Asia's Top
Tech Leaders
50
A 2018 InfluenceAsia ranking of the technology leaders shaping Asia's platforms, infrastructure, capital, hardware, AI, digital commerce and consumer technology ecosystems.
A 2018 InfluenceAsia ranking of the technology leaders shaping Asia's platforms, infrastructure, capital, hardware, AI, digital commerce and consumer technology ecosystems.
An independent InfluenceAsia original ranking produced for formal editorial publication and web-ready presentation. Written as a 2018 edition, using leadership roles, market influence and field contributions visible during 2018.
Eligible candidates are founders, chief executives, chairpersons, platform operators, deep-technology builders and technology capital leaders whose work materially shaped Asian technology markets in 2018.
Technology leaders who set the 2018 agenda
The opening tier captures Asia's platform builders, technology capital allocators, network infrastructure leaders, consumer hardware founders and AI-driven media operators.
Ma Huateng
- Platform
- Tencent Holdings
- Market
- China
- Field
- Platform technology
Asia's most influential platform technology leader in 2018, defined by Tencent's social, gaming and payment reach.
Jack Ma
- Platform
- Alibaba Group
- Market
- China
- Field
- E-commerce and digital infrastructure
Alibaba's founding voice in 2018, turning platform commerce into a global symbol of Asian technology leadership.
Masayoshi Son
- Platform
- SoftBank Group
- Market
- Japan
- Field
- Technology investment
Japan's defining technology investor in 2018, turning SoftBank into a global capital engine for platform companies.
Ren Zhengfei
- Platform
- Huawei Technologies
- Market
- China
- Field
- Telecommunications and devices
Huawei's founder in 2018, representing China's highest-impact network technology and device engineering.
Mukesh Ambani
- Platform
- Reliance Industries / Jio
- Market
- India
- Field
- Telecommunications and digital platforms
India's most powerful technology platform builder in 2018, defined by Jio's mobile data revolution.
Zhang Yiming
- Platform
- ByteDance
- Market
- China
- Field
- Algorithmic media and AI platforms
ByteDance's founder in 2018, defining algorithmic content and the global rise of short-form video.
The complete 2018 ranking
Each entry is shown with the leader's technology platform, market, field and InfluenceAsia score, preserving the 2018 field contribution from the data package.
| Rank | Leader | Platform | Market | Field | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ma Huateng In 2018, Ma kept Tencent central to China's digital life while WeChat, online entertainment, fintech functions and enterprise cloud services shaped the operating system of mobile China. | Tencent Holdings | China | Platform technology | 99.2 |
| 2 | Jack Ma In 2018, Ma elevated Alibaba's global profile, supported the transition toward a new leadership era and kept digital commerce at the centre of China's consumer economy. | Alibaba Group | China | E-commerce and digital infrastructure | 99 |
| 3 | Masayoshi Son In 2018, Son used SoftBank's capital base to shape startup valuations, founder ambitions and consolidation patterns across multiple technology sectors. | SoftBank Group | Japan | Technology investment | 98.8 |
| 4 | Ren Zhengfei In 2018, Ren's Huawei advanced 5G infrastructure, enterprise networks and premium smartphone shipments while sustaining heavy research investment. | Huawei Technologies | China | Telecommunications and devices | 98.5 |
| 5 | Mukesh Ambani In 2018, Ambani expanded Jio's role in mobile broadband, apps, content and digital infrastructure for hundreds of millions of Indian users. | Reliance Industries / Jio | India | Telecommunications and digital platforms | 98.3 |
| 6 | Zhang Yiming In 2018, Zhang pushed ByteDance from Chinese news feeds into international short-video leadership and large-scale algorithmic media. | ByteDance | China | Algorithmic media and AI platforms | 98.1 |
| 7 | Lei Jun In 2018, Lei led Xiaomi through its Hong Kong listing and expanded its IoT, retail and international smartphone strategy. | Xiaomi Corporation | China | Consumer electronics and IoT | 97.9 |
| 8 | Daniel Zhang In 2018, Zhang strengthened Alibaba's retail technology, cloud business and annual shopping festival execution while preparing for greater leadership responsibility. | Alibaba Group | China | E-commerce, cloud and new retail | 97.7 |
| 9 | Lee Jae-yong In 2018, Samsung's memory, display and device businesses kept South Korea at the centre of global technology supply chains. | Samsung Electronics | South Korea | Semiconductors and consumer technology | 97.4 |
| 10 | Robin Li In 2018, Li made artificial intelligence the centre of Baidu's strategic identity and advanced Apollo as an open autonomous-driving platform. | Baidu | China | Search, AI and autonomous driving | 97.2 |
| 11 | Cheng Wei In 2018, Cheng directed Didi's investments in safety, electric mobility, AI dispatch and international partnerships. | Didi Chuxing | China | Mobility technology | 97 |
