Asia's economic power triggers a capital flood into startups

Raising capital for a startup has traditionally been one of the most difficult parts of getting a business off the ground. But times are changing and many Asian startups have become billion-dollar success stories.

In just four years, Xiaomi Corp, China's largest smartphone vendor, became the world's most valuable technology startup with a valuation of more than $46 billion in December.

"Given Asia's high GDP growth and rapidly growing market size, it was natural for investors to look at China and other parts of Asia as places to invest," said Raman Chitkara, who leads the global technology practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers.