IndustrialMind.ai, an AI company founded by former Tesla manufacturing AI leaders, has announced the closing of a US$1.2 million pre-seed funding round.

Investors include Antler, TSVC, Plug and Play, and Gang Song, who previously served as Tesla’s Vice President of Manufacturing.

Also Read: How AI and automation are shaping the future of work

The capital injection is earmarked to speed up the development and customer deployment of IndustrialMind.ai’s flagship offering, the “AI Engineer”.

The startup was founded by Steven Gao, Jeff Wang, and Justin Li, who built an AI manufacturing platform that successfully tackled crucial bottlenecks within Tesla’s Gigafactories. The team now translates that “decision-making brain” to the broader industry.

Despite widespread adoption of digital tools and robotics on factory floors, converting raw data into timely operational decisions remains challenging, particularly during complex new-product launches and rapid production ramps.

IndustrialMind.ai builds an AI Engineer for manufacturing that understands engineering drawings and production data, recommends and validates process changes, and lifts yield, throughput, and overall equipment effectiveness.

Its functions include:

• Process automation: The AI understands drawings and automatically drafts bills of materials (BOMs), routings, and should-cost quotes, turning the “drawing to process” step into a task completed in minutes.
• Real-time monitoring: On the production line, the system continuously monitors production, predicts and detects anomalies, and proposes engineer-ready adjustments to maintain process stability and quality control.
• Root-cause analysis: When issues arise, a multi-agent engine blends operational data and knowledge to quickly surface fixes and automatically generate required reports, significantly closing the loop faster than traditional manual methods.

Also Read: Tesla plans multibillion-dollar EV plant in India

IndustrialMind.ai, which supports manufacturers across the Asia-Pacific and North America regions, is already deploying its “AI Engineer” with industry leaders such as tesa, Andritz, and Siemens.

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The future of work is here — are you ready?

Let’s be real — AI and automation aren’t coming; they’re already here, shaking up industries faster than we can say “machine learning”. 

Southeast Asia, one of the world’s fastest-growing digital economies, is witnessing a massive shift in how we work. Businesses aren’t asking if they should adopt AI anymore. They’re scrambling to figure out how fast they can integrate it before they get left behind.

As someone who’s been deep in the AI and automation space — running People’s Inc. 360, building Royal Visionary Society, and working on Seraphina AI — I’ve seen first-hand how AI is revolutionising the way we work, scale businesses, and reclaim time.

But here’s the thing: The real conversation isn’t about AI replacing jobs. It’s about how we can make AI work for us — to create a more flexible, efficient, and empowered workforce.

AI and automation: Transforming the nature of jobs

Let’s address the elephant in the room: Will AI take away jobs? The short answer is not in the way most people fear.

The reality? AI isn’t here to replace humans — it’s here to amplify human potential. Businesses leveraging AI aren’t just automating tasks; they’re freeing up talent for higher-value work.

AI-powered workflows: Enhancing, not replacing

At People’s Inc. 360, we integrate AI into everyday operations to automate repetitive tasks, allowing our teams to focus on creativity, strategy, and problem-solving.

Some of the biggest game-changers in AI automation today include:

• ChatGPT (OpenAI): Your go-to for automating communication, customer support, and content generation.
• Zapier: The connect-everything automation tool that links apps and streamlines workflows – no coding needed.
• Notion AI: Turns messy thoughts into structured documentation and brainstorms like a pro.
• People’s Inc. Unify: Our own marketing automation tool that helps businesses scale effortlessly.
• Seraphina AI: An AI-driven digital twin designed to help entrepreneurs and businesses automate decision-making and daily workflows.

The takeaway? AI isn’t the enemy — it’s the ultimate sidekick for scaling operations, optimising workflows, and unlocking human creativity.

The hybrid work revolution: A blueprint

The hybrid work model is no longer an experiment — it’s the default.

At People’s Inc. 360, we built our entire company culture around flexibility, automation, and gamification to keep remote teams engaged and productive.

What makes an AI-powered hybrid model effective?

• Work-from-anywhere flexibility: Because let’s be honest, if we’ve learned anything post-pandemic, it’s that work isn’t a place — it’s an experience.
• Gamification and engagement: We use a quest-based system where tasks become missions, making work more interactive (and honestly, more fun).
• AI-powered automation: AI takes care of the busy work so employees can focus on innovation and growth.
• Digital collaboration tools: Platforms like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Trello integrate AI-driven workflows to eliminate inefficiencies.

The result? Less burnout, more productivity, and a team that actually enjoys their work.

Also Read: Transforming customer service: AI’s ‘artificial empathy’ holds the key

How AI helped me reclaim time and sanity (yes, sanity)

Let me get personal for a second.

When I first started integrating AI into my business, it wasn’t just about efficiency — it was about survival. Running multiple ventures, scaling People’s Inc. 360, and juggling countless responsibilities meant I was always on.

And then, life threw a curveball — divorce. If you’ve ever tried managing a business, personal stress, and mental exhaustion all at once, you know how overwhelming it gets. I was stretched thin, emotionally drained, and honestly? Running on fumes.

That’s when AI became more than just a tool — it became my lifeline.

I automated everything I could:

•  Customer follow-ups? Handled.
• Marketing emails? Set on autopilot.
• Daily operations? AI-optimised.

The biggest game-changer? Seraphina AI — my AI-powered digital twin, helping me automate responses, manage tasks, and free up mental space.

And let me tell you — the difference was night and day. AI didn’t just help my business scale — it helped me breathe again.

