Top 10 Southeast Asian Startups of 2025

Ninja Van is Southeast Asia's largest last-mile logistics startup, operating across six countries — Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam — with a network of over 2,000 distribution hubs and 60,000 delivery drivers. Founded in Singapore in 2014, the company has processed over 2 billion parcels and in 2024 surpassed USD 1 billion in annualized revenue, cementing its unicorn status. Its proprietary route optimization AI, which processes over 5 million delivery data points daily, has reduced failed delivery rates by 40% compared to industry averages.

Flash Express is Thailand's fastest-growing domestic logistics company, founded in 2017 by Chinese entrepreneur Komsan Lee, which grew from zero to 1 million daily deliveries in just three years by offering cheaper rates and better tracking technology than incumbent players. The company raised a USD 200 million Series E round in 2022 at a valuation of over USD 1 billion, becoming Thailand's first logistics unicorn. Its success prompted it to expand into Vietnam and other markets, and it is widely credited with forcing a sector-wide price war that dramatically reduced e-commerce delivery costs for Thai consumers.

HealthifyMe, originally an Indian AI-powered nutrition and fitness startup, executed one of the most successful Southeast Asia market expansions of 2024, launching dedicated products for Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia with culturally localized food databases covering over 10,000 local dishes. The company's AI coach, which provides real-time dietary guidance, has over 40 million registered users globally and expanded its SEA user base by 300% in 2024. The startup secured USD 75 million in funding specifically for its SEA push and partnered with several regional healthcare providers to integrate with corporate wellness programs.

Carro is Southeast Asia's largest used car marketplace and automotive fintech platform, a Singapore-founded unicorn that uses AI to price, inspect, and finance pre-owned vehicles across Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Japan. The company's proprietary AI-powered vehicle inspection technology uses computer vision to assess car condition in under 10 minutes, cutting the traditional inspection process from days to hours. Carro raised a USD 360 million Series C round in 2021 — the largest Series C ever raised by a Southeast Asian startup at the time — and processes over 100,000 vehicle transactions annually.

Funding Societies (known as Modalku in Indonesia) is Southeast Asia's largest SME digital financing platform, having disbursed over USD 4.5 billion in business loans to over 100,000 small and medium enterprises across Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam since its founding in 2015. The company uses machine learning models trained on millions of regional SME data points to make credit decisions in hours rather than the weeks required by traditional banks. In 2024, it received approval to operate as a digital wholesale bank in Singapore, becoming one of only four companies to hold such a license.

Insider is a B2B marketing platform and one of the most valuable SaaS startups headquartered in Singapore, providing AI-powered customer experience and personalization software to over 1,200 enterprise clients across 26 countries. The company achieved unicorn status in 2022 at a USD 1.2 billion valuation and was recognized on G2's list of Top 100 Best Software Products in 2024, the only Southeast Asia-based company to make the list. Its platform processes over 1 trillion data points per year to enable real-time personalized marketing for clients including Unilever, Samsung, Singapore Airlines, and Estee Lauder.

Xendit is Southeast Asia's leading payment infrastructure startup, providing payment gateway, disbursement, and invoicing APIs to over 6,000 businesses — from startups to Fortune 500 companies — across Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The company processes over USD 9 billion in annual payment volume and became a unicorn in 2021 with a USD 1 billion valuation. Its single API integration that enables businesses to accept every major local payment method across multiple SEA markets (including GoPay, OVO, GrabPay, Maya, and bank transfers) is considered a key enabler of e-commerce growth in the region.

Carsome is Malaysia's most valuable startup and Southeast Asia's leading used car e-commerce platform, providing end-to-end services for buying, selling, and financing used vehicles across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore. The company processes over 100,000 car transactions per year and achieved unicorn status in 2022 at a USD 1.7 billion valuation, the highest-ever valuation for a Malaysian startup. Carsome's proprietary 175-point vehicle inspection standard — applied consistently at its 20+ inspection and refurbishment centers — has established a new benchmark for used car trust and transparency in the region.

GCash is the Philippines's dominant mobile wallet and digital finance super-app, with over 94 million registered users — equivalent to over 80% of the Philippine adult population — and annual gross transaction value exceeding PHP 10 trillion (USD 175 billion) in 2024. Operated by Mynt (a Globe-Ant Group joint venture), GCash offers payments, savings, insurance, investments, and loans through a single app, and has been instrumental in driving financial inclusion in a country where over 40% of adults lacked formal bank accounts as recently as 2019. GCash was named Southeast Asia's Most Valuable Fintech Startup by the Financial Times in 2024.

