Investing in Southeast Asian startups

The startup landscape is now at a new crossroads. The era of unchecked growth is fading, artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how businesses are built, and investors are increasingly prioritising profitability and resilience over billion-dollar valuations. To understand where Asia’s startup ecosystem is heading amid this wave of change, we spoke with Thomas G. Tsao, Co-Founder of Gobi Partners—one of the region’s leading venture capital firms. With experience investing in hundreds of startups across Asia, he shares insights on the future of AI, emerging opportunities in ASEAN, and the qualities that distinguish successful entrepreneurs in an increasingly challenging economic environment.