This is why AI isn’t just about productivity hacks. It’s about creating space – for mental wellness, for relationships, and for the things that actually matter.

Preparing for the future: Re-skilling and up-skilling in an AI-driven world

With AI transforming industries, businesses must prioritise re-skilling and up-skilling initiatives to prepare their workforce for the future of jobs.

How can companies prepare?

• AI training and literacy: AI isn’t going anywhere – employees need to learn how to work with it, not against it.
• Encourage adaptability: The most valuable skill in an AI-driven world? Learning how to learn.
• Develop soft skills: AI may take over technical tasks, but human creativity, problem-solving, and leadership? That’s irreplaceable.

Platforms like Coursera, Udemy, and LinkedIn Learning are already offering AI-focused courses – the smartest companies are investing in their people now.

Also Read: Bridging the gender gap in GenAI learning: Strategies to get more women involved

The gig economy and AI: A power combo

The gig economy is booming, and AI is fuelling its growth. Freelancers and solo-preneurs are leveraging automation to scale their businesses faster and smarter.

How AI supports the gig economy:

• Automating repetitive tasks: AI takes over admin work, freeing up time for actual income-generating projects.
• Enhanced client management: AI-powered CRMs like HubSpot and Zoho help freelancers manage multiple clients seamlessly.
• AI-generated content and insights: Tools like Jasper AI and Copy.ai help entrepreneurs streamline content creation.

Platforms like Seraphina AI are designed to empower independent professionals, providing custom automation tools that help them work smarter, not harder.

What’s next? The future of work in 2025 and beyond

Looking ahead, the future of work will be defined by:

• Seamless AI-human collaboration: AI as a co-pilot, not a replacement.
• Hybrid and flexible work models: Work on your terms, not by outdated corporate rules.
• AI-driven personalisation: Work experiences tailored to individual needs and productivity styles.

Businesses that embrace AI, automation, and continuous learning? They’ll be the ones thriving.

Final thoughts: Are you ready for AI-powered work?

AI isn’t a trend — it’s the new normal.

How is your company preparing for AI-driven work models? Are you leveraging automation to free up your time and focus?

Let’s shape the future of work together. 

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Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem is in a phase of scrutiny and recalibration. It has entered a leaner phase. With scepticism about the region, early-stage capital is increasingly being directed toward deep-tech rather than consumer playbooks. Thus, founders are under pressure to stretch their runway and hit revenue milestones, and prove resilience.

As Edgar Hardless of Singtel Innov8 observes, “companies have had to tighten their belts and accelerate their plans to get to break even more quickly, so they can extend their runways”.

This raises the stakes for B2B startups, the bar is even higher, because enterprise clients demand governance, reliability, and repeatable processes from the outset.

The challenges facing B2B founders

B2B founders in Southeast Asia face a unique mix of scaling hurdles compared to their consumer counterparts:

• Complex enterprise sales cycles: Unlike growth hacking tactics familiar in consumer tech, B2B founders must often traverse long, multi-stakeholder deals—especially in regulated verticals—requiring patience and structured pipelines.
• Scaling across fragmented markets: From Indonesian provinces to Vietnam’s industrial zones, each market has distinct business norms and compliance regimes, slowing expansion.
• Governance and investor reporting: structured updates such as monthly dashboards, KPI tracking, and board-ready narratives are now the norm. Lack of rigour here can stall next-round progress.

These are not hypothetical concerns. Founders who lack operational maturity (such as investor reporting cadence or sales playbook clarity) often see slower fundraising or flat valuations. Without maturity in finance, GTM, and operations, many promising startups risk stalling before they reach Series B.

Also Read: Investing for her future: Why women should take control of their finances

What VCs should look for in investment-ready founders

Savvy VCs now anchor their decisions on three pillars:

• Operational readiness: Startups ready for scaling often present clear financial models, forecast cash flows accurately, manage burn with discipline, and offer budget variance analyses. Visibility into burn and runway signals founder discipline and investor stewardship. Tools like Visible emphasise that operational due diligence dives into internal systems and scalability capabilities, not just financials.
• Enterprise sales muscle: Investors look for structured customer acquisition, for instance, defined sales stages, customer success workflows, churn management, and realistic funnel projections. Founders who can manage the sales lifecycle, from lead generation to contract renewal, impress as being evergreen-ready.
• Regional scalability: Top VCs assess whether founders understand market segmentation and can localise value propositions across SEA’s diversity: logistics, compliance, pricing, and pay behaviours vary widely. Favourable founders build repeatable processes for expansion across markets. Those with go-to-market plans that account for market heterogeneity show depth and strategy. As one investor I speak to has observed, “investors fund predictability, not just potential.”

Best practices for operational excellence in B2B startups

Where investors are concerned, for B2B startups, customer success is more than support, as it is the engine of sustainable economics. Structured onboarding, adoption tracking, and expansion frameworks turn contracts into recurring revenue.

This is where unit economics come alive: lifetime value (LTV) grows when customers renew, upgrade, or expand; acquisition costs (CAC) pay back faster when churn is low; and gross margins improve when service processes are efficient. By embedding customer success discipline early, founders create predictability in growth, the signal investors prize most.

Also Read: Empowering youth to drive sustainable change through finance and advocacy

These practices turn promising startups into investment-ready companies, reducing friction for VCs in later diligence rounds.

The rise of fractional advisory

One approach gaining traction is fractional advisory. Instead of relying solely on full-time senior hires, early-stage companies are increasingly turning to seasoned experts who step in part-time to deliver CFO, COO, or go-to-market leadership precisely when it’s needed most.

