The upcoming Asia PE-VC Summit 2026 (Sept 23-24) will feature an all-new Growth, Technology & Private Markets Forum on the second day of the event, bringing together investors, founders, and asset allocators to discuss investment opportunities and challenges across Asia.
The forum will feature eight sessions and 25 speakers from firms including Peak XV, Kickstart Ventures, Sunrise Capital, Brookfield Energy Group, CARSOME, and Waresix, among others.
Discussions will focus on the outlook for technology investments across Asia, private equity opportunities in Southeast Asia, China, and developed Asian markets, as well as the growing role of artificial intelligence and climate capital.
Key topics will include the impact of global monetary conditions on the next investment cycle, the role of Asian venture capital in global LP portfolios, and whether Japan, South Korea, and Australia can provide more durable private equity returns.
The forum will also examine the next phase of Chinese AI commercialisation, how fund managers can use AI to strengthen investment and value creation strategies, and where climate capital can generate returns in Asia. Another session will explore financing options for Southeast Asia’s next generation of growth companies.
Register now
Growth, Technology & Private Markets Forum sessions
8:00 am – 8:55 am
Registration & Networking Coffee
9:00 am – 9:20 am
Welcome Address by Joji Thomas Philip, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, DealStreetAsia
9.25 – 10:15 am
Sovereigns, AI and Global Scale: Southeast Asia’s New Capital Stack
Minette B. Navarrete, President and Co-founder, Kickstart Ventures
Chua Kee Lock, Group President & CEO, Vertex Holdings
Amit Anand, Founding Partner & Managing Director, Jungle Ventures
Rohit Agarwal, Managing Director, Peak XV Partners (fka Sequoia India & Southeast Asia)
Andi Haswidi, Head of Data & Research, DealStreetAsia [Moderator]
Southeast Asia’s next funding cycle is taking shape around a broader mix of capital. Sovereign and state-linked platforms, corporations and other strategic investors are becoming more influential in large financings and capital-intensive areas such as AI, compute and digital infrastructure, while traditional VC remains constrained by selective global liquidity, difficult exits and pressure to return capital. This new stack brings deeper pools of patient and strategic funding, but also different priorities around national capability, commercial alignment and long term value creation. Can it help Southeast Asian companies move beyond fragmented domestic markets and compete globally while still delivering venture scale returns? The discussion will examine who funds the next generation of companies, which sectors and business models will attract capital, how investor influence may shape governance and expansion, and how global monetary conditions will determine the pace of the next cycle.
10:15 am – 10:40 am
- Sponsored by Kopi Kenangan
10.40 am to 11:00 am
Fireside Chat: The AI that outdrives its own CEO, and what comes next
Prof. Shaojie Shen, CEO, Zhuoyu Technology (ZYT)
In conversation with Eudora Wang, Deputy Editor (Greater China), DealStreetAsia [Moderator]
China’s AI story is increasingly being written not only by foundation-model labs, but by companies putting AI into physical systems at scale. Zhuoyu Technology (ZYT) is one of the most interesting examples. Born inside drone maker DJI’s automotive unit before becoming independent, the Shenzhen autonomous-driving company is now taking its technology from Chinese passenger cars into trucks, logistics and Europe, including a new collaboration with Volkswagen. At the centre of that push is a new ‘mobility foundation model’ trained not just on cars, but on data from drones, robots and other moving systems. CEO Shaojie Shen says it already drives better than he does on Shenzhen’s streets.
In this fireside, Prof. Shen Shaojie will unpack what that actually means – how fast autonomous-driving AI is advancing, whether Chinese technology can scale globally, what it takes to turn an AI breakthrough into mass-market economics, and where autonomous driving meets the emerging world of physical and embodied AI. As ZYT also looks towards a potential Hong Kong listing, the wider question for investors is compelling – is this what the next phase of Chinese AI commercialisation looks like?
11.05 am to 11.50 am
The AI test for GPs: Underwriting disruption, transforming portfolios and proving value to LPs
Dr Basil Lui, Founding Partner & CEO, August Global Partners
Yi Pan, Principal, Neuberger
Charles Allen, Senior Advisor, Digital Operations, TPG
Joji Thomas Philip, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, DealStreetAsia [Moderator]
AI is moving from an investment theme to an operating and underwriting question for private-market managers. This session will examine how PE, growth and venture GPs are using AI in due diligence, underwriting and investment decisions; identifying disruption risk across existing portfolios; and deploying it across portfolio companies to improve productivity, revenues and margins. It will also look at how AI is changing the GP itself, from sourcing and research to portfolio monitoring and operating teams. For LPs, the question is becoming equally important: what should managers actually be able to demonstrate when they claim AI is part of their investment and value-creation edge? The discussion will separate experimentation from measurable impact and ask whether AI can ultimately translate into better companies, better exits and better returns.
11.50 am to 12.35 pm
Building for the next 100 million consumers in SEA
Justin Arcenas, Founder & CEO, RuralNet
Edwin Wibowo, Co-Founder & CFO, Waresix
Jecky Pelaez, Partner, Kickstart Ventures
Katrina Bianca Cuaresma, Correspondent, DealStreetAsia [Moderator]
Southeast Asia’s next wave of consumer growth will not be built only in capital cities or through another generation of lifestyle apps. It will come from founders solving harder, more local problems across logistics, financial access, trust, affordability, distribution and digital adoption in markets that remain fragmented by geography, income, infrastructure and behaviour. From Indonesia’s supply chain backbone to financial inclusion in the Philippines, and from emerging consumer platforms in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, this panel will examine what it really takes to build for the region’s next 100 million consumers. How do founders reach customers beyond tier-one cities? What business models can scale across very different Southeast Asian markets? Where does technology create real access rather than just convenience? And what do investors need to understand about the companies building the rails for the region’s next phase of consumption?
