Why We Invested: James Key, Co-founder and CEO of Autonomy Network

David Wu, Associate (吳戴文 / 投資經理)

David is an Associate mainly focused on investments. He previously lived in the US, but was drawn to the Greater Southeast Asia region by the growth opportunities and the wonderful people here. He spent the first five years of his career as a consultant at IBM, where he became intimately familiar with the enterprise software and services needs of Fortune 500 companies. Later, he focused on building predictive models and solving optimization problems for large companies, and gained an appreciation for the role of data and algorithms in our lives. He joined AppWorks in 2020 after receiving his MBA from Columbia Business School, and also has a B.S. in Mathematics from the Ohio State University. In his free time, he tries to stay active and is always looking for opportunities to hike or trek, often seeking the trail less traveled.

NFTs have finally burst into the mainstream consciousness in the last year after spending a few years simmering underneath the surface as critical infrastructure was built out. This followed a DeFi boom after a similar infrastructure-building phase.

Today, essential groundwork is being built to unlock tomorrow’s use cases and utilities in NFTs, gaming, and DeFi, which will bring about new classes of assets and activity. On-chain sentient NFTs, non-player characters (NPCs) in gaming, and automated financial transactions in DeFi are just some of the things that can be unlocked through “decentralized automation”. 

We are proud to announce our investment into Autonomy Network, a decentralized automation protocol that unlocks these brand new use cases in web3. Despite their name, smart contracts have limited intelligence, and Autonomy aims to bring them to life. The founder behind Autonomy is James Key, one of the most impressive young founders we have met.

A determined decentralist on a mission

When we first met James in the interview for our accelerator program last year, it didn’t take long to be impressed by this 25-year-old’s strong passion and devotion to his craft. We recognized this was a genuine life calling for him and he would stop at nothing to accomplish his dreams. 

Based in Berlin, James was a university student not long ago, completing the last year of his physics degree while working in a quantum computing lab on the cutting edge of physics. Though it was interesting work, the pace was slow compared to the other itch he had – crypto. James took leave to work on blockchain forensics, including for the FBI, and when the university asked him to either come back or drop out, he made the easy choice to do the latter and pursue his interests further, including stablecoins and cross-chain bridging. 

The draw of crypto would have been natural to James at a young age. As a child, when his parents installed child locks on his computer, James found a way to hack the locks  – despite having no previous interest in hacking. So, when he read about censorship-resistant currencies years later, it was a natural curiosity and easy sell. 

During the next few years working for other blockchain projects, there was another itch, growing every day – to start his own company and serve this glaring need he had recognized in the market, all without compromising on decentralization (something he had witnessed working on other projects and could not accept on principle).

After working on it on the side for some time, he emptied his vacation days and coded nonstop for two weeks. At the end of it, he faced the choice of either giving up on this idea or going all in – building a team and becoming a founder. Again, he made the easy choice, and Autonomy Network was born.

Fully enabling DeFi smart contracts

Due to the nature of smart contracts needing to be called by an outside party, critical use cases in DeFi have been missing, such as stop and limit orders, automatic liquidity provisioning, and automatic self-liquidations in a completely decentralized, non-custom, composable manner. 

This is especially essential in DeFi, as crypto markets are 24/7, fast-moving, and volatile. 

Autonomy Network has built a fully composable, decentralized network of bots that can perform any action when an arbitrary condition is met. Users register requests, bots monitor the network state, and a proof-of-stake algorithm determines which bot can execute the request and collect a reward. The team has already begun integrating with major DEXes with some more big names on the way.

Other features like recurring payments are also being developed, but perhaps the most exciting is autonomous NFTs.

Sentient NFTs, a new form of life

With autonomous NFTs, a non-human and non-human-controlled entity can execute their own transactions on a blockchain using Autonomy Network. They can vote, trade, send messages, play against you in a game, buy other NFTs, upgrade its own logic, and even have offspring by minting aNFTs of itself. 

The ultimate goal, as James puts it, is to create the first blockchain-based citizen in the UAE. But for now, the team is working on NPCs for major metaverse applications and its first blockchain game, MetaDungeon, in which users can fight NPCs and claim (or lose) real assets depending on the result. 

We’re excited to support James on this mission, through all of the twists and turns and ups and downs. At AppWorks, we make big, bold bets on potentially industry-changing founders and are honored to have the privilege of putting our faith in the drive, vision, and execution of James, his co-founder Diego Chui, and the entire Autonomy team.

[If you are a founder working on a startup in SEA, or working with web3 / DAO, and AI / IoT, apply to AppWorks Accelerator to join the leading founder community in Greater Southeast Asia.]

Social Crypto Investing Platform Kikitrade Raises $6M Strategic Round, Co-led by AppWorks and Media Asia

Sean Tao, co-founder and CEO of Kikitrade

Editor’s note: We’re excited to join Kikitrade’s mission to bring social investing to the public in Asia. The press release from Kikitrade is below:

Asia’s leading one-stop cryptocurrency and social investment platform Kikitrade announced the company has completed a $6 million strategic round, co-led by AppWorks and Media Asia (SEHK: 8075) with participation from Audeo Ventures and existing shareholders. This round of funding follows a $12 million investment led by internationally renowned investors Dragonfly Capital and Alan Howard last summer, bringing the total funds raised in the past 12 months to $18 million. 

