Korea-Asean AI Development & Startup Competition 2025: Winners announced at AI Youth Festa, Kuala Lumpur
The Korea-Asean AI Development & Startup Competition 2025 closed in Kuala Lumpur with three startups taking top honours for practical, AI-driven impact across logistics, sports, and fintech. The event pushed a clear agenda: inclusive growth, responsible AI, and solutions that map to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Backed by the Korea-Asean Digital Innovation Flagship Project, the program was co-implemented by Korea's National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA), the Asean Secretariat, and Malaysia's Cradle Fund under MOSTI, with funding from the Asean-Korea Cooperation Fund.
Why this matters for engineers and founders
This wasn't a demo-day for vanity metrics. Startups were evaluated on measurable outcomes and the ability to tackle real problems like climate change and population decline using AI. The cross-border setup gives technical teams a path into new markets, regulation-ready design, and investor access across 11 countries.
Top winners
- 1st - Atlas Robotics Pte. Ltd. (Singapore): Autonomous robotics for sustainable logistics and automation with a clear line to operational impact.
- 2nd - Athletes For Athletes Solutions Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia): AI-led community engagement for the sports ecosystem with strong market potential.
- 3rd - Treasurer (Republic of Korea): Fintech that enables fractional investment in high-value collectibles using AI for smarter discovery and risk signals.
How the program ran
From 22 finalists across 11 nations, teams went through an eight-week acceleration led by Y&ARCHER with mentorship, investor exposure, and business development support. The finale was a live pitch at the Startup Asean Summit, held 3-5 Nov 2025 in Kuala Lumpur.
What leaders said
"Many issues can be solved through AI," said Park Yun-kyu, president of NIPA. On measuring the Asean AI startup ecosystem's progress by next October, Park noted the next steps are still being decided. Winners will be invited to experience Korea's startup ecosystem, with potential introductions to Silicon Valley networks.
There are also plans under review for a preliminary challenge in Korea that could route winners to the final stage of the Extreme Tech Challenge, providing another on-ramp for startups building against SDG-related use cases.
Yeo Seung-bae, ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Malaysia, highlighted recent summit discussions on big data and cybersecurity and reaffirmed Korea's commitment to deeper digital and AI cooperation. The focus: tangible outcomes that benefit people across Asean and Korea.
Norman Matthieu Vanhaecke, group CEO of Cradle, emphasized Malaysia's 2025 Asean Chairmanship as a platform to back early-stage founders and regional partnerships. NIPA's project manager, Sungwoo Shin, said the winning teams reflect a shared goal to use AI to solve common challenges and improve quality of life across the region.
Policy and platform momentum
AI Youth Festa 2025 reinforces Asean-Korea collaboration under the Plan of Action to Implement the Asean-Republic of Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2026-2030) and the Asean Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. The event brought in investors, industry leaders, and policymakers, solidifying its role under Malaysia's Asean leadership.
Next up, Cradle and partners will continue work under the Asean Startup Initiative to expand funding access, market connectivity, and capacity building for founders through the Startup Asean platform: https://startup-asean.org.
Builder takeaways
- Tie AI features to clear SDG outcomes. If your model reduces emissions, waste, or inequality, show the metric. SDG context: UN SDGs.
- Investors here value working deployments over hype. Ship pilots, track baselines, and document lift in cost, time, or risk.
- Design for cross-border scale from day one: multilingual data, privacy/security by default, and compliance across Asean and Korea.
- Three opportunity lanes stood out: robotics in logistics, AI-driven communities in sports, and fractionalized fintech. Each needs strong governance and clear auditing.
- Watch for follow-on chances via NIPA and partners. Prepare a technical appendix and KPIs for fast diligence; keep English and Korean decks handy.
Who was in the room
Leaders attending included: Norman Matthieu Vanhaecke (Cradle, group CEO); Dr. Zurina Mokhtar (ASEAN Secretariat, Science and Technology Division head); Yeo Seung-bae (ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Malaysia); Park Yun Kyu (president, NIPA); Hj. Hasnol Zam Zam bin Hj. Ahmad (secretary-general, MOSTI); Norsham binti Abdul Latip (deputy secretary-general, MOSTI); and Kim Tae-hyun (programme coordinator, AKPMT, ASEAN Secretariat).
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