Leave a Nest Announces Winners of the Deep Tech Venture of the Year SEA 2026

Leave a Nest is proud to announce the winners of the SEA Deep Tech Venture of the Year 2026, an award that recognizes outstanding startups leveraging advanced science and technology to address critical global challenges and create meaningful societal impact.

This year, four exceptional deep-tech ventures—DF Automation and Robotics Sdn Bhd from Malaysia, GaraSTEM from Vietnam, MUU from Thailand, and VFlowTech from Singapore—have been selected for their pioneering innovations and strong potential to transform industries across Southeast Asia and beyond. Through breakthroughs in automation, STEM education, sustainable consumer solutions, and energy storage technologies, these companies exemplify the region’s growing strength as a hub for deep-tech innovation and entrepreneurship.

DF Automation and Robotics Sdn Bhd, based in Malaysia, is driving the future of smart manufacturing through its Industry 4.0–enabled autonomous mobile robot (AMR) solutions. Established in 2012, the company specializes in the design, manufacturing, and integration of AMR hardware and proprietary software platforms, NavWiz and DFleet, enabling flexible, scalable, and no-code automation for complex intralogistics operations. By addressing key industry challenges such as labor shortages, inefficiencies, and safety risks, DF Automation helps manufacturers improve productivity, visibility, and operational reliability across a wide range of industries including electronics, semiconductor, automotive, aerospace, and healthcare.

DF Automation has been actively engaged within the Leave a Nest ecosystem through strategic collaboration and investment support from Leave a Nest Capital, which reflects strong confidence in the company’s deep-tech innovation and global growth potential. Through Leave a Nest–led initiatives and cross-border programmes, DF Automation has accelerated its regional and international expansion while strengthening partnerships with global manufacturing players. With this award, Leave a Nest looks forward to further supporting DF Automation and Robotics in scaling its autonomous robotics solutions and advancing smart manufacturing across Southeast Asia and beyond.

GaraSTEM, based in Vietnam, is a deep-technology education company building a full-stack STEM education ecosystem to nurture future technology talent. By integrating robotics hardware, AI-powered learning platforms, curriculum development, and teacher training, GaraSTEM delivers hands-on STEM education from primary to university level, aligned with national and regional education systems and focused on real-world problem solving beyond classroom theory.

As a pioneer in Vietnam’s STEM education landscape, GaraSTEM’s locally manufactured robotics kits and AI-enabled learning platform are deployed across 36 provinces, working with over 200 educational partners and exported to five countries in the region. Its flagship G-Robot Creator line is officially used in Vietnam’s national computer science textbooks. GaraSTEM first joined the Leave a Nest ecosystem in 2018 as a Tech Planter finalist, and Leave a Nest looks forward to supporting the company in scaling quality STEM education across Southeast Asia and empowering the next generation of technology talent.

 

MUU, a Thailand-based food biotechnology startup, is pioneering next-generation protein solutions through precision fermentation. Using proprietary microbial fermentation technology, MUU produces clean, neutral-tasting, and odorless proteins with high nutritional value that integrate seamlessly into everyday food and beverage applications. Designed to address food security, sustainability, and nutrition challenges, MUU’s proteins offer superior amino acid profiles with a significantly lower environmental footprint compared to conventional dairy and plant-based proteins.

MUU has demonstrated strong commercial traction through successful product trials and collaborations with food and beverage producers across Southeast and East Asia, supporting applications such as dairy alternatives, ready-to-drink beverages, and functional foods. The company joined the Leave a Nest ecosystem via Tech Planter Thailand 2022, winning the Real-Tech Award, and later received investment from 144 Ventures in June 2023. Building on this progress, Leave a Nest Capital has since invested in MUU and entered into a strategic partnership, supporting the accelerated commercialization of sustainable protein technologies toward a more resilient global food system.

VFlowTech, based in Singapore, is advancing Asia’s clean energy transition through utility-scale long-duration energy storage (LDES) solutions. Founded in 2018, the company commercializes advanced vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) technology to deliver safe, scalable, and durable energy storage for renewable integration, grid balancing, and energy security. Built on over a decade of research from Nanyang Technological University and VFlowTech’s in-house R&D, its solutions address key limitations of conventional lithium-ion batteries, offering enhanced safety, longer lifespan, and improved sustainability for large-scale applications.

VFlowTech’s systems have been deployed in more than 10 countries, supporting use cases ranging from grid-scale renewables and industrial power management to hybrid energy storage for urban infrastructure and islanding operations. The company first joined the Leave a Nest ecosystem as a finalist of Tech Planter Singapore 2020 and has since continued to scale its technology and real-world deployments. With this award, Leave a Nest looks forward to supporting VFlowTech in accelerating the adoption of long-duration energy storage solutions and enabling a more resilient and sustainable energy future across Southeast Asia and beyond.