Since 2021, Forbes Asia has published five editions of the 100 to Watch list, which spotlights notable small companies and startups on the rise across the Asia-Pacific region.Under the theme “Seizing The Momentum,” the Forbes Asia 100 to Watch Forum convened founders, CEOs and senior executives from the 100 to Watch companies, leading VCs, top investors from the region and members of selected Forbes lists. They shared their ideas and strategies to move beyond market recovery and harness the power of innovative technology to stay ahead.Wednesday, April 8, 2026Welcome Remarks by Rana Wehbe Watson, Editorial Director, Forbes AsiaSession I: Unlocking PotentialSteve Abraham, Cofounder and Co-CEO of Zed; Mudit Dandwate, Cofounder and CEO of Dozee; Adrien Desbaillets, Cofounder and CEO of SaladStop! Group; and Dylan Ng Terntzer, Cofounder and CEO of LionsBot on a panel discussion with Forbes Asia senior editor John Kang about utilizing AI.“You have this hidden class that is driving economic growth in Southeast Asia that can’t be served by traditional banks, not because they aren’t creditworthy, but simply because they are young.” — Steve Abraham, Cofounder and Co-CEO of Zed.“Now is about feeding more data to the model and continuing to refine it.” — Adrien Desbaillets, Cofounder and CEO of SaladStop! Group.“The biggest problem with healthcare is the shortage of staff. To ensure that quality healthcare is delivered to everyone, you have to rely on technology.” — Mudit Dandwate, Cofounder and CEO of Dozee.“Our robots don’t just do cleaning. Every robot becomes a data collector. For cleaning, we go to a lot of environments so we are able to recreate those environments.” — Dylan Ng Terntzer, Cofounder and CEO of LionsBot.Session II: FedEx Small Business Grant ContestSelected from the latest 100 to Watch list, four founders pitched live to a panel of judges: Conor Madigan, Cofounder and CEO of Aether Fuels; Andrew Minett, Cofounder and CTO of Sicona Battery Technologies; Heidi Wyle, Founder and CEO of Venti Technologies; and Su Yang, Cofounder of Linkerbot.Session III: The New Investment PlaybookJing Hong, Founding Partner of Gaocheng Capital; Jefrey Joe, Cofounder and General Partner of Alpha JWC Ventures; Kuok Meng Xiong, Founder of K3 Ventures; and Shailendra Singh, Managing Director of Peak XV on a panel discussion with Forbes Asia editorial director Rana Wehbe Watson about how they are adapting their strategies for the AI environment.“The U.S. model companies are spending heavily in data centers and electricity, but the government in China has already done that. Now they are exporting electricity in the form of tokens.” — Jing Hong, Founding Partner of Gaocheng Capital.“The principle for us is really leveraging what is the strength of Indonesia, which is a big consumer base. We really believe there are lots of opportunities out there.” — Jefrey Joe, Cofounder and General Partner of Alpha JWC Ventures“MiniMax has gone from investment to IPO in 24 months, and that has really given some appetite to risks. Today we look at physical AI and how they can be useful in hotels and our logistics network.” — Kuok Meng Xiong, Founder of K3 Ventures.“AI startups are scaling revenues fastest in the history of tech. It is true of application companies. It is true of model companies.” — Shailendra Singh, Managing Director at Peak XV.Session IV: FedEx Small Business Grant Contest - Results AnnouncementSalil Chari (center), President, Asia Pacific, FedEx with finalists of the FedEx Small Business Grant Contest: Winner (Venti Technologies) and Special Mentions (Linkerbot, Aether Fuels and Sicona Battery Technologies).Session V: Beyond the BreakthroughPeter De Caluwe, Cofounder and CEO of Thunes; Aaron Tan, Cofounder and CEO of Carro; and Edward Tirtanata, Cofounder and Group CEO of Kopi Kenangan on a panel discussion with Forbes Asia editorial director Rana Wehbe Watson about converting early-stage momentum into a long-term competitive advantage.“Our goal was never to be a billion-dollar company. Our goal is just to grow. The billion-dollar part is just part of the trajectory.” — Peter De Caluwe, Cofounder and CEO of Thunes.“We weren’t in the business to burn money. We are in the business to deliver returns to shareholders. A lot of our competitors chose to burn money, but we chose to invest.” — Aaron Tan, Cofounder and CEO of Carro.