Firms such as Salamander Advisory are redefining what it means to professionalise early. By embedding financial discipline, operational clarity, and commercial structure long before startups reach scale, they help founders build investor-ready businesses with stronger foundations and lower risk profiles.

While many VCs concentrate their resources on their top performers, fractional advisory extends that lift to the rest of the portfolio: transforming promising ventures into resilient, execution-driven companies capable of sustainable growth.

Because in the end, capital ignites growth, but capability sustains it. In Southeast Asia’s B2B landscape, the true winners of the next decade will not be those who raise fastest, but those who scale with precision, discipline, and purpose.

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Asia’s digital and real-time payments market is one of the most dynamic in the world, but also one of the most fragmented.

Each economy has developed its own payment systems, so the adoption curve and rate vary greatly. Few links exist across borders, and this patchwork creates barriers to scale and reduces the ability of consumers and businesses to benefit from seamless, real-time transactions.

Governments across Asia are stepping in with coordinated initiatives for the next decade. Their actions will determine how quickly real-time payments expand, how effectively economies will be interconnected and how much trust consumers and businesses will place in emerging digital solutions.

Governments enacting change

Government support and regulatory harmonisation have already shown positive outcomes. Singapore’s PayNow and Malaysia’s DuitNow are leading examples. They enable instant transfers between participating banks and wallets by offering interoperability across banks, e-wallets, and QR codes, and creating a nationwide standard for peer-to-peer payments. Both initiatives demonstrate what happens when regulators and industry participants align on standards to accelerate adoption.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has gone further with its ambitious initiative, Project Nexus. Led by BIS Innovation Hub with participation from key markets including, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and India, it aims to interconnect Asia’s domestic instant payment systems through a single multilateral framework. Unlike bilateral links such as PayNow and PromptPay, Project Nexus is designed to scale by reducing the complexity of multiple connections.

Australia also offers a valuable case study in government-instigated adoption. The 2018 launch of the New Payments Platform was a direct result of collaboration between the Reserve Bank of Australia, domestic banks and technology providers. In setting clear regulatory expectations and encouraging partnerships with global payments providers, the Australian government accelerated adoption of real-time payments across the economy with backing from early adopters.

In 2022, Australians were sending more than US$1.2 billion real-time transactions annually, with volumes increasing by double digits year-on-year. The combination of government incentives and industry execution created a virtuous cycle of growth and trust, manifesting in increased business and consumer adoption of this technology.

Also Read: Will tech salary overpayments end after the economic crisis?

Asia’s challenge and opportunity

Asia holds the greatest potential as a global frontier for cross border payments, while enterprises and small-medium businesses (SMBs) have emerged as key drivers of digital payment adoption. However, three major obstacles stand in the way for Asia to make the leap towards a unified payments ecosystem.

• Regulatory divergence across APAC remains one of the biggest issues, as each country has its own and separate standards for data privacy, anti-money laundering and consumer protection. Without harmonisation, real-time cross-border payments raise the costs and risks of being further slowed by compliance checks and inconsistent requirements.
• Uneven infrastructure in Asia’s developing economies is another challenge, as many lack the digital structure to reliably support large scale real time transactions. Upgrading these systems requires investment from governments in partnership with global providers who can deliver resilience and scalability.
• Trust and risk are central hurdles. Coordinated standards for fraud prevention, authentication and dispute resolution are essential to alleviating reputational and client risk.

Despite these challenges, Asia’s opportunities are significant. ASEAN trade reached more than US$3560.1 billion in 2023, with cross-border e-commerce surging. Real-time payments can be a key enabler to meet this demand thanks to reduced settlement risk, increased liquidity and faster commerce.

For SMBs and enterprises, they cut costs associated with traditional bank transfers or card fees. For consumers, they provide instant, low-cost access to funds, which in those markets with large unbanked populations.

Incentives and partnerships are key

Governments must work together through shared goals, strengthened incentives and common frameworks for digital payment adoption.

The ASEAN Payment Connectivity initiative seeks to link national systems underpinned by QR code standardisation, while Project Nexus represents a technical pathway to make this a reality. This approach reflects a broader recognition that payments is a network business.

Also Read: QR payments: Southeast Asia’s digital lifeline or just a stepping stone?

While governments are starting to set the direction, the rest of the ecosystem must step up to deliver scale and industrial collaboration will be critical. Proven cross-border providers bring compliance, security, technology and infrastructure expertise.

We’ve seen firsthand what a coordinated and unified regional approach can bring in tangible productivity and commercial benefits for merchants of scale. The combined ability to build and operate infrastructure at scale is critical for achieving the interoperability that Asia’s governments envision.

Partnerships between governments, local banks and providers will be the defining feature of this next stage. No single player can solve these challenges alone.

The path forward

Real-time payments are projected to grow rapidly across APAC in the next five years, supported by increasing digital literacy, cross-border e-commerce growth, stronger regulatory frameworks and government incentives.

The shared focus must now shift to increasing interoperability, both within markets and across borders. Without this, Asia risks replicating fragmentation on a larger scale.

An Asian payments ecosystem where consumers and businesses move money instantaneously and securely across member states would accelerate trade and reduce cross-border friction.

Underpinning this needs to be dependable, proven payments providers who know how to scale emerging technologies across borders while meeting the nuanced client needs of each market.

Through sustained government support, coordinated regulation and partnerships with leading providers, Asia has the opportunity to set the global standard for real-time payments adoption.

