The startup ecosystem in Asia is no longer dominated by male figures alone. A powerful wave of innovation is being led by some of the most brilliant and bold Asian women founders, redefining leadership across industries like fintech, biotech, AI, and e-commerce. In this article, we bring you the top 10 Asian women founders in 2025 who are scaling startups into billion-dollar enterprises and inspiring a new generation of women to build boldly.
1. Jenny Lee – Singapore (Granite Asia)
Jenny Lee is a Singapore-based venture capitalist turned tech entrepreneur. After years of investing in successful AI and robotics startups at GGV Capital, she co-founded Granite Asia, a deep-tech incubator supporting early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. Her journey started as an aerospace engineer before venturing into finance and VC. Her current focus is backing women-led startups in clean tech and quantum AI.
2. Ankiti Bose – India (Zilingo)
Although Zilingo faced major restructuring, Ankiti Bose remains a name that shaped Asian e-commerce. She started her journey as an analyst at Sequoia India before launching Zilingo at just 23. Her vision was to digitize small fashion retailers across Asia. Despite challenges, her comeback in 2025 with a fashion-tech consultancy firm has cemented her as a resilient force among Asian women founders.
3. Mingzhu Zhang – China (DeepCure AI)
Mingzhu, a former Harvard-MIT researcher, founded DeepCure AI, a biotech startup that uses generative AI for cancer drug discovery. She started as a data scientist at Baidu and later pursued her PhD in computational biology. Her startup is now one of China’s fastest-growing medtech ventures and has received funding from Tencent Ventures.
4. Roshni Nadar Malhotra – India (HCLTech)
As Chairperson of HCLTech, Roshni Nadar is not only continuing her family legacy but is also venturing into new territory. In 2024, she launched HCL FemTech Labs, an innovation hub focused on AI for women’s health. With a background in communication and business, she began her journey at CNN before joining HCL and now ranks high among the top 10 Asian women founders leading legacy-tech innovation.
5. Xiaoyin Qu – China (Run The World)
Xiaoyin Qu is the co-founder of Run The World, a virtual events platform that became mainstream post-COVID. A former product manager at Facebook, Qu used her experience to build an inclusive, borderless online community. Today, her company is expanding into immersive AI-driven conference tools and virtual team-building products.
6. Tan Hooi Ling – Malaysia (Grab)
Though she stepped back from Grab in 2023, Tan Hooi Ling remains an influential voice in Asian tech. Her latest project is WomenBuild, a Southeast Asia-based startup accelerator solely for female founders. A former McKinsey consultant, her new venture supports early-stage startups with mentorship, capital, and network access.
7. Rhea See – Philippines (She Loves Tech Asia)
Co-founder of She Loves Tech, Rhea See is championing diversity in tech funding. Her non-profit began as a pitch competition and has now scaled into a full-fledged VC firm investing in women-led startups across Asia. She previously worked in policy research and education tech, and now supports impact-driven ventures at scale.
8. Arundhati Bhattacharya – India (Salesforce India)
Former Chairperson of SBI, Arundhati shifted gears to head Salesforce India. Under her leadership, Salesforce has invested heavily in AI-powered CRM for rural SMEs, enabling digital transformation in underserved markets. She is also mentoring multiple Indian women tech founders through her foundation.
9. Miwa Seki – Japan (M Power Partners)
Miwa Seki is a leading ESG-focused investor and the co-founder of M Power Partners, Japan’s first women-led climate-tech fund. After a long stint at Goldman Sachs, she turned her focus to sustainable innovation and now funds startups working on carbon capture, circular fashion, and energy intelligence.
10. Yinglan Tan – Singapore (Insignia Ventures)
Though not a founder in the traditional sense, Yinglan Tan is empowering the next generation of women entrepreneurs through Insignia Ventures, one of Asia’s most active early-stage VC firms. In 2025, she co-launched Alpha Women Fund, a new vehicle for supporting high-impact women-led startups in SEA.
Why These Asian Women Founders Matter
Each of these top 10 Asian women founders exemplifies grit, strategy, and innovation. Their impact goes beyond valuation — it redefines what’s possible for women in tech, health, finance, and sustainability. From overcoming cultural expectations to steering multi-million dollar companies, these leaders are reshaping Asia’s entrepreneurial landscape.
Closing Thoughts
The rise of women entrepreneurs in Asia isn’t just a trend — it’s a movement. These Asian women founders are creating space for other women to rise, lead, and innovate. Their journeys show that diversity is a business advantage — and that big dreams have no gender.
👉 For more stories like this, follow BestStartup.Asia where we spotlight founders, forecasts, and the future of innovation in Asia.
To see how these women align with global trends in female entrepreneurship, check out Forbes’ Asia Power Businesswomen 2024.
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