“Any money that comes wired to our company comes with a responsibility. It needs to go towards profitability.” — Edward Tirtanata, Cofounder and Group CEO of Kopi Kenangan.Networking(L-R) Grace Tan, Executive Vice President, Singapore Economic Development Board; William Adamopoulos, CEO, Forbes Media Asia; Salil Chari, President, Asia Pacific, FedExForbes Asia(L-R) George Raymond Zage III, Founder & CEO, Tiga Investments; Ray Ferguson, Board Chairman & Independent Non-Executive Director, SingLifeForbes Asia(L-R) Herman Loh, Senior Vice President & Head, Singapore Economic Development Board; Tay Jun Long, Regional Vice President – Southeast Asia & Oceania, Singapore Economic Development Board; Jia Jimin, CEO, Red Dot Analytics; Cai Yuting, Marketing Director, Red Dot AnalyticsForbes Asia(L-R) Ilya Kravtsov, Cofounder, Ringkas; Brian M Go, Chief Finance and Risk Officer, JG Summit Holdings; Andrew Kandolha, Cofounder, SaturdaysForbes Asia(L-R) Joel Ng, Portfolio Manager, Swaen Capital; Cliff Go, Founding Partner, Swaen Schooling Capital; Liliane Even, CEO, AsteriPay; Gunawan Woen, Cofounder & CEO, Esensi Solusi BuanaForbes Asia(L-R) James Andrade, Chief Representative, US ASEAN Business Council; Salil Chari, President, Asia Pacific, FedEx; Ang Choo Pin, Chief, Government Affairs, Asia Pacific, FedExForbes Asia(L-R) Roy Quek, Chairman, Ascensus Health Group; Tan Min Han, Founding CEO & Medical Director, Lucence; Denise Lee, Director, Ardent Investment Partners; Adrian Ang, Cofounder & CEO, Aevice HealthForbes Asia(L-R) Abdulla Ali Al-Marri, Head of QIA Advisory, Asia Pacific, Qatar Investment Authority; Lim Cheng Khai, Executive Director – Financial Markets Development, Monetary Authority of SingaporeForbes Asia(L-R) Jacky Li, Investor, Horizons Ventures; Wendy Yu, Director, Horizons Ventures; William Adamopoulos, CEO, Forbes Media Asia, Mudit Dandwate, Cofounder & CEO, DozeeForbes Asia(L-R) Edward Tirtanata, Cofounder & Group CEO, Kopi Kenangan; Shreya Mishra, Cofounder, SolarSquareForbes Asia(L-R) Mao Zitong, CFO, Utaite; Arvin Singh, Cofounder, CinchForbes Asia(L-R) Adrien Desbaillets, Cofounder & CEO, SaladStop! Group; Randy Duax, MD, StagwellForbes Asia(L-R) Heidi Wyle, Founder & CEO, Venti Technologies; Dan Chong, Managing Partner, Gobi Partners; Oliver Rippel, Co-founder & Partner, Asia PartnersForbes Asia(L-R) Mathew Mazhuvancheryparambath, VP, Marketing, APAC, FedEx; Nick Swift, VP, Sales, North & South Pacific, FedEx; Alfie Yee, MD, Marketing, Strategic Customer Engagement, APAC, FedExForbes Asia(L-R) Michael Budiman, Cofounder, Head of Sales and Distribution, BRIK; David Gowdey, Managing Partner, Jungle Ventures; Francis Anugrah, Cofounder & CEO, BRIK; Rachel Ran Li, Gas Trader, Ampol; Takuma Honda, Co-CEO, Oceanic ConstellationsForbes Asia(L-R) Dennis Mak, MD, Paraclete Capital; Raj Rao, MD - Partner: Global Strategy & Consulting - Supply Chain & Operations, CCO, Planet ZeroForbes Asia(L-R) Kitiya Vongkamjan, Founder, UniFAHS; Rana Wehbe Watson, Editorial Director, Forbes Asia; Chalita Wongpukdee, Cofounder & CMO, UniFAHSForbes Asia(L-R) Dieter Schlosser, Founding GP, 5I Ventures; Kuok Meng Xiong, Founder, K3 VenturesForbes Asia(L-R) Raymond Sutjiono, Co-Founder & CEO, McEasy; Kevin Phang Wijaya, Cofounder, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Swap Energi; Hendrik Ekowaluyo, Co-Founder & CFO, McEasyForbes Asia(L-R) Ong Zhang Quan, Cofounder & Group COO, Sleek EV; Masaaki Hamada, MD, Asuene; Suthipak Chirathivat, Advisory Member, Executive Committee, Central Group of Companies, Executive Director, Central PattanaForbes Asia(L-R) Su Yang, Cofounder, Linkerbot; Mao Zitong, CFO, Utaite; Wesley Wen Xu, Co-Founder, Chief Growth Officer, Dash Living; Kempei Monna, CEO, KaucheForbes Asia(L-R) Neeraj Jain, Cofounder, SolarSquare; Shreya Mishra, Cofounder, SolarSquare; Victor Senapaty, Cofounder & CEO, PropelldForbes Asia(L-R) Kenny Liu, Head of GTM, Preface; Nguyen Quoc Phuong, Cofounder & CFO, M VillageForbes Asia(L-R) Vishal Agarwal, Vice President, Resu Group; Eugene Wong, Senior Vice President, Forbes Asia; Satveer Singh Thakral, Director, Thakral Group of Companies, Founder & MD, Riverwalk HoldingsForbes Asia(L-R) Shaw Soo Wei, Partner, Gobi Partners; Tan Min Han, Founding CEO & Medical Director, LucenceForbes Asia(L-R) Chris Leong, Chief Strategy & Investment Officer, Soft Space; Rachel Lau, Managing Partner, Iris Capital Partners; Joel Tay, CEO, Soft SpaceForbes Asia(L-R) Chan Yoon, Founder & CEO, EverEx; Naazneen Karmali, Executive Editor, Forbes Asia; Kevin Rhee, CEO & CTO, Qunova ComputingForbes Asia(L-R) Emmanuel V Pitsilis, Global Head of PCAAM, Partners Capital Investment Group (Asia); Peter Allen, Executive Director, Pacific Century Group; Ray Ferguson, Board Chairman & Independent Non-Executive Director, SingLifeForbes AsiaMORE FROM FORBES ASIA 100 TO WATCHForbesForbes Asia 100 To Watch Forum 2025 HighlightsBy Forbes Asia TeamForbesForbes Asia 100 To Watch 2025By Forbes Asia TeamForbesForbes Asia 100 To Watch 2024By Forbes Asia TeamForbesForbes Asia 100 To Watch 2023By Forbes Asia TeamForbesForbes Asia 100 To Watch 2022By Forbes Asia TeamForbesForbes Asia 100 To WatchBy Forbes Asia Team