Living Lab Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Sinar Mas Land, has partnered with Spiral Ventures to launch the Japan Thematic Fund, a cross-border investment initiative designed to accelerate economic and innovation collaboration between Japan and Southeast Asia (SEA).

The fund had its first close formalised during a high-profile signing ceremony in BSD City, Indonesia, on Wednesday.

Backed by a syndicate of prominent Japanese and Indonesian investors, the fund positions Indonesia as the strategic gateway for Japan’s capital and innovation to scale across SEA. The list of investors includes the Cool Japan Fund, Bank Danamon Indonesia (a member of MUFG Group), Rohto Pharmaceutical, Advasa, and Culture Convenience Club.

The Japan Thematic Fund reflects a growing urgency among Japanese investors to tap into SEA’s startup growth and consumer momentum. Cool Japan Fund, a major Japanese public–private initiative known for backing cultural and lifestyle-linked innovations, joins as a key investor, further underlining Japan’s commitment to integrating with the region’s tech ecosystem.

“The Japan Thematic Fund reflects Indonesia’s emergence as a key innovation hub and gateway for international collaboration,” said Bayu Seto, Partner at LLV. “With Cool Japan Fund’s involvement, we are creating an enduring platform for founders to grow beyond borders.”

Also Read: Why digital parks are becoming the backbone of the Philippines’ emerging tech ecosystem

Living Lab Ventures leverages BSD City to offer startups and investors a high-functioning testbed and launch environment. Developed by Sinar Mas Land, BSD City combines infrastructure, business networks, and a digitally-driven ecosystem, creating a landing point for global ventures.

According to Living Lab Ventures, this strategic positioning enables the organisation not only to deploy capital but also to serve as a bridge between Japan’s advanced technology and SEA’s entrepreneurial dynamism.

The organisation has recently made investment in INCREASE.

Spiral Ventures brings deep operational expertise across Asia and a focus on companies addressing social challenges.

“This initiative goes far beyond investment—it represents true integration,” noted Yuji Horiguchi, CEO and Managing Partner of Spiral Ventures. “By uniting Japan’s technological precision and cultural excellence with Southeast Asia’s entrepreneurial energy and speed, we aim to create new business models and generate social impact.”

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Image Credit: Living Lab Ventures

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True transformation doesn’t start with technology. It always starts with people.

AI adoption isn’t about rolling out software; it’s about building confidence, curiosity, and capability. Because transformation doesn’t happen when AI gets smarter. It happens when people do.

AI is like raising a capable child

When I help organisations design their AI transformation journey, I often remind leaders: We’re not building people to work for AI —we’re building AI with people, for people.

Doing AI is like raising a capable child. You don’t want your child fixed to one solution. You want to coach them to think, explore, and find their own way.

That’s how I see AI too — as a capable assistant that learns and grows through guidance.

A real moment from my team: We hit a limitation in LLM 1. My developer said, “Let’s incorporate a second LLM.” Another teammate added, “Or maybe we can just change the file format so LLM 1 can read it.” Two paths — both brilliant.

That’s the mindset we want to see in every organisation — not “Can this tool do it?” but “What else is possible, and what works best for us?”

When people start thinking this way, something shifts. The focus moves from using AI to collaborating with it. The best outcomes emerge when technology becomes a creative partner, not just an automation tool. That’s when innovation starts to feel natural rather than forced.

You can’t outsource mindset

I’ve seen it too many times — the CEO announces, “We must start embracing AI!” A vendor comes in, a few workshops are held, dashboards are built… and six months later, the enthusiasm fades.

Why? Because adoption doesn’t start with instructions. It starts with ownership.

You can outsource some parts of the build — but you can’t outsource the mindset.

When employees understand the why, they start curating, designing, and refining AI like insiders. That’s when adoption sticks — because it’s their solution, not the company’s system.

Culture and mindset are the invisible infrastructure behind every successful transformation. Without them, even the best tools fail to deliver impact. It’s not about how advanced your models are — it’s about how ready your people are to evolve alongside them.

Also Read: Building a sustainable future, from Sierra Leone to Southeast Asia

Start from 101 — Awareness first, always

In any organisation, people come with very different AI baselines. Some are curious. Some are cautious. Some still think AI means ChatGPT. And that’s okay.

Transformation doesn’t begin with tools; it begins with awareness.

At stage one, focus on helping people:

• Debunk myths (“AI will take my job”)
• Remove fear (“I’m not technical enough”)
• Build curiosity, language, and confidence

When people start seeing AI as a capable assistant — not a threat — that’s when transformation takes root.

