During my first semester, I lived in an international villa exclusively for exchange students. It felt restrictive and kept me from fully embracing local life. For my second semester, I tried to book a flat using an Indonesian platform called Mamikos, but I accidently ended up renting a room in a “kost”—a boarding house primarily for Indonesian students. This “accident” became my greatest stroke of luck. I was welcomed by the kost community—learning snippets of the language, savoring Javanese cuisine, and competing fiercely in table tennis and badminton with my newfound friends. Their warmth and competitive spirit opened my eyes to the vibrant energy of Southeast Asia.

Amidst daily interactions, I befriended Timothy, an exceptionally gifted front-end engineer at a local bank. Despite his strong English and impressive skill set, he was drastically underpaid compared to similar roles in Western markets. This pattern repeated among other engineers I met: overworked, undervalued, and earning a fraction of global standards.

Seeing this untapped potential inspired Cortex Global Talent. I realised there was a huge opportunity to bridge the gap between Southeast Asia’s elite tech talent and the rest of the world. Why should companies in the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East pay astronomical local salaries when the top 1% of developers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and beyond are ready to deliver world-class code at a fraction of the cost? We exist to make that connection seamless—handling everything from recruitment and vetting to compliance and payroll.