Four Malaysian Startups In Forbes Asia 100 To Watch 2024

According to Forbes, these are small companies and startups in Asia-Pacific that grabbed investors’ attention in 2023.

This is no small feat as venture capital funding in the region declined to its lowest level in seven years. However, 83 of the entries in the top 100 list still managed to raise money since the start of 2023.

The most entries came from India with Singapore, China, Japan and Indonesia making up the bulk of the entries.

Four Malaysian companies on this year’s Forbes Asia list

Following are the four companies profiles provided by Forbes.

Applecrumby

Category: E-commerce & Retail
Year Founded: 2012 • CEO: Sean Tan
Retails through TikTok Shop, Shopee
Delivers across Southeast Asia
Cofounded by husband and wife Sean and Jesmine Tan, Applecrumby sells baby products, including chlorine-free diapers and wipes, with subscription packages for repeat orders. In March, it raised $4.2 million from VC firm 500 Global.

iMotorbike

Category: E-commerce & Retail
Year Founded: 2016 • CEO: Gil Carmo
Operates in Malaysia and Vietnam
Kuala Lumpur-based iMotorbike is a platform for buying and selling used motorcycles, with 170-point inspections and easy returns. It raised $2.6 million in June 2023 in a series A funding round led by Gobi Partners and Shanghai-based Ondine Capital. Other investors are Malaysia’s state-run Penjana Kapital, Seedstars and U.S.-based Goodwater Capital.

LiveIn

Category: Food & Hospitality
Year Founded: 2015 • CEO: Keek Wen Khai
Operates in Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia
Catering to young professionals in search of affordable housing in Southeast Asia, LiveIn works with landlords to help them manage rooms in their properties. It operates on a revenue-sharing model. The Kuala Lumpur-headquartered startup raised $8.3 million in a pre-series B funding round last December led by Wavemaker Partners and InterVest, with participation by Malaysia Debt Ventures, Jungle Ventures and CAC Capital. In June, Korea Investment Partners invested an additional $2.6 million.

Paywatch

Category: Finance
Year Founded: 2020 • Co-CEOs: Richard Kim, Alex Kim
Operates in in Malaysia, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Hong Kong
Paywatch offers employees early access to their wages. Using its app, employees can view their earnings based on their working hours and withdraw money in real time. It also provides employers with HR tools to track employee hours and assign tasks. In June, Paywatch raised a $30 million series A funding round led by VC firm Third Prime, comprising $14 million in equity and $16 million in loans.

Want to know which other Malaysian companies are making headlines in business?

Read More:
The Malaysian Companies That Made Forbes ‘Best Under A Billion’ List
Malaysian Companies In Forbes Asia’s 100 Companies To Watch 2023