Seek Sophie: Building a tribe around conscious travel
When Jacinta Lim talks about her startup, Seek Sophie, you can feel both the grit and the idealism running through her words.
Speaking at Travel Tech Thursdays in Kuala Lumpur late last month, the co-founder admits that creating the company has been the hardest thing she’s ever done, harder tha [...]
From Taiwan, with new dreams and aspirations
How a new wave of travel founders is reimagining Taiwan’s role in global travel
At WiT Indie in Penang, a heartfelt panel unfolded, not just about business, but about identity, optimism, and grit. Titled “From Taiwan, With New Dreams and Aspirations,” the session explored how a new generation [...]
Founders on fire: Indie spirit, big markets, bigger dreams
At WiT Indie, five startup founders took the stage, each tackling a different challenge in travel and tech. What they shared: courage, creativity, and a relentless drive to build from the ground up.
What do a lawyer-turned-AR entrepreneur, a molecular biologist-turned-cargo software builder, a th [...]
Kei Shibata on unusual starts, grit and golden era for Asia | Conversations On Turning 20
When you get to the ripe young age of 20, you’re bound to collect lots of stories – not only about the past but lessons for the future.
As WiT marks its 20th year in 2025, we turn the spotlight on our community, our tribe pioneers and leaders, to tell their stories and share their views on th [...]
Code, context, and culture: How Japanese OTAs are wielding AI for the next travel wave
Biggest obstacle is lack of “shared data standards and open infrastructure”, says KabuK’s Sunada
In the bustling intersection of tradition and technology that defines modern Japan, a quiet but profound transformation is underway in the travel space – driven not by hype, but by the pragmatic [...]
Staging the Local: How CloudJoi Powers the Arts with Tech, Data—and Heart
“It’s not just about ticketing. We built CloudJoi to make the entire arts ecosystem visible, discoverable, and sellable.” – Kevin Teh, COO.
CloudJoi’s rise is a case study in how local event tech can become destination infrastructure. As showcased at Travel Tech Thursdays KL Volume 4, t [...]
Bright ideas, bold pitches: 2025 Global Startup Pitch winners announced at Phocuswright Europe
The spotlight turned to the industry’s most promising new talent on June 10, as 14 seedup and scaleup companies pitched live at Phocuswright Europe 2025 during the highly anticipated Global Startup Pitch. Organised by WiT, Phocuswright, and PhocusWire and supported by American Express Global Busin [...]
Startups in the spotlight: Grit, growth, and a touch of magic
The Global Startup Pitch Showcase 2024, held at Phocuswright WiT Middle East, revealed not only cutting-edge ideas but the grit, grind, and gut instinct it takes to survive and scale in today’s turbulent funding climate.
If there was a common thread running through the Global Startup Pitch Show [...]
Meet the 19 finalists of the 2025 Global Startup Pitch
Nineteen travel tech startups have been selected for the Finals of the 2025 Global Startup Pitch. The competition, in its fourth year, is jointly produced by WiT and Phocuswright and seeks to unearth the brightest stars in early-stage travel tech.
The Global Startup Pitch Competition is support [...]
Legends: From Global Startup Pitch winner to industry trailblazer
Legends, a pioneering travel technology company, has emerged as a significant success story since winning the Web in Travel (WiT) and Phocuswright Global Startup Pitch award. Legends is helping to transform the travel industry by leveraging AI and data to turn consented consumer data into real-tim [...]