Awareness turns into action only when people feel included in the process. It’s not about pushing adoption; it’s about inviting participation. Each conversation, each experiment, and each small success story builds collective confidence that sustains the change.

Build AI with people, not for them

Real transformation is a shared journey. It’s not about experts “rolling out AI” for everyone else. It’s about learning, experimenting, and building capability together.

Start small. Start with your people.

So I curated a transformation journey called “Let’s AI Together.” It’s built on one belief — that when we teach people how to work with AI, they’ll know how to make it work for them.

Because at the heart of every AI journey lies a human one. When people feel empowered, the technology naturally follows — smarter, faster, and more purpose-driven than ever before.

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For years, our digital representations have been instruments of control. We carefully curate social media profiles, choose flattering profile pictures, and craft personas in virtual games. These are static masks we present to the world.

However, the next generation of AI avatars is undergoing a seismic shift: they are transitioning from being puppets to becoming partners, and in some cases, even autonomous agents. This evolution pushes us beyond simple representation and into the uncharted territory of digital beings with a semblance of agency, challenging our perceptions of creativity, ownership, and connection.

The initial wave of AI avatars was largely synchronous—you provided input, and it generated an output. You type a script, your avatar reads it. This is a powerful tool, but it’s still a sophisticated form of ventriloquism. The frontier now lies in asynchronous interaction.

Imagine an avatar that can attend a virtual meeting on your behalf, not just to deliver a pre-recorded message, but to actively listen, process the discussion, and contribute points based on your known opinions and data. This isn’t about replacing you; it’s about extending your presence in a way that was previously impossible. It functions as a true digital proxy, operating with a degree of autonomy within a pre-defined framework.

This autonomy sparks both excitement and profound unease, directly tapping into the concept of the “uncanny valley.” As these avatars become more lifelike and independent, the gap between human and simulation narrows, creating a sense of eeriness. When a digital twin can debate, crack a joke, or express empathy based on algorithmic learning, we are forced to confront a new kind of relationship. Is interacting with such an entity a form of conversation or merely an advanced simulation of one? The discomfort arises because it challenges the uniqueness of human interaction, a cornerstone of our social fabric.

Also Read: Using AI on e-commerce analytics: Data quality, availability remain critical obstacles

Perhaps the most fascinating and disruptive potential of autonomous avatars lies in the realm of creativity and legacy. We are approaching an era where the essence of a creative mind could be perpetuated beyond a lifetime. An author’s avatar, trained on their entire bibliography, personal letters, and interview style, could potentially generate new stories that feel authentically “theirs.”

A musician’s avatar could compose new pieces in their signature style. This raises breathtaking possibilities for preserving artistic voice but also nightmarish questions of authorship, copyright, and intent. Is a posthumous novel generated by an AI avatar a tribute, a forgery, or something entirely new? It forces us to decide what we value more: the tangible output or the irreplicable human journey that led to it.

Furthermore, the economic model of the self is poised for disruption. If your avatar can generate income—by starring in commercials, providing customer service, or teaching online courses—who does that revenue belong to? The individual whose likeness and data trained the model? The developers of the AI platform? This will necessitate a new legal and economic category for digital identity, likely built on blockchain technology to ensure verifiable ownership and royalty distribution.

The path forward is not to halt this innovation but to navigate it with intentionality and robust ethical guardrails. Transparency is non-negotiable; humans must always know when they are interacting with an AI agent. Consent must be the foundation, ensuring individuals have absolute control over if and how their digital twin is used. Finally, we must cultivate digital humility—an understanding that these avatars, no matter how advanced, are reflections and extensions, not replacements, of the messy, brilliant, and unpredictable human spirit.

The autonomous AI avatar is more than a technological marvel; it is a philosophical forcing function. It compels us to define the boundaries of self, the value of authentic experience, and the ethics of a world where our digital shadows can walk and talk without us. In learning to build them responsibly, we may just learn something invaluable about what it means to be human.

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At this year’s SWITCH 2025 in Singapore, the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) K-Startup Pavilion featured some of South Korea’s most promising startups in advanced manufacturing and materials. From AI-driven semiconductors to copper-clad glass substrates, the exhibits highlighted the country’s technical depth. Among them, two companies approached innovation from a more human angle: mobility and vision as essentials for everyday life.

First, Studio Galilei Co., Ltd., a mobility startup, introduced demand-responsive transport (DRT) services to enhance mobility access in rural areas of Korea and is now scaling its technology to deliver safer and more reliable travel experiences across Southeast Asia.   Second, HYBO Inc. is developing ultra-compact LiDAR sensors with built-in AI, designed to improve automation and workplace safety. Together, they show how Korean startups are pairing technical precision with practical solutions that meet real human needs.