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When launching an MVP, the temptation to build everything from scratch is understandable. You want complete control over your product, and custom development feels like the “right” way to ensure quality and uniqueness. However, this approach often leads to longer development cycles, higher costs, and delayed market validation.

The rise of sophisticated SaaS boilerplates has added a new option to the MVP development landscape. Instead of building every feature from scratch, founders now have access to production-ready foundations that cover essentials like authentication, payments, and user management. This can free up resources to focus on what truly differentiates a product. Recent data shows companies using this approach can reduce development time by 50-90 per cent while improving overall ROI compared to building everything custom.

The failure statistics speak volumes

Startup failure rates reached critical levels in 2023-2024, with specific patterns emerging around over-engineering. According to CB Insights’ State of Venture 2024 report, 90 per cent of startups eventually fail, with startup failures increasing 58 per cent in Q1 2024 compared to the previous year. More telling is the underlying cause: a comprehensive academic study analysing 50 startup failure post-mortems found that 70 per cent of failed startups exhibited analysis paralysis, while 22 per cent failed specifically due to lack of focus.

Technology startups, the most likely to over-engineer, have the highest failure rate at 63 per cent across all industries. Analysis paralysis affects 85 per cent of professionals in decision-making contexts, particularly impacting startup founders who feel pressure to build the “perfect” product.

This is where SaaS boilerplates are often positioned as a way to simplify early choices, reduce technical overhead, and allow founders to validate their value proposition faster.

Speed-to-market delivers measurable advantages

McKinsey’s “Grow Fast or Die Slow” study provides stark evidence about the relationship between launch speed and survival. Software companies with less than 20 per cent annual growth have a 92 per cent chance of ceasing to exist within a few years. Two-thirds of startup value is created during the scaling phase, not the lengthy pre-launch development phase.

The research reveals that 74 per cent of successful entrepreneurs had clear customer problem understanding before MVP launch, compared to those who spent months building without market validation. Stanford and MIT research shows that entrepreneurs consistently underestimate market validation time by 3x, making rapid launch with iterative improvement the more reliable path.

SaaS boilerplates, along with other low-code and no-code options, are among the tools helping to compress time-to-market and support faster testing.

Also Read: Unlocking SaaS success: A guide to digital transformation with SEO

The cost mathematics are unforgiving

The financial comparison between custom development and SaaS boilerplates reveals dramatic differences. Building a SaaS MVP from scratch typically costs US$25,000-US$50,000 for basic functionality, scaling to US$200,000-US$500,000 for complex implementations. Using SaaS boilerplates can reduce these costs by 60-80 per cent, with development time cut by 50-90 per cent.

A detailed ROI analysis from WorkOS demonstrates the stark reality. Building enterprise features from scratch resulted in a 3-year cost of US$3,564,413 with revenue impact of US$3,900,000, yielding just nine per cent ROI. The same functionality using pre-built solutions cost US$576,900 with revenue impact of US$11,850,000, delivering a 1,954 per cent ROI.

Development time comparisons reveal massive inefficiencies

Building core SaaS features from scratch requires dramatically more time than using boilerplate foundations. Custom authentication systems need 12-16 weeks of dedicated engineering effort for basic SSO implementation, while production-ready authentication systems can take 6-12 months to support enough Identity Providers for majority customer needs.

SaaS boilerplates include production-ready authentication that can be customised in 1-3 days for basic functionality and 1-2 weeks with full branding modifications. This represents time savings of 85-95 per cent for complex features. Payment processing shows similar patterns—custom payment systems require 2-6 months for basic functionality, while quality SaaS boilerplates include complete Stripe integration that typically takes 1-7 days for customisation.

User management systems demonstrate the pattern clearly. Building comprehensive role-based access control from scratch requires 4-6 months total for enterprise features, while SaaS boilerplates achieve the same functionality with 2-3 weeks of customisation.

Technical debt realities and productivity impacts

Research reveals that early-stage startups building custom solutions accumulate substantial technical debt that severely impacts long-term productivity. Martin Fowler’s analysis identifies technical debt as the number one scaling bottleneck reported by startups.

SaaS boilerplates provide a significant advantage because they’re built by experienced developers who’ve already solved common problems and established proven patterns. Quality boilerplates like SaaS Pegasus, ShipFast, and newer options undergo continuous refinement across hundreds of implementations, eliminating bugs and architectural issues that plague custom builds.

According to IBM research, 50-75 per cent of total software costs are consumed by maintenance rather than new development. For custom software specifically, 70-90 per cent of Total Cost of Ownership goes to maintenance, while SaaS boilerplates with established architectures require only 30-60 per cent of TCO for maintenance.

Also Read: SaaS revolutionises finance: From streamlining to AI integration

The Stack Overflow 2024 Developer Survey reveals that 61 per cent of developers spend 30+ minutes daily searching for solutions to technical problems, highlighting the cognitive overhead of custom development. Meanwhile, 84 per cent of developers use or plan to use AI tools for development acceleration, and SaaS boilerplates can improve development cycles by 60-80 per cent with proven patterns and established architectures.

Investor preferences align with speed-to-market

Venture capital research shows that investors strongly prefer speed-to-market and rapid iteration over technical perfection. Harvard Business School’s comprehensive VC survey found that 95 per cent of surveyed VC firms cite the founder or founding team as the most important factor in investment decisions, with technical approach ranking lower than team quality and execution capability.

Y Combinator’s core principle remains “Launch quickly. Get your first customers,” with Partner Michael Seibel emphasising that “It’s better to have 100 customers that really love your product than 100,000 that are just okay with it.” SaaS boilerplates align perfectly with this philosophy, enabling rapid MVP deployment while maintaining professional quality and scalability.

