Forbes Asia published its sixth annual 100 to Watch list on August 24, 2026, highlighting privately owned small companies and startups across the Asia-Pacific region. Artificial intelligence is the most visible common theme: nearly one quarter of the selected businesses provide AI-related enterprise technology, while ten companies work in robotics.

The Forbes Asia selection covers businesses headquartered across the region and evaluates market fit, innovation, industry contribution, revenue development and the ability to attract funding. Eligible companies had no more than $50 million in annual revenue and no more than $100 million in total funding through August 15.

A vivid relief map of Asia-Pacific displays separate unbranded symbols for robotics, healthcare, finance, software and clean technology
The list reaches from India and Southeast Asia to Japan, Australia and New Zealand without concentrating on one technology centre.

AI is spreading through established business functions

The list suggests that AI adoption is moving beyond model development into operational tools. Enterprise companies are applying automation to customer communications, sales intelligence, financial services and consumer research. Ideally, headquartered in Auckland, uses AI to analyse sales and customer preferences for more than 250 enterprise users across New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and the United States. Tokyo-based IVRy provides an AI phone-answering system that can interpret requests and route calls.

Robotics forms a second strong group, while biotechnology, healthcare, fintech, energy and commerce remain represented. The variety matters because it shows that regional startup activity is not a single race to build general-purpose AI. Companies are combining software with a specific workflow, asset or distribution advantage.

Examples of commercial proof in the list

  • Aaritya Broking operates the Sahi trading application, which had more than five million downloads by early August.
  • Kazam says it has installed more than 200,000 electric-vehicle charging points across India.
  • Respond.io processes more than two billion messages each quarter for 10,000 businesses.
  • Return Helper handles around 150,000 cross-border e-commerce returns per month through 22 warehouses in 17 countries.
Six products for robotics, analytics, healthcare, payments, electric charging and returns stand in a bright horizontal display
Operational products and measurable use separate the selected companies from purely conceptual ventures.

Funding accompanies measurable operations

Several selected companies reported substantial recent rounds. Bangalore-based Aaritya raised $33 million in April. Gurgaon wealth-technology provider Centricity completed a $29 million Series A round in August. Respond.io raised $62.5 million in June to expand from regions where messaging dominates commerce into North America and Europe. IVRy has raised 8.6 billion yen, or about $54 million, in total equity funding.

The list is not a ranking and does not guarantee future performance. Its qualification limits deliberately focus attention below the largest late-stage companies. For investors and corporate partners, the group offers a view of businesses that have moved beyond an idea but still face the risks of regional expansion, hiring, regulation and repeatable sales.

A regional pipeline rather than one national story

Asia-Pacific contains very different customer incomes, languages, payment systems and regulatory regimes. A product that succeeds in one country cannot assume automatic regional adoption. The companies most likely to scale will preserve a narrow operational advantage while adapting distribution, compliance and service to each market.

The 2026 list therefore provides two signals. AI and robotics are attracting founders and capital, but selection increasingly depends on evidence of use, revenue and market fit. The next test is whether these companies can convert local proof into durable regional businesses without losing the focus that earned attention.