Top entrepreneurs from across Asia gather in Taiwan for regional ‘next unicorn’ summit

JStories ー While much of Taiwan was abuzz last week with major annual tech events like Computex and Innovex drawing tens of thousands, the capital city of Taipei quietly hosted in the same week a far more exclusive gathering: a strictly invitation-only summit for Asia’s next generation of entrepreneurs.

Dozens of Asia’s leading entrepreneurs descended on Taipei for the inaugural F2SU Asia IPO Synergy Forum, a closed-door summit designed to guide high-potential startups on their journey from regional contenders to global unicorns, with a particular eye on ringing the opening bell at the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE).

Over 50 founders, C-suite executives, and startup ecosystem leaders from Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan attended the event held at the luxurious Mandarin Oriental Taipei.

With the post-ChatGPT “AI boom” fueling Taiwan’s ICT and semiconductor stocks, its capital markets and the prospect of IPOs have been thrust into the limelight. F2SU, which stands for “A Friend to Startups,”  has quickly positioned itself as the new launchpad for Asian startups seeking cross-border growth. The summit was co-hosted by GrandTech Cloud Services (GCS) and TWSE.

“F2SU was created to support the next generation of founders — offering guidance from fundraising and global expansion to strategy building and advice before and after IPO,” explained Frankie Hsu, founder and chairman of GCS. A serial entrepreneur who has successfully led two companies to public listings in Taipei, Hsu said it was his struggles that fueled his sense of mission.

“I’ve overcome many obstacles, which is why I’m passionate about ensuring the next generation of entrepreneurs doesn’t have to repeat those hardships,” said Hsu. “I know the pain points, the pitfalls — and now I believe it’s time to give back.”

One of the forum’s headline speakers was Alice Chang, founder and CEO of beauty-tech pioneer Perfect Corp., who provided hands-on advice on scaling globally and navigating IPOs. Chang’s company made headlines three years ago when it went public as a unicorn (valued at over $1 billion) on the New York Stock Exchange. Yet, Chang emphasized that a U.S. listing is not the only optimal path for Asian startups. “Taiwan remains a strong candidate for IPOs coming out of Asia,” she noted.

Another speaker, Jamie Lin, chairman of the leading venture capital firm AppWorks, highlighted Taiwan’s attractiveness beyond electronics and AI supply chains — pointing to high market liquidity, robust price-to-book ratios, and significant foreign investment as key strengths.

Hsu agreed, adding, “Taiwan not only has bubble tea and semiconductors but also has a strong capital market. The data speaks for itself.”

The F2SU summit underscored both Taiwan’s ambitions and the intensifying rivalry among Asia’s top financial centers to attract mature startups. Among the participants were several unicorn candidates currently receiving official support from the Tokyo Stock Exchange, such as Malaysia-based drone tech company Aerodyne and Taiwan’s travel-tech innovator KKday.

Aerodyne, rapidly scaling its global drone operations, and KKday, building momentum with its innovative travel experiences platform, are both on a trajectory toward $1 billion valuations. They are among 14 leading Asian startups now officially backed by the Tokyo Stock Exchange as they weigh their IPO options. For these companies, the F2SU forum seems to have offered practical market insights as they consider where to go public.

Aerodyne's CEO for the Malaysian market, Mudzakkir Hatta, told JStories that this was his first visit to Taiwan, and that the F2SU summit gave him a valuable look at the advantages of an IPO in Taipei compared to Tokyo. Hatta said the company will carefully weigh its options before deciding on a listing destination later this year.

Riding the momentum of the AI wave, Taiwan’s stock market has outperformed most of its Asian peers in recent years. The TWSE is now actively courting foreign startups, branding itself as the “Asian Nasdaq” with particular strengths in small- and mid-cap stocks, a streamlined and affordable IPO process, and regulatory flexibility — including welcoming companies registered in offshore tax havens. Of the nearly 1,000 companies listed on the TWSE, about 10 percent are currently foreign firms.

Written by Toshi Maeda 

Edited by Desiderio Luna 

Top photo: Toshi Maeda | JStories

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