AI Across East Asia Startup Showcase

​​Sign up for early access to Outbound's AI Across East Asia showcase. More details on the regions and founders presenting will be updated shortly.

• ​East Asia has produced 400+ unicorns, led by global giants like Samsung, Tencent, and SoftBank — with deep ecosystems across China, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan

• ​The region combines world-class hardware, semiconductors, and advanced manufacturing with frontier AI and robotics — powered by companies like TSMC and dense R&D clusters in Seoul, Shenzhen, and Tokyo

• ​East Asian founders often build with global supply chains and export markets in mind from day one, creating companies that scale quickly across borders in gaming, mobility, consumer electronics, fintech, and applied AI

​​Yet despite this momentum, much of US early-stage capital still operates with a domestic-first lens, not due to lack of interest, but lack of exposure, context, and trusted pathways.

​​Outbound exists to bridge that gap, curating an invite-only virtual event connecting exceptional non-US founders with US-based angels, VCs, and strategic operators who don't want to miss out on the next wave of innovation.

​What to expect

• ​Live pitches from a small group of standout founders

• ​Moderated discussion and Q&A

• ​A shared guest list in advance

• ​Post-event follow-ups where there’s clear mutual interest

​​​Outbound Collective is an initiative by Salvador Dueñas (Chicago:Blend) and Alejandro Estevez (Pear VC) to platform and invest in startups abroad. Since 2018 most newly minted unicorns have been founded outside of the States and with US visa programs tightening, we expect startup talent to be more geographically distributed than ever before. See the announcement here here.