Meridium at Start2's Japan and South Korea Pitch Night

Meridium’s Managing Director, David Stepat, and Director of Operations, Dawn Liew, attended “Collaboration of Strengths in the East: Japan and South Korea Innovation” on Monday 26 October 2026. The Pitch Night, presented by Start2 Group Asia, took place on the eve of the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) 2026 and brought startups together with investors, corporates, government representatives and ecosystem partners.

Fifteen startups from Japan and South Korea

Start2 Group was founded in Munich and runs startup programmes across Asia from offices in Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Bengaluru. Its Pitch Night featured 15 startups from Japan and South Korea, each building technology designed to scale internationally:

• Climate, energy and environment: Carbon Energy (direct air capture that also generates electricity), NEXT BATTERY (ultra-thin lithium-metal battery anodes), e-Material Lab (a lighter, lower-cost heat-sink material) and Envisen (a smartphone-based microplastic detection kit).
• Robotics, mobility and drones: RoboFounders (a Japanese physical AI and robotics platform for ASEAN), Panstar Robotics (AI-powered subsea robots for cable burial), KADEA (AI surround-view cameras for trucks and trailers) and REDCLIFF (large-scale drone shows).
• Industrial and digital tools: Parallel Space (turning laser scans into CAD-ready 3D models), Qeight (weight-sensor inventory tracking for factories), Eletus (an AI platform that turns company manuals into staff training) and iHistory (a map platform for creators).
• Health and life sciences: GraBis (magnetic beads for isolating DNA, RNA and proteins), PYO Biotech (an oral therapy targeting ovarian ageing) and yocto (a smart fitness mat that measures balance and weight distribution).

After the welcome address, the networking session gave David and Dawn time to meet founders and the Start2 team. It included hands-on demonstrations, among them yocto’s sensor mat, which shows on a tablet how weight shifts through the feet and hands during exercise.

Singapore as the bridge into Southeast Asia

For many Japanese and Korean companies, Singapore is the natural first base in Southeast Asia. Several of the startups in the room are already looking for partners and pilot projects in the region, and RoboFounders is building its platform across Japan and Singapore. Getting the Singapore entity, governance and first hires right early on makes the regional expansion that follows far easier.

David regularly runs workshops for Start2 Group’s programmes on setting up in Singapore and Asia, including a session on legal and IP strategy for Japanese startups in the Start2 Asia Accelerator. Through Meridium’s partner firms in Japan and South Korea, we can also support companies heading the other way.

“Japan and South Korea bring outstanding engineering to the table, and it was impressive to see how many of these founders are already thinking regionally from day one. Singapore is often their first step into Southeast Asia, and the decisions they make here on structure, governance and hiring shape everything that follows. Our thanks to Start2 Group for bringing such a strong group of companies together, and to the founders for sharing their plans so openly.”

David Stepat, Managing Director, Meridium

“Many of the founders we met are at the point of deciding how and when to set up in Singapore, from incorporation to hiring their first team members. Those are the practical steps we take clients through every day, and it was a pleasure to meet so many teams at the start of that journey.”

Dawn Liew, Director of Operations, Meridium

If your company is planning its Singapore base, the free Singapore Setup Planner is a good place to start. You can also contact us to talk it through.

Sources for the startup and Start2 Group details: Start2 Group Asia event page and start2.group.