Internationalisation and the Development of East Asian Startup Ecosystems

This chapter examines the internationalisation of East Asian startup ecosystems in Japan, Korea, and China through both outbound expansion and inbound influence, highlighting how historical trajectories and institutional legacies have shaped their current global connectivity. While Silicon Valley’s internationalisation model draws on deep international talent pools and cross-border capital, East Asian startups have traditionally struggled to attract foreign founders, form globally diverse teams, or scale abroad from inception. Rooted in the “Flying Geese” pattern of sequential industrial upgrading, Japan’s precision hardware and intellectual property (IP) strengths, Korea’s chaebol-led market reach and cultural assets, and China’s compressed leap from original equipment manufacturing to platform-based services have each produced distinct internationalisation pathways. However, since 2000, the entry of multinational information and communication technology (ICT) firms has redefined funding models, management practices, and talent markets, fostering hybrid entrepreneurial cultures that blend local insight with global best practices. Nowadays, government programs, corporate venture capital, digital infrastructure, and soft power assets drive a pragmatic model of domestic monetisation followed by capital-efficient cross-border expansion. Nevertheless, structural challenges remain, including fragmented access to growth capital, talent retention, regulatory and geopolitical risks, currency volatility, and investor scepticism. The chapter concludes with three future scenarios—managed stabilisation, regional fragmentation, and China-centric rebalancing—arguing that regulatory agility, strategic partnership capital, and dual-track product and talent architectures will be essential for East Asian startups to evolve from regional champions into globally competitive innovators.