Ninja Van is Southeast Asia's largest last-mile logistics startup, operating across six countries — Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam — with a network of over 2,000 distribution hubs and 60,000 delivery drivers. Founded in Singapore in 2014, the company has processed over 2 billion parcels and in 2024 surpassed USD 1 billion in annualized revenue, cementing its unicorn status. Its proprietary route optimization AI, which processes over 5 million delivery data points daily, has reduced failed delivery rates by 40% compared to industry averages.

Flash Express is Thailand's fastest-growing domestic logistics company, founded in 2017 by Chinese entrepreneur Komsan Lee, which grew from zero to 1 million daily deliveries in just three years by offering cheaper rates and better tracking technology than incumbent players. The company raised a USD 200 million Series E round in 2022 at a valuation of over USD 1 billion, becoming Thailand's first logistics unicorn. Its success prompted it to expand into Vietnam and other markets, and it is widely credited with forcing a sector-wide price war that dramatically reduced e-commerce delivery costs for Thai consumers.

HealthifyMe, originally an Indian AI-powered nutrition and fitness startup, executed one of the most successful Southeast Asia market expansions of 2024, launching dedicated products for Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia with culturally localized food databases covering over 10,000 local dishes. The company's AI coach, which provides real-time dietary guidance, has over 40 million registered users globally and expanded its SEA user base by 300% in 2024. The startup secured USD 75 million in funding specifically for its SEA push and partnered with several regional healthcare providers to integrate with corporate wellness programs.

Carro is Southeast Asia's largest used car marketplace and automotive fintech platform, a Singapore-founded unicorn that uses AI to price, inspect, and finance pre-owned vehicles across Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Japan. The company's proprietary AI-powered vehicle inspection technology uses computer vision to assess car condition in under 10 minutes, cutting the traditional inspection process from days to hours. Carro raised a USD 360 million Series C round in 2021 — the largest Series C ever raised by a Southeast Asian startup at the time — and processes over 100,000 vehicle transactions annually.

Funding Societies (known as Modalku in Indonesia) is Southeast Asia's largest SME digital financing platform, having disbursed over USD 4.5 billion in business loans to over 100,000 small and medium enterprises across Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam since its founding in 2015. The company uses machine learning models trained on millions of regional SME data points to make credit decisions in hours rather than the weeks required by traditional banks. In 2024, it received approval to operate as a digital wholesale bank in Singapore, becoming one of only four companies to hold such a license.

Insider is a B2B marketing platform and one of the most valuable SaaS startups headquartered in Singapore, providing AI-powered customer experience and personalization software to over 1,200 enterprise clients across 26 countries. The company achieved unicorn status in 2022 at a USD 1.2 billion valuation and was recognized on G2's list of Top 100 Best Software Products in 2024, the only Southeast Asia-based company to make the list. Its platform processes over 1 trillion data points per year to enable real-time personalized marketing for clients including Unilever, Samsung, Singapore Airlines, and Estee Lauder.

Xendit is Southeast Asia's leading payment infrastructure startup, providing payment gateway, disbursement, and invoicing APIs to over 6,000 businesses — from startups to Fortune 500 companies — across Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The company processes over USD 9 billion in annual payment volume and became a unicorn in 2021 with a USD 1 billion valuation. Its single API integration that enables businesses to accept every major local payment method across multiple SEA markets (including GoPay, OVO, GrabPay, Maya, and bank transfers) is considered a key enabler of e-commerce growth in the region.

Carsome is Malaysia's most valuable startup and Southeast Asia's leading used car e-commerce platform, providing end-to-end services for buying, selling, and financing used vehicles across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore. The company processes over 100,000 car transactions per year and achieved unicorn status in 2022 at a USD 1.7 billion valuation, the highest-ever valuation for a Malaysian startup. Carsome's proprietary 175-point vehicle inspection standard — applied consistently at its 20+ inspection and refurbishment centers — has established a new benchmark for used car trust and transparency in the region.

GCash is the Philippines's dominant mobile wallet and digital finance super-app, with over 94 million registered users — equivalent to over 80% of the Philippine adult population — and annual gross transaction value exceeding PHP 10 trillion (USD 175 billion) in 2024. Operated by Mynt (a Globe-Ant Group joint venture), GCash offers payments, savings, insurance, investments, and loans through a single app, and has been instrumental in driving financial inclusion in a country where over 40% of adults lacked formal bank accounts as recently as 2019. GCash was named Southeast Asia's Most Valuable Fintech Startup by the Financial Times in 2024.