| 12 | Richard Liu In 2018, Liu kept JD.com focused on automated warehouses, delivery capability, consumer electronics strength and premium retail services. | JD.com | China | E-commerce and logistics technology | 96.8 |
| 13 | Colin Huang In 2018, Huang led Pinduoduo to a major public-market debut and brought value-driven social commerce into the mainstream. | Pinduoduo | China | Social commerce | 96.6 |
| 14 | Wang Xing In 2018, Wang guided Meituan-Dianping through its public-market debut and expanded the platform's role in everyday urban services. | Meituan-Dianping | China | Local services technology | 96.3 |
| 15 | Morris Chang In 2018, Chang's foundry model remained central to advanced semiconductor manufacturing, customer trust and capital discipline. | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company | Taiwan | Semiconductors | 96.1 |
| 16 | Terry Gou In 2018, Gou kept Hon Hai central to smartphone, server and consumer electronics assembly while pushing automation and global production capacity. | Hon Hai Precision Industry | Taiwan | Electronics manufacturing | 95.9 |
| 17 | William Ding In 2018, Ding sustained NetEase's strength in online games, music streaming, content communities and disciplined monetisation. | NetEase | China | Online games and digital content | 95.7 |
| 18 | Frank Wang In 2018, DJI remained the benchmark for consumer and professional drones across media, surveying, infrastructure and public-safety use cases. | DJI | China | Drones and robotics | 95.5 |
| 19 | Eric Jing In 2018, Jing guided Ant Financial's expansion as one of Asia's most strategically important fintech companies. | Ant Financial | China | Financial technology | 95.2 |
| 20 | Lucy Peng In 2018, Peng took a central role in strengthening Alibaba-linked regional commerce operations and leadership systems. | Alibaba ecosystem / Lazada | China | E-commerce and digital platforms | 95 |
| 21 | Nadiem Makarim In 2018, Makarim expanded Go-Jek's platform reach and international ambition, making Indonesia central to Southeast Asia's technology story. | Go-Jek | Indonesia | Mobility and digital services | 94.8 |
| 22 | Anthony Tan In 2018, Tan strengthened Grab's regional position and expanded its payments and services strategy. | Grab | Singapore / Malaysia | Mobility technology | 94.6 |
| 23 | Forrest Li In 2018, Li strengthened Sea's regional platform portfolio and continued building Shopee alongside Garena's entertainment base. | Sea Group | Singapore | Gaming, e-commerce and digital finance | 94.4 |
| 24 | Hiroshi Mikitani In 2018, Mikitani advanced Rakuten's ecosystem strategy across e-commerce, payments, banking, media and telecom entry plans. | Rakuten | Japan | E-commerce and digital services | 94.1 |
| 25 | Kenichiro Yoshida In 2018, Yoshida inherited and advanced Sony's technology-entertainment model with a focus on profitability and strategic coherence. | Sony Corporation | Japan | Consumer technology and entertainment | 93.9 |
| 26 | Kim Beom-su In 2018, Kim's Kakao ecosystem continued expanding from chat into finance, services and entertainment. | Kakao | South Korea | Mobile platforms and digital services | 93.7 |
| 27 | Bom Kim In 2018, Kim continued investing in fulfilment, delivery speed and mobile shopping experience. | Coupang | South Korea | E-commerce and logistics | 93.5 |
| 28 | Lee Hae-jin In 2018, Lee helped guide Naver's global direction across search, AI, messaging, webtoons and platform investments. | Naver | South Korea | Search, messaging and content platforms | 93.3 |
| 29 | Amnon Shashua In 2018, Shashua advanced Mobileye's role in driver-assistance systems, mapping and autonomous-driving technology. | Mobileye | Israel | Autonomous driving and computer vision | 93 |
| 30 | Changpeng Zhao In 2018, Zhao kept Binance central to crypto trading, token listings, liquidity and exchange infrastructure. | Binance | China / Asia | Blockchain and digital assets | 92.8 |
| 31 | Jihan Wu In 2018, Wu's Bitmain remained a dominant supplier of specialised mining hardware and blockchain computing power. | Bitmain | China | Blockchain hardware and chips | 92.6 |
| 32 | Jean Liu In 2018, Liu worked on Didi's partnerships, international profile and internal changes around platform safety and governance. | Didi Chuxing | China | Mobility technology and strategy | 92.4 |
| 33 | Vijay Shekhar Sharma In 2018, Sharma continued building Paytm's payments network, merchant acceptance and consumer financial platform. | Paytm | India | Financial technology | 92.2 |
| 34 | Binny Bansal In 2018, Bansal helped carry Flipkart through one of the most important moments in Indian technology entrepreneurship. | Flipkart | India | E-commerce and consumer internet | 91.9 |
| 35 | Byju Raveendran In 2018, Raveendran expanded BYJU'S content, paid learner base and national brand recognition. | BYJU'S | India | Education technology | 91.7 |
| 36 | Ritesh Agarwal In 2018, Agarwal accelerated OYO's expansion, standardisation systems and international ambition. | OYO | India | Travel technology and hospitality | 91.5 |