The bottom line: Skip reinventing the wheel

The research demonstrates that perfectionism is the enemy of startup success. Companies that embrace SaaS boilerplates for rapid MVP development consistently achieve better outcomes in speed-to-market, funding success, user feedback quality, resource efficiency, and market validation.

Your customers don’t care if you built your authentication system from scratch, they care if your product solves their problems better than the alternatives. The evidence suggests that focusing on unique value proposition over infrastructure development creates better opportunities for rapid validation and sustainable growth. So make your choice count!

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It’s no secret that mobile has become the primary channel for brand engagement, customer loyalty, and long-term growth. Yet despite this opportunity, many businesses still struggle to turn app installs into sustained relationships. The real challenge is not getting users through the door, but keeping them engaged long after the first tap.

At a regional roundtable hosted by e27 and Branch, marketing and growth leaders came together to discuss what drives lasting success in mobile ecosystems. The conversation made one thing clear: sustainable mobile growth is no longer about scale alone. It is about creating a continuous loop of acquisition, retention, and personalisation that feeds itself through data and insight.

Moving beyond downloads

In markets like Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, mobile penetration has outpaced digital maturity. Companies often measure success through downloads or campaign reach, but those metrics only tell part of the story. What truly matters is whether users stay, engage, and convert.

At the roundtable, participants shared that many teams still approach growth as a linear funnel rather than a feedback loop. Acquisition efforts often operate separately from retention or product teams, resulting in a fragmented user journey. The emerging consensus was that growth today depends on how effectively a brand can connect these moments into a seamless cycle of engagement.

“It is no longer about growing bigger, but growing smarter,” one participant noted. “You cannot just add users; you have to understand them.”

Also read: Marketing’s next big challenge? Making AI feel human

The shift toward continuous optimisation

AI and analytics are now allowing marketers to measure and iterate faster than ever before. Instead of launching static campaigns, brands are learning to adapt in real time based on behavioural data.

At the Branch roundtable, growth leaders discussed how experimentation has become a defining mindset. A/B testing, predictive analytics, and in-app engagement tracking now power what one participant described as a “living growth strategy,” where every insight leads to a new hypothesis.

This approach demands a culture of curiosity and cross-functional collaboration. Marketers must work closely with product and data teams to interpret feedback loops and make quick adjustments. Over time, these small optimisations compound into what many called the mobile growth flywheel — a self-sustaining system where data from every interaction improves the next one.

Insights from Southeast Asia’s mobile-first leaders

Across fintech, e-commerce, and lifestyle sectors, leaders shared examples of how mobile apps are driving measurable impact when supported by the right strategy. Some are using deep linking to re-engage users with personalised offers. Others are applying lifecycle marketing to anticipate churn and reintroduce value before users drop off.

Also read: From buzzword to application: Southeast Asia’s AI momentum

The stories were diverse, but the themes were consistent. The most successful companies view engagement not as a campaign, but as a relationship. They invest in understanding user intent, reduce friction across channels, and measure success by long-term loyalty rather than short-term conversions.

Rethinking how mobile innovation happens

Roundtables like these show that the most meaningful insights often come from shared experience. When marketers, product teams, and growth strategists sit together, the conversation naturally moves beyond metrics and into mindset.

Across the discussions, participants acknowledged that Southeast Asia’s mobile ecosystem is maturing quickly. The appetite for experimentation is strong, but so is the need for frameworks that turn insight into action. Collaboration, openness, and data transparency are becoming just as important as performance and scale. As one leader put it, “Everyone has data, but few have dialogue. Growth happens when both come together.”

Where the conversation leads next

The evolution of mobile engagement in Southeast Asia is far from over. As new tools and platforms emerge, the focus will increasingly shift toward connected experiences that make every touchpoint matter.

The future of mobile growth belongs to those who treat engagement as an ongoing relationship rather than a one-time event. Brands that listen, learn, and adapt will continue to build the kind of loyalty that lasts far beyond a download.

Mobile growth is not a sprint for users; it is a cycle of understanding. The next generation of marketing leaders will be the ones who turn data into dialogue and experimentation into everyday practice.

Also read: How data and collaboration are powering Vietnam’s urban mobility revolution

Work with us

If your organisation wants to host meaningful discussions around mobile innovation or bring decision-makers together to explore the next phase of digital growth, let’s make it happen. You can reach the Innovate team here.

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Kids born after 2010, Gen Alpha, are growing up completely differently from any generation before them. Their first experience with learning new things often isn’t a textbook or even a teacher. It’s a YouTube short, a TikTok video, or an Instagram reel.

People love to say attention spans are getting shorter. But that’s not quite right. These kids aren’t losing focus. They’re just pickier about what deserves their attention. They scan quickly, decide if something’s worth their time, and move on if it’s not.

This is changing how educational technology needs to work. Hour-long lecture videos, boring slideshows, and endless multiple-choice quizzes? They don’t match how Gen Alpha actually takes in information. The future is about good content, built with the same ideas that make TikTok work.

What TikTok got right

TikTok isn’t just entertainment. It works because of three things: it’s short, it’s interactive, and it reaches the right people.

• Short and punchy: Every video has to deliver something useful in seconds. This forces creators to explain things clearly and cut out the fluff.
• Interactive: Comments, duets, and stitches mean viewers aren’t just watching. They’re responding, asking questions, and creating their own versions.
• Smart algorithms: TikTok’s system finds your audience for you. A good science explanation can reach a student in Singapore, a parent in Manila, or a curious kid in Kenya, all within minutes.

