Nano Technologies

Dzung Dang spent years running Uber in Vietnam—five million users, a $300+ million exit to Grab—and then helmed ZaloPay, Vietnam's biggest mobile payments platform. Now he's taking on something far more grounded: getting retail and manufacturing workers paid daily instead of waiting a month for their paycheck. That's Nano Technologies, and it's Y Combinator-backed.

Here's why this matters. In Southeast Asia, millions of retail and manufacturing workers are competing for gigs that pay instantly—Grab, Gojek, the whole ride-hailing ecosystem. Traditional employers can't compete because they're stuck in monthly payroll cycles that feel like ancient history. Nano integrates with existing HRM and attendance software, letting employers offer daily payouts without changing their infrastructure. Workers get flexibility and financial stability, employers reduce turnover and get happier, more productive teams. It's a win-win that solves a real problem for 100+ million workers in the region.

Thang Nguyen, the co-founder, is a serial builder who's shipped everything from e-commerce platforms to consumer hardware products. Together with Dzung, they've got the rare combo of deep payments expertise and real operational experience in Southeast Asia's toughest markets. This is one of those boring-but-enormous problems that nobody wanted to touch because it required actually understanding how blue-collar workers live and get paid. Nano gets it.