Time to rip up the playbook

Why investors should buy Excel-run businesses, what SEA founders get wrong about the US, and more of this week's top stories.

Read from your browser Sunday Newsletter Welcome to Tech in Asia's Sunday newsletter, your weekend brief on the biggest moves in Asia's tech and startup world. Subscribe to this newsletter or send story tips to editors@techinasia.com. Ensure our articles appear in your Google searches: IN FOCUS Peter Cowan on tearing up the playbook Why investors should digitalize, not disrupt When LLMs tell us sweet little lies Hello Betamax, The American football season has begun, which means I'll be spending the next few months shouting clichés at my TV. Maybe at some point, I'll be demanding the coach of my favorite team to rip up his playbook. While that's a terrible idea midway through a professional football season, our top stories this week show it can be the opposite in business. Take this Insights piece by AI builder Aadhar Chhabra. He argues that rather than looking for the next shiny startup to disrupt industries, investors in Southeast Asia would be better off acquiring one of the region's thousands of medium-sized businesses that are ripe for modernization, such as a successful restaurant group still running on Excel and WhatsApp chats. He makes a compelling case for investors to change tack from funding startups building from zero to backing businesses that just need a push into the modern era. Frederick Ng, another Insights writer, makes a similar point in this article. The CEO and co-founder of tech-enabled immigration platform Beyond Border reckons that many of Southeast Asia's founders are using the wrong playbook for US expansion. Rather than taking a series of two-week trips that seem safe but achieve little, Ng says founders have to commit deeply if they want to make it in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Read both, then ask yourself if you have any playbooks that need tearing up. Peter Cowan, engagement editor EDITOR'S PICKS 1️⃣ Forget startups. Buy the business running on Excel Chhabra talks about the signs that a business is ripe for digitalizing, including some subtle ones like tech debt, as well as what to do once it's been acquired. Interestingly, automation and all things AI don't come first. Read to see why. 2️⃣ What SEA founders get wrong about expanding to the US Ng offers some helpful tips to make meetings with US-based investors go better. In simple terms, it's better to be bold rather than humble. The more time you spend around Americans, the more that idea will make sense. SHORT CUTS 1️⃣ Driving a profit Used-car ecommerce platform Carsome enjoyed a solid Q2 this year, with a record EBITDA of about US$8.2 million. On top of a 38% rise year on year, it's the Malaysian firm's 10th consecutive quarter of profit by that metric. Is it time for an IPO soon? If this story from 2024 is anything to go off, the answer may be yes. 2️⃣ 500 Global, here to stay Reports emerged last week that 500 Global doesn't plan to raise another Southeast Asia-focused fund. Speculation mounted that the VC firm was winding down its prior funds dedicated to the region. Not so, says managing partner Khailee Ng. He emphasized that Southeast Asia remains important for the firm, and that it's here "for the long haul." Time will tell if that's the case. 3️⃣ Shein struts down trading floor The fast-fashion giant finally made its public market debut last week, though the result was less award-winning collection, more muted sweater. Shein closed flat on its Hong Kong debut at a valuation of about US$26.3 billion, down from nearly US$100 billion in 2022. The company's pivot to embrace its Chinese roots may have come a tad too late. ONE VISUAL STORY YOU SHOULDN'T MISS $2.1 billion reasons to be cheerful Some cheery news on the state of startup funding in Southeast Asia, for once. Our data shows Q3 funding at US$2.1 billion so far, up from US$1 billion in the same quarter last year - and there's a month left for that number to swell. The full visual story has more numbers that are perhaps less cheery, but you can click through and be the judge of that. WEEKEND DEEP DIVE 'If you build something vastly smarter than you, it better be on your side': can we stop AI from deceiving us? We're all accustomed to being lied to by humans. But machines? That's taking a lot more getting used to, according to this article from The Guardian. It explores deception from the LLMs we all know (and love?) and how they seem to have "learned" manipulative practices from their training data - aka humans lying - as well as from being trained to please us. While the problem has been bad enough already with agents breaking out of test environments, the scarier question is what happens if and when we have AIs far more intelligent than humans. AFTER-HOURS NETWORKING An evening to connect, unwind, and celebrate After two days of high-impact insights, meaningful discussions, and new connections, the conversations continue. Join fellow attendees and speakers at the Tech in Asia Conference's after-hours networking, an exclusive evening to unwind, reconnect, and build relationships beyond the conference floor. Held at Avenue Lounge, Singapore, on September 16, this event brings together the community for stronger partnerships and new opportunities. Our media partners, The Peak and Her World, alongside leading Singapore lifestyle titles, will also bring along their guests, expanding the evening's community to include ambitious professionals from across business, tech, and lifestyle. This event is open to Tech in Asia Conference 2026 Pro Pass holders. Slots are limited - register today. Already have a conference Pro Pass? RSVP for After Hours Networking. EVENTS HAPPENING You can also check out our curated list of trending tech events and Tech in Asia's signature events. More ways to connect at the conference Extend your Tech in Asia Conference 2026 experience this September 15 at AWS Happy Hour. It gathers founders, investors, enterprise leaders, and startup partners over drinks. Make new introductions, continue the day's conversations, and explore potential investments, partnerships, and collaborations in a relaxed networking setting. Have a conference pass? Register your interest for AWS Happy Hour. Why do AI pilots stall before they scale? Start your day right at Tech in Asia Conference 2026 with a closed-door AI leaders breakfast co-hosted by Wonderful. Senior enterprise leaders will gather to discuss moving beyond stalled AI pilots and addressing execution challenges across strategy, integration, governance, and people through structured peer exchange. Have a conference pass? Register your interest for the AI Leaders Breakfast. China's next global move Taking place on September 15 at the Tech in Asia Conference 2026, this exclusive luncheon gives you an early look at the report "Chinese Companies' New Playbook for Going Global" and gives you access to a moderated discussion on China's AI innovation, global expansion, and what these shifts could mean for Southeast Asian businesses. Already have a pass? Register your interest for the luncheon. Scaling for a nation With only a few days remaining until the Tech in Asia Conference, Li Hongyi, director of OGP, joins us to discuss the framework it used to identify citizen pain points before writing a single line of code. Join us to learn the strategies needed for industrial-scale deployment. ADVERTISE | SUBSCRIBE | HIRE | FIND JOBS P.S. Don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis. Add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Tech in Asia thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Too many emails? Switch to a different frequency or get new content through our preference center, or unsubscribe. You can also remove yourself from all Tech in Asia emails over here. Copyright © 2026 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. Tech in Asia (Podium Level 3), 1000 Toa Payoh North, News Centre, Singapore 318994