Southeast Asia’s innovation ecosystem is increasingly defined by collaboration across borders, industries, and organisational types. Startups are scaling faster, corporates are seeking external innovation more actively, and investors are looking beyond traditional hubs for the next wave of high growth companies. As a result, platforms that connect founders with enterprise partners, capital, and global networks are becoming central to how innovation happens in the region.
Plug and Play, headquartered in Silicon Valley with a strong presence across the Asia Pacific, operates at this intersection. With more than 60 locations in over 30 countries and partnerships with more than 550 global organisations, including EDB, GIFT City, Amazon, MPA, and HTX, the platform connects startups with the corporates, governments, and investors that can help them scale.
A Record Year for Innovation
In 2025, Plug and Play accelerated more than 2,800 startups across its global network, with close to 30% of those coming from Asia. The firm also invested in more than 250 startups during the year, with nearly half of those investments focused on artificial intelligence, reflecting the firm’s conviction in AI as a transformative force across industries.
Globally, Plug and Play has continued to expand its venture activities, launching industry- and geography-focused funds and growing its assets under management to more than US$1 billion. Recent expansions into new markets, including Phnom Penh and Taiwan, underscore the firm’s commitment to supporting innovation where it’s happening, not just where it’s traditionally been.
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Connecting Southeast Asia to Global Opportunities
In Southeast Asia, Plug and Play APAC offers founders more than just their network. Through its market access programmes, including some in partnership with Enterprise Singapore under the Global Innovation Alliance, startups gain structured pathways into key markets such as San Francisco, the UAE, Manila, and Jakarta. More than 800 startups every year have benefited not only from corporate and government-focused programmes but also from access to Plug and Play’s global network of investors and corporates, enabling them to soft-launch in new markets with the right introductions and support.
Meet Plug and Play APAC at Echelon Singapore 2026
Plug and Play APAC joins Echelon Singapore 2026 as a bronze sponsor. The two-day event, held at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre on 3–4 June 2026, brings together Southeast Asia’s startup community through content stages, exhibitions, networking sessions, and knowledge-sharing activities designed to support regional innovation.
Also read: Meet the companies taking the floor at Echelon Singapore 2026
Attendees can connect with the Plug and Play APAC team to explore accelerator participation, corporate innovation partnerships, investment collaboration, and cross-border expansion opportunities. Selected startups may receive fast-track introductions to relevant Plug and Play accelerator programmes and corporate partners, an exclusive opportunity designed to help founders accelerate partnerships and international market access.
Whether you’re a founder looking to scale, a corporate seeking innovation partners, or an investor exploring the region’s next wave of high-growth companies, Echelon 2026 is the right place to start the conversation.
The region is evolving quickly, and Echelon 2026 offers the right place at the right moment to be part of what comes next. Register here to join the conversation.
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Featured Image Credit: Plug and Play APAC
Plug and Play APAC: Leading the way in open innovation platforms
Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies.
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we’re present in 60+ locations across five continents. We offer corporate innovation programs and help our corporate partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also organize startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC to drive innovation across multiple industries where we’ve invested in hundreds of successful companies including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi.
Our Asia Pacific headquarters was launched in Singapore in 2010 and we are now present in five cities in Southeast Asia with additional locations in China, Japan, Korea and India. We work closely with both the public and private sector with programs, innovation initiatives and startup investments across the region.
Click here for more information.
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