12:35 pm – 1:30 pm
1:30 pm – 2:15 pm
The LP view on Asia venture capital
Gary Hui, Senior Vice President, Head of Hong Kong Office, Wilshire
Geetali Kumar, Regional Lead for Venture Capital and Disruptive Technologies, East and Southeast Asia, International Finance Corporation
Pavan Sawhney, Investment Director, Golden Alpha
Joji Thomas Philip, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, DealStreetAsia [Moderator]
Asia venture capital is no longer being underwritten on the old promise of demographics, digital adoption and rising consumer markets alone. For LPs, the question now is sharper: where in Asia can venture still produce institutional-scale returns, real DPI and globally relevant companies? This session will examine how LPs are reassessing Asian venture capital after a cycle marked by valuation resets, slower exits, weaker fundraising and a much more concentrated global appetite for AI-led growth. It will look at where conviction is returning, from China deep tech and India’s maturing startup market to Southeast Asia’s more selective founder economy, and where LPs remain cautious. The discussion will also ask what Asian VC managers now need to prove – sharper portfolio construction, clearer exit pathways, stronger governance, cross-border scale, differentiated access, and the ability to return capital rather than simply mark up companies. Above all, the panel will explore whether Asia VC can still earn a meaningful place in global LP portfolios, and what kind of managers, markets and strategies will make that case.
2.20 pm – 3:05 pm
Can developed Asia become private equity’s next control-deal engine?
Alexandre Schmitz, Founder & CEO, A2Z Private Capital
Jack Hongjae Oh, CEO & Managing Partner, Invictus Private Equity Asia
Shota Kuwaki, Managing Director, Sunrise Capital
Kazushige Kobayashi, Chairman at LGT Capital Partners, Japan
Kavitha Nair, Deputy Editor (Private Equity), DealStreetAsia [Moderator]
Developed Asia is moving from a defensive allocation story to a more active control-deal opportunity. In Japan, governance reform, succession issues, carve-outs and take-privates are opening doors for private equity in a market long dominated by corporates and founder-led businesses. In Korea, conglomerate restructuring, corporate divestitures and generational transition are creating a different but equally compelling route into control and platform-building. Australia remains one of Asia-Pacific’s most mature buyout markets, with deeper financing, institutional capital and clearer exit pathways, but also intense competition for quality assets. This panel will examine whether Japan, Korea and Australia can become a more durable returns engine for Asia private equity, and what it takes to win in markets where control, governance, operational value creation and exit discipline matter more than growth alone.
3:10 pm – 3.55 pm
Can climate capital and nuclear deliver both energy security and DPI in Asia?
Andrew Wong, Director, TRIREC
Marie Cheong, Founding Partner, 100×100
Stefano Ghezzi, Managing Director, Brookfield Energy Group
Milena Nikolova, Partner, Antares Ventures
Michelle Teo, Managing Editor, DealStreetAsia [Moderator]
Asia’s energy transition is no longer only a decarbonisation story. AI, data centres, electrification, industrial growth and rising power demand are turning energy security into one of the region’s most urgent private capital questions. Climate investors are now being asked to back solutions that can scale commercially, strengthen grids, reduce import dependence and still deliver credible returns. From renewables, storage, carbon markets and industrial decarbonisation to the emerging debate around advanced nuclear and fusion, the opportunity set is expanding, but so are the execution risks. This panel will examine where climate capital can generate real DPI in Asia, what role nuclear and other firm power technologies could play, and whether the region can finance an energy transition that is cleaner, more secure and commercially investable.
3:55 – 4.30 pm
- Sponsored by Kopi Kenangan
4:30 pm – 5.20 pm
Closing session: Beyond the endgame: What rises from Southeast Asia’s tech-startup reckoning?
Murli Ravi, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Tin Men Capital
Andi Haswidi, Head of Data & Research, DealStreetAsia
Eric Cheng, CEO & Co-Founder, CARSOME
Martyn Terpilowski, CEO & Founder, BVARTA
Dmitry Levit, Founder & General Partner, Cento Ventures [Moderator]
Southeast Asia’s venture-backed tech economy is emerging from its harshest reset in a decade. Funding remains far below its peak; LPs have pulled back, many VCs face difficult successor fundraises, exits remain scarce, and governance failures have damaged trust across the ecosystem. But this is neither a single regional story nor evidence that Southeast Asia has stopped producing good companies. Profitable businesses are still being built, the digital economy continues to expand, and selective capital is moving into AI, software, deep tech, digital infrastructure, and other sectors with clearer paths to scale and returns. Meanwhile, M&A, roll-ups, secondaries, private credit and growth equity could reshape how companies are funded and how older portfolios find liquidity. This closing panel will examine what rises from the reset: which countries, sectors and business models can still produce venture- or PE-scale returns; whether the next winners will be regional or global; how trust can be rebuilt without extinguishing risk-taking; and who will finance Southeast Asia’s next generation of growth companies.
