Startup Arena - Tech in Asia Conference 2024

Southeast Asia’s most exciting startups will battle it out in front of top-tier expert judges and a live audience. They’ll compete for global visibility, equity-free prize money, media coverage, and other exciting prizes.

Overview

What is Startup Arena?

Startup Arena is our community’s most highly anticipated event each year.

This flagship Pitch Battle invites five founders to pitch live to a panel of investors on the Conference Main Stage. Witness them take center stage, ready to revolutionize industries and shape the future of innovation.

300+

Participating startups

$50,000+

Total funds raised

7

Winners since 2017

Startup Arena 2024 Finalists

Startup Arena 2024 Prizes

Prize Sponsors

Prize Structure

Winner

MYR50K Stripe fee-free processing credits

Sunway iLabs Office Hours

1-year free of Carta Captables Scale plan

1,000 Vase AI credits

12 FutureLab credits

Prizes of Startup Arena finalists

Runner up

MYR40K Stripe fee-free processing credits

Sunway iLabs Office Hours

1-year free of Carta Captables Scale plan

700 Vase AI credits

8 FutureLab credits

Third Place

MYR30K Stripe fee-free processing credits

Sunway iLabs Office Hours

1-year free of Carta Captables Scale plan

500 Vase AI credits

5 FutureLab credits

4th - 5th place

MYR10K Stripe fee-free processing credits

Sunway iLabs Office Hours

200 Vase AI credits

3 FutureLab credits

All finalists

A Startup Factory exhibition booth for two days at KL Conference (worth US$220)

Travel stipend of up to US$350 for finalists traveling from outside of Malaysia

Startup Arena 2024 Judges

Startup Arena 2024 Mentors

Past winners

Handprint is Asia’s leading “regeneration-as-a-service” platform. Its mission is to regenerate the planet at scale by restoring and monitoring vital ecosystems.

Year founded: 2019
Website: https://handprint.tech

Zuno Carbon is a Singapore-based company that provides end-to-end carbon management solutions that help organizations measure, offset, and reduce emissions.

Year founded: 2020
Website: https://www.zunocarbon.com

AltoTech helps companies reduce energy consumption via its energy management platform, which is driven by the Internet of Things and AI.

Year founded: 2011
Website: https://www.altotech.ai/

Startup Arena 2023 Highlights

What attendees say

What a fun experience at the Startup Arena Pitch Battle by Tech in Asia! Little Wallet™ came in with no expectation, competing with solid businesses with million💲ARR tackling big ESG problems and came 3rd.
Fun experience. Thank you. 🙏🌈🚀😘

No joke, I held my breath when the emcees were about to announce the winner of the #StartupArena Pitch Battle. 😆 Kudos to the team for the amazing work during the event! 🙌

The lessons I acquired during the conferences is even more valuable than anything else.

Benefits for finalists

Visibility

Get in front of thousands of Conference guests and investor access
Media coverage by Tech in Asia

Prizes

>US$250k
in cash and in-kind prizes

Prizes of Startup Arena Finalists

1st Place

US$10,000 cash

MSW Ventures industry partners office hours + 1 x SheLovesTech Conference Ticket (worth US$300)

USD 50k Juspay credits

USD 25k AWS Startup Credits*

2nd Place

US$5,000
cash

MSW Ventures industry partners office hours + 1 x SheLovesTech Conference Ticket (worth US$300)

USD 30k Juspay credits

USD 25k AWS Startup Credits*

3rd Place

US$2,500
cash

MSW Ventures industry partners office hours + 1 x SheLovesTech Conference Ticket (worth US$300)

USD 30k Juspay credits

USD 25k AWS Startup Credits*

4th-6th Place

–
–

1 x SheLovesTech Conference Ticket (worth US$300)

USD 10k Juspay credits

USD 10k AWS Startup Credits*

*T&C applied for AWS Credits

Judges

Apply for Startup Arena

Eligibility to apply

Startup Arena is open to startups that:

Operate in Southeast Asia
Have a prototype, MVP, or existing operations
Have raised less than US$10 million
Have a compelling English-language pitch explaining the problem, solution, risk, and potential that drives their business

Evaluation

Six applicants will be selected on the basis of:

Targeted problem, solution, and scalability of solution
Caliber of the founding team
Business model and ability to generate future financial returns
Technology and business innovation
Execution abilities and traction

Participation

Finalists will be sent full instructions and guidelines for their participation.

Application for Startup Arena is closed.

What attendees say

“THE most talked-about pitch event in Asia! Any good founders shouldn't miss the opportunity to mingle and pitch..."

“We are now in the advanced stage of confirmation for potential investment and collaboration. Thank you, Tech in Asia!"

“Well organized and had seamless engagement from pre-event to post-event."

Apply for Startup Arena

We’re no longer accepting applications to Startup Factory.
Join us as an attendee instead!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Startup Arena eligibility criteria?

All participants will be required to apply.

To be eligible, you must:

have a working product that delivers an innovative tech solution.
have raised less than US$10 million worth of external funds.
have business-English proficiency.
be able to attend Tech in Asia Conference 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 24 and 25 in person.

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