Studio Galilei leading the future of smart mobility through Demand-Responsive Transport (DRT)

Studio Galilei began its journey to address the mobility challenges faced by rural areas in South Korea. Notably, their limited public transportation often leaves communities and residents disconnected. “Mobility is a basic right, yet many rural communities in Korea still lack reliable transportation,” said Hyunmyung Kim, CEO of Studio Galilei. “That’s why I started my business, to ensure equal access to mobility for everyone through technology and innovation.” Founded in 2021, the startup has sought to bridge this accessibility gap. Thus, it is entering regions often overlooked by larger corporations due to low profit potential.

At the heart of Studio Galilei’s operations is its Demand-Responsive Transport (DRT) system, which is powered by TAMOS, an integrated mobility platform that leverages AI and Big Data. “The core of our technology lies in generating optimized routes in real time based on passenger demand,” Kim explained. By optimizing both timing and costs, this system has been deployed across 17 rural areas in Korea. This has significantly reduced waiting times and improving operational efficiency.

This socially conscious approach caught the attention of investors such as Kakao Mobility and Hankook Tire. This validates Studio Galilei’s blend of innovation and impact. As founder Kim noted, “During peak time, there is not enough transportation… but without peak time, you still have to run the bus, which costs money.” The company’s ability to solve such inefficiencies proved that technology born in rural areas can scale effectively. This transforms local insights into a model for global mobility innovation.

Also read: How Startup Island TAIWAN is turning SWITCH 2025 into a launchpad for ASEAN expansion

Expanding through Singapore into Southeast Asia’s tourism market

After refining its mobility technology in Korea, Studio Galilei is setting its sights on Southeast Asia. It has chosen Singapore as its strategic hub. “We plan to expand our services to the B2C sector and recognize significant potential in Southeast Asia’s tourism mobility market,” said CEO Hyunmyung Kim. “We consider Singapore the ideal location for our regional headquarters.” The company aims to resolve a common regional challenge. That is, most travelers stay within city centers due to limited transport options and safety concerns.

To address this, Studio Galilei is launching RIKAride, a platform powered by DRT technology. It is designed to deliver safe, reliable, and accessible mobility solutions for travelers. “Many tourists rarely go beyond city centers due to limited transportation options,” said Daeun Choi, CFO of iChiangmai and Global Market Strategist for Southeast Asia and the Middle East at Studio Galilei. “Our goal is to enable travelers to explore more, with ease and safety.” Partnering with Thai OTA Eiiga, the startup combines “South Asian creativity and cultural operation power with Korean technology.”

Redefining LiDAR with HYBO’s compact AI-powered solutions

At the K-Startup Pavilion HYBO Inc. introduced its breakthrough in LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology. It is an innovation set to transform smart systems across robotics, mobility, and urban infrastructure. Team Leader Jae Won Jang explained their competitive edge: “The competitive price, the customizing ability, and… it’s a very ultra-compact size of LiDAR. But it has the AI solution inside.” By integrating artificial intelligence into a miniature sensor, HYBO offers a compelling alternative to larger and more expensive LiDAR systems.

HYBO’s compact LiDAR sensors are already in use across smart factories in South Korea, helping improve automation and worker safety. “I think Singapore’s big companies can use our sensors for the workers’ safety,” said Jang. “Also, they need our sensors for their parts of products.” The technology is highly adaptable and can be applied to robotics and drones, security systems, smart parking, and manufacturing, making it versatile for different industries looking to embed intelligence into their operations.

By merging compact design, AI capability, and affordability, HYBO is expanding the possibilities of LiDAR technology..

Singapore as the gateway to Southeast Asia’s smart future

As HYBO expands globally, Singapore has emerged as its base for Southeast Asian operations. “I have a strong interest in the Singapore market because Singapore is one of the centers for the Southeastern Asia market,” said Jang. “Our next target is Southeast because there are so many manufacturers and very high technology enterprises in Indonesia, Malaysia, and beyond.” For HYBO, Singapore offers both a stable business environment and access to regional industries eager for advanced sensing and automation technologies.

HYBO is now seeking collaborations with local AI firms and design partners to customize its compact LiDAR solutions for industry-specific needs. Jang noted that such partnerships could speed up innovation and bring the company’s technology to new markets more efficiently. Already supported by KISED, HYBO is also open to Singapore-based investors. With strong regional partnerships, the company aims to strengthen Southeast Asia’s smart technology ecosystem and build new opportunities for growth.

