 in 2018 — with China leading at 281, followed by South Korea (21), Japan (16), Hong Kong (10), Taiwan (1), and Vietnam (5). (Startupblink, FF)
- 🤝🏽 Corporate/Public Hybrid Models: Japan and Korea are leaning into open innovation via CVCs and tech partnerships, e.g., Toyota + Interstellar. (FT)
- 🌱 Sustainability & Green Tech Leadership: East Asia’s startups are increasingly focused on sustainability and climate-centric innovation, with significant investments in renewable energy, clean technology, and urban environmental solutions — positioning the region as a global leader in green tech and digital transformation. (GITEX)
💡 POV: East Asia blends deep technical capability with strategic scale — driven by innovation ecosystems that enlist corporations, governments, and deep-tech founders, powering with over 330 unicorns, $13B in Q1’25 funding, and China investing $440B annually in R&D.
🏙 Regional Spotlights
🇨🇳 China — Deep-Tech & AI Powerhouse
- China is home to 247 unicorns. (Digital Bank BRICs)
- Innovation is thriving in AI and deep-tech with major CVC leadership
- Startup stars: MiniMax (Glow app & LLMs), Zhipu AI (GLM‑4.0/video LLM), Moonshot AI (Kimi model, $3.3B valuation)
- Made In China 2025 Policy: Initiative to drive self-reliance in cutting-edge technologies such as new energy vehicle production, robotics, quantum computing, 6G infrastructure, and many others (CNN)
💡 POV: China hits hard on scale and state-backed R&D — this is where institutional muscle meets AI-first founders.
🇭🇰 Hong Kong — Fintech & Cross-Border Node
- WeLab is a standout: it serves over 70 million users across Asia, has a combined loan book above HK$5 billion in Hong Kong, and became the city’s first digital bank to achieve sustainable profitability in late 2024, earning recognition as a top-ranked virtual bank. (Fintech HK)
- Ecosystem: Hong Kong’s Cyberport hosts over 2,100 startups and tech companies, with key ecosystem support from accelerators like Brinc and Betatron. (Cyberport)
- Access to China and Southeast Asia strengthens global scaling potential.
- Startup Stars: Klook ($1.3B+ Valuation), Babel Finance ($2B~ Valuation), HashKey ($1.2B+ Valuation)
- Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP): Government-backed program that provides infrastructure, incubation, and various other forms of support for startups. Over 2000+ startups and 14 unicorns (7 local and 7 overseas).
💡 POV: Hong Kong equals fintech depth with international connectivity. It’s a prime spot for regtech and embedded finance plays, hosting 1,100+ fintech companies (over 10 unicorns), with the sector projected to reach $606B by 2032.
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🇹🇼 Taiwan — Deep Tech and Chips Nexus
- AsiaYo, a leading Taiwanese travel-tech startup, has raised over $22 million (Series C). (CBInsights)
- TSMC’s AI-driven chip innovation and massive manufacturing expansion, alongside AppWorks’ support for B2B deep tech founders, make Taiwan an ideal hub for startups building at the intersection of manufacturing and AI. (Reuters)
- ProLogium: Producing ultra-thin, flexible solid lithium batteries and raised approximately $700M so far.
- “Ten Major AI Infrastructure Projects” Initiative: Target $510B+ Economic Value plan to rapidly accelerate silicon photonics, quantum technologies, AI robotics, sovereign AI infrastructure, computing power expansion, and cross-industry AI adoption.
💡 POV: Taiwan’s ecosystem offers low-barrier access to chip-focused acceleration — unique even among APAC deep-tech hubs- with over 60% of global foundry capacity, $9.2B in chip innovation funding, and government grants for startups.
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🇯🇵 Japan — Stable, Corporate-Backed Scale
- The Japanese government has pledged over ¥1 trillion in chip and quantum tech funding, supports 22,000+ startups, and is driving innovation beyond Tokyo. (Quantum)
- Coral Capital, NTT Startup Challenge, and Incubate Fund are actively investing in GenAI, SaaS, and deep tech.
- Exits in space and energy (e.g., Sustech, Axelspace) show why infrastructure tech matters. (Reuters)
- Startup Stars: SmartHR ($1.6B+ Valuation), OPN ($1B+ Valuation), SakanaAI ($1.5B+ Valuation), Spiber ($1B+ Valuation)
- Japan’s 5-Year Startup Development Plan: Policy by the Japanese Government to have 100K startups and 100 unicorns in Japan by 2027.
- Japan’s Society 5.0 Plan: National vision to have a “super smart” society that is deeply integrated to cutting-edge technology such as AI, IoT and robotics to address growing societal challenges.
