Startups ditch SEA expansion for American Dream, but it’s not that simple

Before 2022, the US market only made up a small part of business for Igloohome, a Singapore-based provider of digital and smart locks ecosystem. However, Covid 19-induced lockdowns in major South-east Asian markets forced CEO Anthony Chow to swiftly pivot.

“In the US, we started seeing a spike in orders despite not having a physical footprint there. The US market was still growing due to the rise of rental properties. Nobody wants to own assets anymore,” Chow tells Tech in Asia.

Chow flew to the US during the pandemic to establish an office in Austin, Texas in 2022. Today, the US accounts for 60 per cent of the firm’s business, Europe for 20 per cent, with Asia making up the rest, according to the executive.