Also read: Why Hong Kong’s metro just became every marketer’s dream

Cementing Singapore’s role in the Korea–Southeast Asia tech pipeline

Singapore is fast becoming the cornerstone of the Korea–Southeast Asia tech pipeline, as seen in the growing presence of Korean startups like Studio Galilei and HYBO at SWITCH. They are part of a 31-strong delegation led by KISED, the largest group since 2022. Over the past five years, more than 100 Korean companies have entered the Singapore market, drawn by its strategic position and strong innovation ecosystem. This surge reflects how South Korea’s highly competitive domestic landscape and advanced R&D culture are driving agile startups to expand abroad.

For Singapore and its regional partners, this wave of collaboration offers more than just new entrants. It brings tested, high-quality technologies ready to be adapted for Southeast Asia’s fast-growing economies. From smart mobility to AI-powered sensing systems, these innovations are helping local industries evolve faster and smarter. The ambition is not only to make Singapore a landing point for Korean startups but to establish it as the launchpad for long-term, cross-border growth and investment between the two dynamic tech ecosystems.

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This article was published in partnership with the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED).

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The Philippine government is making significant strides in leveraging blockchain technology, shifting its focus beyond regulating cryptocurrencies to actively implementing distributed ledger technology (DLT) across critical public sectors.

Through a series of high-impact projects, government agencies are exploring blockchain’s potential to enhance transparency, improve bureaucratic efficiency, and expand financial access for citizens.

Also Read: Institutionalising innovation: How Philippines is building the rules for its crypto future

These findings were revealed in the Philippine Blockchain Report 2025, prepared by Gorriceta, the Blockchain Council of the Philippines, Gobi Partners, Gobi-Core Philippines Fund, and Tether.

Revolutionising public finance and document security

Government adoption is projected to be a pivotal factor in shaping the country’s future blockchain landscape. One key area of implementation is enhancing the security and accountability of public documents:

• Project Marissa and Prismo: The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) launched Project Marissa, a blockchain-based initiative aimed at enhancing the security of budget documents. Leveraging hybrid blockchain technology from local firm BayaniChain, the system seeks to ensure data confidentiality and tamper-resistance. A functioning Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Prismo, has already been implemented within the DBM to safeguard critical documents, including the controversial intelligence fund, demonstrating a clear commitment to using DLT for fraud reduction.
• eGovChain initiative: The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) introduced eGovChain in 2024, a major blockchain-based government project intended to improve transparency, security, and efficiency in public services. The first node is already integrated with the Digital National ID and the eGovPH SuperApp, with additional nodes planned.

Tokenisation and financial modernisation

In public finance, the government has successfully piloted the use of blockchain for tokenised assets, signalling institutional confidence in the technology’s utility:

Also Read: The rise of the Metaverse Filipino Worker: Blockchain’s unlikely economic hero

• Tokenised treasury bonds: In partnership with the Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX), the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) issued the nation’s first Tokenised Retail Treasury Bonds (RTBs) to the public. These bonds are issued in the form of digital tokens and maintained in the BTr’s Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Registry. This initiative not only modernises public fundraising but also democratises access to government investments, particularly through features like the “GBonds” feature being tested with GCash.
• CBDC development: The BSP is strategically moving towards implementing a wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Projects like Project CBDCPh and Project Agila are pilot initiatives testing interbank transactions to improve payment systems, liquidity management, and financial stability. Testing for Project Agila concluded in December 2024, and the BSP plans to develop a medium-term roadmap for wholesale CBDC, with estimated implementation by 2029.

Special economic zones and regional development

To attract foreign investment and foster a localised blockchain hub, the Philippines leverages its special economic zones:

• Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB): AFAB introduced the Offshore Digital Asset Licence (ODAL), allowing blockchain-based businesses to operate within a regulated framework, positioning Bataan as a potential blockchain hub in Asia. AFAB actively supports emerging industries and views blockchain as a practical tool for building better systems.
• Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA): CEZA, known for its “Crypto Valley of Asia” initiative, has continuously updated its licensing rules. The Offshore Financial Technology Licensing Rules and Regulations (OFTLRR), issued in January 2024, update previous rules to integrate both offshore financial technology business activities (including blockchain) and Digital Asset Token Offering (DATO) activities.

Also Read: How blockchain became the beating heart of Philippines’s financial inclusion story

These varied initiatives across MARINA (Blockchain-enabled system for transactions – BEST, enhancing maritime services), DICT, DBM, BTr, and the BSP underscore a robust public sector openness to DLT. By moving from theoretical exploration to operational pilots, the government is building trust, enhancing public awareness, and demonstrating blockchain’s tangible value in reducing corruption and administrative delays.

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