| 37 | Deepinder Goyal In 2018, Goyal strengthened Zomato's food-ordering and delivery strategy while preserving its strong restaurant-discovery brand. | Zomato | India | Food technology | 91.3 |
| 38 | Sriharsha Majety In 2018, Majety scaled Swiggy across Indian cities and strengthened its position in on-demand delivery. | Swiggy | India | Food delivery and logistics | 91.1 |
| 39 | Girish Mathrubootham In 2018, Mathrubootham expanded Freshworks' customer support and business software platform with international momentum. | Freshworks | India | Software as a service | 90.8 |
| 40 | Nandan Nilekani His leadership influenced global interest in digital identity, payments rails and scalable public technology systems. | Infosys / digital public infrastructure ecosystem | India | Digital infrastructure and enterprise technology | 90.6 |
| 41 | Neil Shen In 2018, Shen continued shaping startup financing, board-level strategy and founder selection across China's technology economy. | Sequoia Capital China | China | Technology investment | 90.4 |
| 42 | Zhang Lei In 2018, Zhang Lei remained a key capital allocator for high-growth technology and platform businesses. | Hillhouse Capital | China | Technology and growth investment | 90.2 |
| 43 | Shintaro Yamada In 2018, Yamada led Mercari through its public-market debut and strengthened Japan's startup confidence. | Mercari | Japan | Marketplace technology | 90 |
| 44 | Toru Nishikawa In 2018, Nishikawa advanced Preferred Networks' industrial AI collaborations and deep-tech credibility. | Preferred Networks | Japan | Artificial intelligence | 89.7 |
| 45 | William Tanuwijaya In 2018, Tanuwijaya expanded Tokopedia's role in commerce, payments and merchant tools across the archipelago. | Tokopedia | Indonesia | E-commerce marketplace | 89.5 |
| 46 | Achmad Zaky In 2018, Zaky strengthened Bukalapak's merchant ecosystem and digital commerce reach in Indonesia. | Bukalapak | Indonesia | E-commerce marketplace | 89.3 |
| 47 | Ferry Unardi In 2018, Unardi expanded Traveloka's travel booking, accommodation and regional consumer services. | Traveloka | Indonesia | Online travel | 89.1 |
| 48 | Min-Liang Tan In 2018, Tan continued expanding Razer's devices, software services, payments ambition and community identity. | Razer | Singapore | Gaming hardware and lifestyle technology | 88.9 |
| 49 | Tan Hooi Ling In 2018, Tan Hooi Ling contributed to Grab's expansion from ride-hailing into broader regional digital services. | Grab | Singapore / Malaysia | Mobility technology | 88.6 |
| 50 | Mudassir Sheikha In 2018, Sheikha expanded Careem's services and regional presence across the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan. | Careem | United Arab Emirates | Mobility technology | 88.4 |
How the list was built
InfluenceAsia 50: Asia's Top Tech Leaders 2018 evaluates individual leadership in Asian technology as it stood during 2018.
Eligible candidates are founders, chief executives, chairpersons, platform operators, deep-technology builders and technology capital leaders whose work materially shaped Asian technology markets in 2018.
The edition excludes political officeholders, celebrity-only profiles, mature non-technology industrial figures and individuals whose 2018 relevance was not materially connected to technology leadership.
The ranking is written from a 2018 publishing perspective and avoids later-period hindsight. Influence is evaluated through leadership consequence, not popularity alone. Company scale is considered only when the individual leader materially shaped product direction, platform architecture, capital allocation or ecosystem formation. The language is designed for formal publication, professional profiles and web presentation.
- Platform Scale and Market Power25%
- Technology or Product Contribution20%
- Ecosystem Creation20%
- Capital and Strategic Influence15%
- International Relevance15%
- Leadership Originality5%
Copyright and legal statement
Copyright
(C) 2018 InfluenceAsia Research. All rights reserved. This ranking, methodology, editorial text, scoring structure, profile language and presentation framework are original InfluenceAsia research and editorial assets.
Editorial Independence
No part of this edition may be represented as a ranking, certification or endorsement produced by any party other than InfluenceAsia. Inclusion does not imply approval by any listed individual, company or institution.
Legal Disclaimer
This edition is an independent editorial research product prepared by InfluenceAsia. It is not investment advice, securities analysis, employment screening, political endorsement, legal judgement or commercial certification. Rankings are based on InfluenceAsia editorial assessment of technology leadership visible during 2018. Inclusion does not imply approval by any listed individual or company, and exclusion does not imply negative assessment. InfluenceAsia reserves the right to revise future editions as markets, leadership roles and technology sectors evolve.