KUALA LUMPUR: Google's head of start-ups in the Asia Pacific (APAC), Michael Kim recently shared some of the key trends that show the region's continued growth among start-ups.
He shared some of the encouraging key trends as well as the expansion in artificial intelligence (AI), decentralised finance (DeFi), e-commerce/fintech, healthtech, and sustainability.
"Organisations and governments have been actively coming together, investing in research, development, and complementary technologies like 5G. For instance, in Singapore, we saw the highest growth globally in AI hiring from 2016 to 2020. Meanwhile, Japan's AI sector is more focused on robotics, especially for medical and industrial purposes," said Kim.
With apps such as Grab, WeChat and the rapid adoption of mobile payments such as Alipay, fintech is being increasingly adopted in e-commerce and decentralised finance.
The rise of the pandemic has also accelerated the consumption and need for health tech products and services that offer easier access to healthcare, and the need for better resource allocation and usage has led to significant interest in sustainable development among startups.
"In Korea and Japan, we have a population that's growing exponentially, with a lower supply of available workers to deliver care. So they're now leveraging technology to provide better healthcare.
"Meanwhile in India, the rural-urban disparity in access to healthcare among the elderly is one of the compelling reasons for startups and consumers to reimagine healthcare delivery and management," he added.
Kim said the start-ups that they have worked with that are passionate about providing healthcare for all such as Cogsmart, from Japan, which aims to improve brain health and prevent dementia at an early age, Caredoc, which is a Korea Growth Academy that provides elderly care to platforms that connect elderlies to professionals for them to receive services and Zyla, from India, that provides 24/7 personalised care via mobile.
Due to APAC being vulnerable to climate change, startups have also been finding innovative solutions to sustainability in the region.
"With APAC's population relies on already-strained natural resources, we're now seeing start-ups using cloud computing, AI, and big data to generate greener supply chains, optimise traffic and track extreme weather disasters for a swift response and be prepared.
He also talked about how entrepreneurs are quick to adapt to new trends and build their technologies in large domestic markets with deep connectivity and density such as India, Japan, and Indonesia.
APAC start-ups are also leading in super apps such as Grab and Wechat as well as mobile payments (Alipay) that improve the lives of others, especially in Korea and Japan.
"There are nearly 198 tech unicorns in APAC in April 2021, which is second to the US with 290 and ahead of Europe with 69. It seems like it's easier to launch a business in Asia since it takes less than a day to start a business in New Zealand than in the US," said Kim
He mentioned that APAC is a conducive place to groom startups because of its accelerated adoption of digital services and mature startup ecosystem.
For instance, by the end of 2020, Southeast Asia saw a record of US$14 billion (RM58 billion) and the region is also where start-ups have become a pillar of many countries' economies, helping create jobs and inject innovation across industries.
Finally, Google continues to ensure that the next generation of startups in APAC have the right tools to grow and continue to scale across the globe.
"I think our start-ups are uniquely focused on helping the ecosystem move forward. We work with every ecosystem player such as startups, venture capital firms, and government to thrive and we do so through our Accelerator programmes and Startup Academy programmes.
"We also run programs like the APAC Women Founders Academy to foster a sense of community among the startups and make sure we provide access to all," Kim said.