These features might seem too casual for “real” learning. But they’re actually becoming the foundation for how education can scale.

Why content should come first

Most education platforms start by building the technology: the app, the dashboard, all the analytics. Then they plug content into it. TikTok does the opposite. The content is everything. The platform just helps it find people.

When you put content first, learning adapts to the student instead of forcing students to adapt to some rigid system. A well-made 45-second video can spark curiosity, explain something clearly, and make someone want to learn more. Do that at scale, and you’ve got something powerful.

Also Read: The future of work is microlearning: How bite-sized education is transforming the workplace

What we tried in Singapore

At my tutoring centre in Singapore called Bestminds Academy, we decided to experiment with this content-first approach. We’ve always been known for primary school science tuition, but instead of focusing only on classrooms, we started posting short science explainer videos on TikTok.

One 30-second video explained why banana leaves don’t burn when you cook food wrapped in them. It went viral, not because it was flashy, but because it was genuinely interesting and clearly explained. Parents started reaching out, asking for more.

The lesson? Sometimes growing an education business isn’t about opening more classrooms or hiring more teachers. Sometimes it’s about rethinking how you share knowledge in the first place.

Content as the new currency

For Gen Alpha, content is everything. They share it, remix it, and use it to show what they’ve learned. Schools and education companies that don’t get this are going to struggle.

We’re already seeing big education companies try things like micro-learning, gamification, and even influencer teachers. But TikTok’s swipe mechanic takes it further. Each swipe is a tiny moment of progress: no getting stuck, always something new. That taps into how our brains are wired to seek out novelty and reward.

Education companies can use this idea responsibly. Each small learning moment can build toward real understanding.

Making it scale

Here’s the real opportunity: traditional tutoring is limited by geography and time. But when you turn lessons into short, shareable videos, you can reach thousands or millions of people without much extra cost.

This doesn’t replace deep learning. A TikTok video about plant biology won’t fully prepare a kid for major exams. But it can be the thing that gets them interested enough to explore further, sign up for a course, or show up to class ready to learn more.

Hybrid approaches are already emerging: attention-grabbing content on TikTok, structured lessons on teaching platforms, and ongoing Q&A support. It starts with curiosity and builds toward real mastery.

Also Read: Why the education sector needs a lesson in ad fraud

The depth problem

Critics say short videos oversimplify things. And they’re right, if that’s all you do. The trick is to see short content as part of a bigger picture. A single video is like a single note. The full learning experience is the whole song.

The viral video isn’t the goal. It’s the entry point. The real value comes when students move from that spark of curiosity to deeper learning resources: full lessons, practice problems, and teacher guidance.

Building trust in a distracted world

Parents and teachers need to trust what’s happening. TikTok has a reputation for being all about entertainment and distraction, so using it for education might seem weird. But when teachers use it with integrity, it actually works.

Gen Alpha kids can tell when someone’s being fake versus when they genuinely care about teaching. The best education models will combine real teachers, smart use of platforms, and solid curriculum design.

Also Read: How inclusive education can unlock potential in Indonesia’s marginalised youth

What comes next

We’re at a turning point. The old way of teaching (long lectures, static textbooks, one-way instruction) doesn’t match how young people learn anymore. TikTok has shown us that knowledge can spread faster, engage deeper, and reach more people when it’s packaged right.

The question isn’t whether short videos belong in education. It’s how we use them responsibly while keeping standards high.

Final thought: Keep swiping

For Gen Alpha, swiping isn’t just a gesture. It’s how they think. They expect knowledge to be fast, clear, and interesting. The teachers and education companies that win will be the ones who learn from TikTok and build content-first systems that can scale.

The opportunity is huge: a generation that’s hungry to learn, with tools to access anything, waiting for educators who are willing to meet them where they are.

The question is simple: do we stick with the old way of doing things, or do we move forward into how learning actually works now?

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Startup Island TAIWAN is showcasing a delegation of Taiwanese startups to Singapore from 29 to 31 October 2025, at SWITCH (Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology) — Asia’s leading innovation event. The delegation, jointly organized by Startup Island TAIWAN, the Taiwan Stock Exchange, Startup Terrace Kaohsiung, and the Hsinchu Science Park Bureau, features 28 Taiwanese startups, showcasing Taiwan’s achievements and capabilities in AI-native solutions, next-gen hardware, semiconductors, and sustainability.

Caption: The Taiwan Delegation of 28 startups at the Taiwan Pavilion, with Wen-Ling Wu, Deputy Representative, Taipei Representative Office in Singapore, Taiwan Stock Exchange, Startup Terrace Kaohsiung, and Hsinchu Science Park Bureau.

Singapore as a global hub — connecting ASEAN markets and international capital

The SWITCH exhibition in Singapore is one of Startup Island TAIWAN’s key international initiatives, aimed at helping Taiwanese startups connect with Southeast Asian market resources, global investment networks, and strategic partners. Long regarded as a vital hub for entrepreneurship and capital in Asia, Singapore attracts startups, enterprises, and investors from around the world, serving as a crucial gateway for Taiwan’s startups to expand internationally.

Through participation in SWITCH, Startup Island TAIWAN seeks to help startups engage with potential partners and investors, strengthen Taiwan’s presence in ASEAN markets, and enhance Taiwan’s global visibility.

