The Malaysia Startup Ecosystem, Part 2

Follow up with additional insights into the Malaysian startup scene

Author

Mark Birch
December 17, 2024

Last week, I dove deep into the Malaysian startup ecosystem. Because it was already a lengthy post, I decided to send part two separately to offer a few more insights about Malaysia startups that I was not able to include in the original post. Enjoy!

In our survey, I asked respondents which Malaysia startups they most admired (besides their own). There were 81 companies mentioned, of which I narrowed down to 71 startups*.

Of course, this is a very small fraction of the estimated 3,000 startups in Malaysia, but this tiny list covers a wide swath of industries including Agritech, Biotech, Edtech, Fintech, and Retail. There were also quite a few startups in the AI, crypto, developer tooling, cloud infrastructure, and ESG markets.

One of the most mentioned startups in the survey is an AI startup called Mesolitica. They are building a Malaysian Large Language Model for generative AI assistants. Other startups with multiple mentions included Pandai in Edtech, RunCloud in cloud infrastructure, and Pixlr, a consumer graphic design and photo tool that I have personally used often.

To give you a flavor of the types of startups you will find in Malaysia, I provided the list of most admired startups with websites and descriptions below for you to explore (if you’re the founder of one of these startups and prefer another description, let me know). Startups are listed first by number of mentions, then alphabetically. Below this list, I included a second list mentioning the startups of founders that responded to this survey so you can learn more about them as well!

  • Mesolitica - Build advanced multimodality AI solutions

  • Aphelia - Wireless power charging for SpaceTech

  • Lapasar - B2B wholesale platform serving retailers

  • Pandai - Malaysia's online learning app for school students

  • RunCloud - Control panel for cloud servers

  • Swipey - Integrated expense management solution

  • Aerodyne - Enterprise drone technology provider

  • Entomal Biotech - Using insects for sustainability

  • Gentari - Decarbonisation clean energy solutions

  • iMotorbike - E-commerce for buying & selling pre-owned motorcycles

  • KiddoCare - On-demand babysitting platform

  • Pixlr - AI-powered photo editing & graphic design suite

  • PolicyStreet - Digital insurance solutions for businesses & consumers

  • 3cat - Buy & repair used Apple devices

  • Alomaid - Hiring Indonesian domestic workers

  • andsons - Re-imagining men’s health

  • Asia Mobiliti - Data products to power mobility solutions

  • Aye Technologies - AI co-pilot for retail frontliners & managers

  • BeSeek - Unlock insights from complex documents

  • BoomGrow - Tech enabled organic vegetable farming

  • CapBay - Supply chain and P2P Financing for SMEs

  • Carbon GPT - AI carbon footprint management platform

  • Carsome - Automotive e-commerce platform

  • Cleve.ai - Second brain for personal branding

  • DCAP - AI-powered consumer financing platform

  • Decube - Data trust platform for the AI era

  • Deemple - Golf app to find golfers to play with

  • Durioo - Streaming platform for Muslim children

  • Ejen2u - Reseller management platform

  • ERTH - Collect & recycle electronic waste

  • Esmee - AI-powered hand prosthesis

  • EverAi - AI-driven conversational entertainment

  • Feedme - AI assistant for restaurants

  • Foundingbird - Incorporation services for Malaysian companies

  • FutureLab - Online mentoring platform and community

  • GK Aqua - Tech enabled freshwater prawn farming

  • Good Foodie Media - Digital food media for ASEAN foodies

  • GoQuo - Customizable airline booking engine

  • Halogen - Fund manager specializing in digital assets

  • Hata - Buy & sell cryptocurrencies with zero fees

  • Jensi.io - Platform for marketing agencies

  • Jirnexu - Customer acquisition & lifecycle management solutions

  • Jupiter (JUP) - Decentralized crypto trading platform

  • KinetixPro - Automate workplace safety detection with AI

  • Kommu - Enables cars for semi-autonomous driving

  • Krenovator - Hire and vet remote or hybrid developers

  • Megamod - Enable creators to build games with no code

  • MengajiOnline - Education platform for online Quranic knowledge

  • MessengerCo - AI-powered platform for corporate gifting

  • Midwest Composites - Composites engineering firm

  • Mobi - Payment solutions for businesses

  • MoneyMatch - Digital remittance platform

  • MyPulse - Business intelligence platform for Shopee & Lazada sellers

  • Nebu - AI-powered DevOps-as-a-Service

  • Neoun.AI - Custom AI engineering services for businesses

  • Paywatch - Earned wage access service provider

  • pitchIN - Equity & token crowdfunding for Malaysian companies

  • Reyhut - Automation platform for hospitality & tourism

  • Ribbon App - Rent a local friend social networking app

  • ScancerAI - AI lung cancer detection

  • Senang - Digital insurance platform for SME's and startups

  • Shieldbase - AI operating system for the enterprise

  • Silentmode - SaaS for retail & fuel retail companies

  • Soft Space - Fintech simplifying complex financial infrastructure

  • StoreHub - All-In-One platform for restaurants & retail stores

  • Supa - Generative AI labeling ‍with diverse human feedback

  • unearth - Asia's circular economy for all bulky household items

  • Vase.ai - On-demand market research platform

  • vectolabs - IoT integrator for construction engineering

  • WORQ - Productivity community & flexible workspace provider

  • ZEONIQ - F&B and retail industry technology provider

List of startups by the founders that responded to the survey as well as a few VC’s (with the exception of a handful from those people that wished to remain anonymous):

Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the companies of respondents whose companies are not startups or headquartered in Malaysia: Azara AI, bolttech, Minfy, Venturerock, AIA Digital+, Aleonz, Astralab, beBit (SEA), Business Performance Consulting, DataLaksa, Devan & Company, GrandTech Cloud Services, Nectar Group, noobs, NSS IT Solution & SushiVid.

MARK BIRCH

* Excludes services and non-tech companies as well as those that could not be found online, were self-mentions, or were not headquartered in Malaysia.

One final question I included in the survey was about respondents’ favorite snacks. I have to admit, this was my sly way to find more delicious foods that I might know about 😅

What did folks come back with? Nuts dominated the voting (people love cashews), with chips being a close second (and I learned about Super Ring for the first time). As you can see from the chart below, the answers were pretty varied with a few surprises.

Deep data analysis into the snack preferences of Malaysian startup founders

People are definitely more in the non-healthy snack variety. Fruits and seeds (kuaci, aka sunflower seeds) only accounted for 6% of the tally. Some folks also cited foods I would normally consider meals like nasi lemak and shawarma.

My goal of uncovering new foods though did come through in the end! The dessert category included Kuih Lopes (glutinous rice with coconut), Pisang Goreng (banana fritters), Pulut Tai Tai (glutinous rice), and Roti Pisang (banana bread).

What was the most mentioned snack though? The title goes to Keropok Lekor, a fish cracker snack from the state of Terengganu, Malaysia. Lekor is made by grinding fish into a paste, adding sago flour, deep-frying it, and then seasoning with salt and sugar. It is then served with a local chili sauce, mayonnaise, or cheese sauce. I look forward to trying this out on my next Malaysia trip!

Most cited snack by Malaysia founders, Keropok Lekor

Before I wrap up this post, I want to acknowledge the outliers from this survey. Thanks to the weirdo that put “Music and Book” as a snack. While it certainly fills my creative and knowledge hunger, books are clearly not delicious. There were a few “non-snackers” and people that did not respond (you are very sad people). Also, while “Whisky with Mark Birch” is a nice thing to say, it is not going to earn you extra brownie points with me😉