Tech in Asia

OpenAI is going all in on 🇮🇳 🚀 Setting up its first India office in Delhi 🎓 Hiring leaders & partnering with schools 💰 Launching its cheapest plan at ₹399/month 🤖 Eyeing India as both a proving ground & talent hub But as OpenAI expands, local players like Krutrim & Sarvam AI may feel the heat. Will India become OpenAI’s biggest success story—or its fiercest battleground? ⚔️

Voices from Startup Factory: founders greeting visitors, sharing ideas, and building momentum together. This is where the next big stories in Southeast Asia begin. ✨ Catch the energy at Tech in Asia Conference 2025, see you there! #StartupFactory #MeetOurStartup #TIAConference2025

[Published in May 2025] From finance to the frontier of AI 🧠 OpenAI’s chief research officer Mark Chen shared how: ✨ He rose through the ranks to lead the company’s model development 🚀 Built reasoning models like o1 and Dall-E 🤝 Works closely with Sam Altman to push toward AGI ⚙️ Balances research breakthroughs with product rollouts like Operator and Deep Research A fascinating look into the mind behind some of the world’s most advanced AI models 👇

Where we got the data - We ranked firms by how many deals they made. - Only firms that invested in Indonesia within the last 12 months are included. Rank #3 by number of deals BIC - Indonesia An angel network that invests in and venture-builds early stage Indonesian businesess Deals: 5 (Remind, Rekosistem, bukaPO, Magalarva, Dash Electric) Rank #6 by number of deals 500 Global - United States A venture capital firm that backs early-stage founders developing technology companies Deals: 3 (Elevarm, Bumame, Chickin) This story is adapted from our premium article “These are the most active investors in Indonesia’s startups” The full story covers: - A list of Indonesia’s 30 most active investors over the past year - Each firm’s portfolio, showing where their money went Read more in the story in the comments below ⬇️

🏷️💎 X to open username marketplace for paid subscribers 💰 Handles will be divided into two categories: priority handles, which are free and generally include full names, phrases, or alphanumeric combinations, and rare handles, which will be sold for prices starting at US$2,500 and could reach seven figures, depending on demand. 🔄 X said that downgrading a subscription will result in the user losing access to the purchased handle and reverting to their original username. 🔗 X is also considering adding a paid redirect feature in the future. 👉 Read more: https://lnkd.in/gQMrKfBM

Who’s leading Southeast Asia’s AI race? 🤖 From agentic AI startups like Manus and Genspark to physical AI builders such as Fabrica AI and Menlo Research, the region’s ecosystem is taking shape — even as funding slows. Dive into the region’s evolving AI landscape 👇

🔍📰 Agoda’s severance saga is a warning for tech employers 🚨 Agoda’s recent retrenchment of 50 employees in Singapore became a lightning rod for public and regulatory scrutiny. 💰 The clause allowed Agoda to claw back severance payments if employees brought any mediation requests, claims, or proceedings against the company. ⚖️ Clauses that go too far can draw fire from regulators and hurt the company’s reputation. 👉 Read more: https://lnkd.in/g7zKasFF

Imagine describing a robot — and AI instantly designs it for you. 🤖 That’s the vision behind Fabrica AI, a Singapore startup founded by three Cambridge grads. Their tile-grouting robots are already at work with major builders like BHCC and Woh Hup — cutting hours of labor down to minutes. Now they’re building Fabricator, a platform they call the “ChatGPT for inventing robots” — turning ideas into real, working machines. Fabrica’s mission: make building robots as fast as writing code. 💥

📉🌍 Trade woes temper Shein’s profits in 2024 despite revenue climb 💸 Between 2023 and 2024, Shein’s selling and marketing expenses – at 29.5% – outpaced revenue. 🇺🇸 Shoppers in the US have reportedly slowed down purchasing on Shein after US President Donald Trump in May lifted the “de minimis” rule, which previously allowed packages from China valued below US$800 to be shipped to the country tax-free. 🇪🇺 To sidestep tariffs in the US, Shein has shifted its focus to Europe instead, with ad spending targeted for the region increasing over the past year. 👉 Read more: https://lnkd.in/g3XCWErF

When the AI wave hit Southeast Asia, most companies expected magic. Two years later, only 3 in 10 Singapore firms have actually integrated AI into core workflows. That’s the gap Axium Industries wants to fill. Founded by ex-ByteDance exec Jeremy Ang and former Databricks engineer Tobias Leong, the Singapore startup is building agentic AI systems that can handle data analysis, insights, and automation — all working together. Axium’s bet: multi-agent systems can finally deliver on AI’s original promise — measurable impact, not just hype.