Also read: Why Southeast Asia’s next wave of startups is looking to Taiwan for growth

Taiwan shines at SLINGSHOT 2025

Taiwanese startup, Phasetrum, has been selected as a top-12 startup at SLINGSHOT, Asia’s premier deep-tech startup competition. After progressing through two rounds of competitive evaluation, Phasetrum was selected as one of the top 60 startups and advanced to the Manufacturing, Trade and Connectivity Domain Finals, earning the opportunity to participate in the SLINGSHOT physical immersion trip in Singapore and to pitch on the main stage at SWITCH. After Thursday’s pitching session, Phasetrum was selected for the SLINGSHOT top-12, earning a $60,000 Startup Singapore Grant and 4-week Intangible Asset Identification Sprint to further support business development and expansion. 

Phasetrum’s 3-in-1 phase-difference tuner enables users to connect to satellites from anywhere in the world with half of the power consumption and size of other phase array solutions. With proven superior connectivity performance, Phasetrum’s technology is pushing satellite communications into the next generation and making mass element phase array solutions a commercial reality. Having already partnered with top-tier satellite operators and manufacturers, Phasetrum is exploring commercial and military applications to provide constant and reliable satellite connectivity for its users.   

Taiwan’s startups shine on the global stage

MetaRosetta Co., Ltd.

MetaRosetta pioneers wafer-scale, single-element achromatic metalenses that replace bulky multi-element optics with compact, high-performance designs for IR imaging and AR/VR devices. Its scalable lenses enable smaller, lighter, and more efficient modules for next-generation applications. At SWITCH, MetaRosetta presented simulation data, reference designs, and hosted private demos for potential partners. The company is actively engaging collaborators in the United States, Japan, and Singapore to accelerate commercialization and industry adoption.

Morale AI 

Morale AI develops domain-specific Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI Agents for smart manufacturing and sustainability. Its TextileGPT, trained on 28 years of textile process data, is deployed in collaboration with TUNTEX across Taiwan and Thailand, enabling cross-border AI-driven quality control and operational learning. The company is also expanding into Southeast Asia via partnership with Evercomm Singapore, integrating predictive analytics into ESG compliance platforms to help factories forecast emissions and resource use.

Also Read: Why Taiwan’s tech ecosystem is ASEAN’s next big growth driver

Seeing Display Technology

Seeing’s MEMORIO patented memory-type smart film could memorize its light status just by one switch without continuously powered on, and could save electricity 90% more than the current products and technologies. MEMORIO is the best solution to achieve smart living and ESG goals. Seeing is currently doing a proof-of-concept project with American and Taiwanese companies focusing on smart building materials and advanced display development. Seeing is currently seeking partners and investment in Singapore to further scale up production.

Tenfold AI

Tenfold AI is transforming the $437B legal services market with LexGents, an AI platform that accelerates legal drafting, issue detection, and cross-jurisdictional research. Powered by multi-agent architecture, LexGents improves speed up to 180× while enhancing accuracy and compliance. It is currently adopted by 13 legal entities, including major law firms, VCs, and corporate legal teams in Taiwan, and is soon to be deployed by government agencies. With its fit for efficiency-driven, law-based systems, LexGents is well-positioned for Singapore’s legal market.  

Continuing Taiwan’s innovation journey across Asia  

Participating in SWITCH not only marks another milestone for Taiwanese startups on the global stage but also symbolizes the continued outward momentum of Taiwan’s innovation power. Startup Island TAIWAN will continue to promote the global expansion of Taiwan’s startups through exhibitions, forums, and cross-border collaboration, reinforcing international market connections and building a new hub for innovation linkages across Asia.

Startup Island TAIWAN is Taiwan’s national startup brand backed by the National Development Council. It is dedicated to showcasing Taiwan’s innovative capabilities to the world. For more information about Taiwan’s startup scene on the global stage, please follow Startup Island TAIWAN’s official website and social media accounts.

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Indonesian e-commerce giant PT Global Digital Niaga Tbk, the IDX-listed company behind Blibli.com and its lifestyle arm BlibliTiket, has unveiled its third-quarter (Q3) 2025 results.

Net revenues climbed 32 per cent year-on-year to Rp4,279 billion (US$269.5 million), driven by smartphone sales and physical store expansions. Yet, beneath the glossy metrics and CEO platitudes, the numbers reveal a company scrambling to stem bleeding margins, leaning on aggressive cost controls that could erode long-term competitiveness in Southeast Asia’s cutthroat digital retail arena.

Also Read: Blibli is the latest Indonesian tech company to confirm unicorn status

The press release trumpets “resilience and agility” amid economic headwinds, but a closer dissection exposes the fragility. While gross profit before discounts swelled a robust 32 per cent to Rp4,279 billion (US$269.5 million), the take rate – a critical measure of revenue efficiency per unit of gross merchandise value (GMV) – barely budged from 6.7 per cent in Q3 2024 to 7 per cent in Q3 2025.

This stagnation signals Blibli’s struggle to extract value from its sprawling ecosystem, even as GMV reached Rp61,634 billion (US$3.88 billion), a 26 per cent year-over-year increase. For the nine months, the take rate inched up to 3.6 per cent from 3 per cent, but that’s cold comfort in a market where rivals like Shopee and Tokopedia are reportedly squeezing merchants with deeper discounts to lock in loyalty.

Worse, consolidated EBITDA plunged 12 per cent year-on-year to Rp886 billion (US$55.8 million) in Q3, with the margin contracting to 18.6 per cent of total payment volume (TPV) from a healthier 21 per cent last year. Over the first nine months, EBITDA margins eroded further to 17.9 per cent from 20.3 per cent – a slippage attributed to “strategic investments” but which smells more like the fallout from promotional overdrive.