💡 POV: Japan succeeds by layering local corporate strength with global distribution — founders benefit from open pilot programs and $7B in annual CVC dollars.
🗓️ RSVP for our Japan Ganas Coffee here.
🇰🇷 South Korea — Deep Tech Factory
- South Korea invests over $20B yearly in R&D, with the K-Startup Grand Challenge drawing nearly 19,000 global applications annually. (Korea Times)
- D.CAMP, FastFive, and Orange Planet are local incubators connecting startups to spot funding and M&A. (Accelerator)
- Focus areas: AI, biotech, semiconductors, and green-tech. (MSIT)
- Super-Gap Startup 1000+ Project: Initiative from 2023–2027 to support startups from strategically identified industries such as AI, BioTech, semiconductors, robotics. Rebellions from the program just attained unicorn status ($1B+) as of 2025.
💡 POV: Korea integrates global founders via hybrid accelerators and R&D grants. This is a model for ecosystem builders, with over 200+ active accelerators, and government programs supporting over 3,000 foreign-led startups since 2020.
🇲🇳 Mongolia — The Steppe’s Digital Rise
- Government initiatives like the Mongolian Startup Program and Agile Innovation Fund provide vital seed funding and promote entrepreneurship beyond Ulaanbaatar.
- Focus: Edtech, Fintech, Agritech, Ecommerce
- Chinggis Fund: Sovereign wealth fund established in May 2024 to invest in long-term socio-economic development to support various initiatives including innovation.
💡 POV: Mongolia’s startup ecosystem is a nascent but increasingly active frontier market driven by a young population and growing digital adoption. Its geographical position and unique market conditions foster a strong impetus for startups to seek cross-border opportunities early on, making it an interesting, albeit high-risk, environment for patient investors.
👀 Founders & Startups to Watch
- WeLab (HK): Nearly 70M users; breakeven announced in Dec 2024
- Blued: LGBTQ+ app hitting ~1M daily active users; 65% YoY growth
- AsiaYo: Travel tech expansion into Japan/Korea, $12.5M Series C
- Wadiz: Korea’s premier crowdfunding platform facilitating KRW 1.3T in transactions
💰 Who’s Investing
- Brinc: Early-stage in deep-tech and climate; expanded to Seoul via acquisition
- Betatron: Invests across HK, Japan, Singapore in B2B/AI/green tech
- Vertex Ventures & Temasek: Co-investing in early-stage Founders in Japan and Korea
- Corporate CVCs from LG, Samsung, and Hyundai are deeply active in the ecosystem
🚀 Ecosystem Builders
- AppWorks: Deep-tech accelerator with 600 alumni
- Coral Capital: Host of multiple deep-tech accelerator programs
- Brinc: Multi-country model expanding across APAC
- K‑Startup Grand Challenge: Founder-first gateway to Korea; ~$633K available grants
💬 Events & Networks
- StartmeupHK: draws 4,200+ startups annually
- OneStepBeyond (Tokyo): Highlights next-gen unicorns in AI, health, fintech
- Global Blockchain Congress: Regional crypto & compliance innovation
- Active communities: Startup Grind Seoul/Tokyo, Slush Tokyo, Tech in Asia East Asia
🏢 Founder Hubs
- Hong Kong: Cyberport, The Hive, CoCoon
- Taipei: Taiwan Tech Arena, FutureWard, Startup Events in Taiwan
- Tokyo: Desk109, Tokyo Startup Gateway
- Seoul: D.CAMP, FastFive, Orange Planet
🔥 Ganas POV & Local Voices
“From fintech scale-ups in HK to AI-powered energy in Japan, it’s East Asia’s collaborative ecosystem model — powered by public-private reach — that makes this region world-class.” — Lolita Taub, GP, Ganas Ventures
📚 Further Reading
🙌🏽 Community Contributors
Built with early input from Paolo Ottaviani and Meetash “Max” Narayan (Ganas Ventures), Josh Taub (TIA), Danny Chen (Optivide), and more!
🦄 About
Ganas Global Tour: The Ganas Global Tour is our boots-on-the-ground initiative to connect with local startup ecosystems, amplify underrepresented voices, and co-create the future of venture — one region at a time. From founder coffees to ecosystem guides, we’re building the relationships that will shape the Ganas Global Fund. Learn more here and join the Ganas Global Community!
Ganas Ventures & Lolita Taub: Ganas Ventures is a Latina-led VC investing in early-stage software startups across the U.S. and LATAM. Led by Lolita Taub — a Silicon Valley veteran with 100+ investments, $70M+ in tech sales, and multiple exits — we back underestimated founders building category-defining companies. Recognized by Forbes, Nasdaq, LAVCA and more. Learn more about Ganas and Lolita at ganas.vc.