Operating expenses as a percentage of TPV dipped slightly to 7.2 per cent from 7.5 per cent, thanks to lower consolidated selling costs, but this “efficiency” comes at the expense of genuine innovation. Blibli’s playbook here? Slash ad spends and administrative overheads while flooding the market with iPhone 17 launch hype – a short-term sales jolt that analysts say risks commoditising the platform.

“Blibli’s performance reflects continued resilience and agility,” said Kuswanto Martanto, co-founder and CEO. Yet his words ring hollow against a backdrop of decelerating growth: total segment revenues for the IP Retail arm, Blibli’s online commerce core, expanded just 16 per cent year-on-year to Rp3,034 billion (US$191.1 million) in Q3, down from the blistering paces of prior quarters.

Physical stores, including the 70.6 per cent-owned PT Supra Boga Lestari Tbk (Ranch Market), fared better with 30 per cent GMV growth to Rp4,608 billion (US$290.1 million), buoyed by new Apple and Huawei mono-brand outlets. But even here, the shine fades: overall TPV growth slowed to 2 per cent year-on-year, hinting at saturation in urban consumer electronics.

Also Read: Vietnam leads SEA in e-commerce optimism despite regulatory frictions

The institutional business, serving corporate clients, posted a meagre 30 per cent GMV uptick to Rp1,921 billion (US$121 million), but net revenues grew only 20 per cent to Rp349 billion (US$22 million). With over 10,700 institutional trust clients by September’s end–up from 9,600– Blibli boasts scale, yet average transacting users stagnated at 2.3 million, flat year-on-year.

This plateau underscores a deeper malaise: in a post-pandemic Indonesia where e-commerce penetration hovers at 20 per cent of retail, Blibli’s omnichannel bet (spanning 13 warehouses, 38 home-and-living experience centres, and 58 supermarket outlets) is starting to look like overextension rather than synergy.

The post Behind Blibli’s 32 per cent surge: A margin crisis in disguise appeared first on e27.

Indonesian tech giant GoTo Group has reported a statutory loss of US$15.6 million (Rp255 billion) for the third quarter of 2025, despite the company’s press release proclaiming it had achieved its “first quarterly adjusted pre-tax profit”.

The focus on non-standard financial metrics, such as adjusted pre-tax profit and adjusted EBITDA, appears to mask weaknesses in the core business segments and the continuing bottom-line losses.

Also Read: Behind GoTo’s record Q2: The fine print tells a different story

GoTo, the largest digital ecosystem in Indonesia, announced that its adjusted pre-tax profit was Rp62 billion, equivalent to approximately US$3.8 million, marking the first time the company has reported this specific metric. Furthermore, group adjusted EBITDA reached Rp516 billion (approximately US$31.5 million), an improvement of 239 per cent year-on-year (YoY).

The reliance on non-IFAS measures

While management celebrated generating positive financial results, these figures are based on non-Indonesian Financial Accounting Standards (IFAS) measures. GoTo’s adjusted metrics, including adjusted EBITDA and adjusted pre-tax profit, are calculated by adding back substantial expenses that are necessary to run the business.

Specifically, adjusted EBITDA excludes crucial costs such as depreciation and amortisation, interest expenses, foreign exchange losses, and share-based compensation costs. The press release itself cautions that these non-IFAS measures “should be considered in addition to, not as substitutes for, or in isolation from, measures prepared in accordance with IFAS”.

For the nine months ending 30 September 2025, the company’s loss for the period was Rp997 billion. Even with the significant Q3 improvement—an 85 per cent decrease in the quarterly loss compared to Q3 2024’s Rp1,693 billion loss—GoTo still ended the quarter in the red when using standard accounting principles.

Core GTV growth stagnates in flagship segments

While the overall group core GTV saw robust growth of 43 per cent YoY, reaching Rp102.8 trillion, a deeper look at the traditional platform segment—on-demand services—reveals a significant slowdown in growth, indicating that the overall group growth is heavily reliant on its fintech division.

The on-demand services segment (which includes mobility and delivery), excluding Vietnam, recorded a modest GTV increase of only 2.4 per cent YoY, reaching Rp16.7 trillion (approximately US$1.02 billion).

Broken down further:

• Mobility GTV (two-wheel and four-wheel online transport) grew by a minimal 1 per cent YoY to Rp6.3 trillion (approximately US$382.1 million).
• Delivery GTV (online food delivery, logistics, and quick commerce) performed only slightly better, growing by 4 per cent YoY to Rp10.5 trillion (approximately US$641 million).

In stark contrast, the fintech segment’s core GTV soared by 48 per cent YoY to Rp95.3 trillion, suggesting that the strong group-wide GTV performance is being driven primarily by consumer payments and lending growth. The financial technology unit achieved its fourth consecutive quarter of profitability, with adjusted EBITDA reaching Rp136 billion (approximately US$8.3 million).

Also Read: GoTo secures US$281M loan to strengthen balance sheet, fuel growth

The slowing momentum in GTV for mobility and delivery suggests that GoTo is prioritising profitability and efficiency over aggressive expansion and market share acquisition in these key services.

Despite the underlying net loss and concerns about segmented growth, GoTo remains optimistic, having raised its full-year 2025 Group adjusted EBITDA guidance to between Rp 1.8 trillion and Rp 1.9 trillion.

The company currently holds Rp18 trillion, or approximately US$1.1 billion, in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term deposits.

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