The fresh funding is led by AppWorks, a leading venture capital firm and accelerator in Taiwan and Southeast Asia. It manages 3 venture capital funds with a total size of $212 million and is also the world’s second largest institutional investor of FLOW Tokens.  Another investor Audeo Ventures is a venture capital firm with a global aspiration, focusing on fintech, consumer tech, and blockchain, it is also an investor of a crypto financial services platform BlockFi. 

Media Asia is Asia leading entertainment group , a member of Lai Sun Development Company Ltd under the chairmanship of Dr. Peter Lam. The principal business of Media Asia include artiste management, production and distribution of series of films ,TV programs, music and concerts , The group has won countless awards and honors over the years, including blockbuster movies “Infernal Affairs Trilogy” and “Initial D” etc.  Recently, Media Asia has become a strategic partner with Tencent and established its new media, social commerce and virtual entertainment products. 

With this investment, Media Asia will enter a strategic partnership with Kikitrade, and form a joint venture to launch “Kiki NFT Platform”.  With ever richer resources, the joint venture will drive the integration of creative industries and blockchain technology, aiming at building a new era of entertainment for Generation Z.

Lures Top Investors To Drive Mass Crypto Adoption

Kikitrade has reinvented the crypto investing experience by making its platform social-driven. “SocialFi” investment model allows the public to gain more benefits through their own social and community influences, such as asking onboarding questions and participating in community voting activities to win tokens or NFT airdrops, and turns Kikitrade into crypto investors’ go-to place. At present, Kikitrade has served more than 200,000 users from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Ching Tseng, Web3 Principal of AppWorks said: “AppWorks is committed to supporting the most promising startups and helping accelerate their to incremental growth through cross-pollination with our ecosystem of 435 active companies. Kikitrade is built from the ground up based on the founding team’s unique insights on “social investing”. We believe that is the future of finance, not only for cryptocurrencies, but also for the entire spectrum of  investment. Kikitrade has a great potential to drive innovation across investing communities.”

CT Yip, Executive Director of Media Asia said: “Media Asia has been achieving breakthrough developments in the fast growing digital entertainment field, which has become a new normal. The Group looks forward to cooperating with Kikitrade to meet the entertainment demands from the new generations, accelerate digitalization, and curate the best virtual entertainment experiences to Asian users.”

Pasha Tinkov, Managing Director at Audeo Ventures said: “Kikitrade is at the forefront of integrating crypto investing with a dedicated social platform. Audeo Ventures is delighted to join hands with world-renowned investors in supporting Kikitrade’s new funding round and is confident in its management’s capacity to materialize their growth plans.”

Sean Tao, co-founder and CEO of Kikitrade, said: “The strategic investors introduced this time will enrich Kikitrade’s resources in the “social investment” and Social-Fi avenues, and effectively help Kikitrade expand its international market. We will continue to make it easier for the general public to understand cryptocurrencies and develop a sense of camaraderie in the community, so that crypto investing is no longer lonely.”

Taking Social Investing To Next Level

The funds raised this time will be deployed to expand into new international markets. The company had its foray to the Middle East last year, it is planning to enter the wider Southeast Asian markets this year. In addition, Kikitrade plans to strengthen its development team to 100 people and deliver more product innovations to bring users a better SocialFi experience. The company also plans to introduce hundreds of key opinion leaders (KOLs), media, and cryptocurrency exchanges’ CEOs to the platform to interact with the community, and makes investing ever more interactive and fun.

About Kikitrade 

Kikitrade is Asia’s leading one-stop social investing platform that allows beginners to purchase and manage digital assets at ease. The company was founded in 2020 by Everest Ventures Group (EVG), a Web 3 focused venture studio, and received US$12 million in funding after launching in 2021.

Investors include British hedge fund billionaire Alan Howard, renowned blockchain venture capital fund Dragonfly Capital, co-founder of Ethereum Joseph Lubin, and Chairman of Head & shoulders Financial Group Stanley Choi, etc.Animoca Brands, a blockchain game giant with a valuation of more than $5 billion, is Kikitrade’s second largest shareholder. Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, is also the chairman of Kikitrade’s board of directors.

The Kikitrade community has garnered more than 100 investment analysts, key opinion leaders (KOLs), cryptocurrency ventures’ CEOs, etc, who have been actively sharing unique insights and latest analysis on the social investing platform, making the community one of the most vibrant in Asia.

Learn more: www.kikitrade.com

[If you are a founder working on a startup in SEA, or working with AI, Blockchain, and NFT, apply to AppWorks Accelerator to join the leading founder community in Greater Southeast Asia.]

 

Andy Tsai ~ 我在 AppWorks 的四年,咻一ㄟ丟貴去啊~~

Andy Tsai, Partner (蔡欣翰 / 合夥人)

負責投資與基金管理。帶著超過 10 年創投經驗,於 2018 年加入 AppWorks,2019 年升任合夥人。先前主要服務於 CID 華威國際、最高擔任至投資副總裁,熱愛和團隊一起思考營運模式與競爭策略的解謎活動,更早之前短暫就職於中華開發負責產業研究。政治大學財管碩士,嗜好是旅遊和滑雪。

雖然在 AppWorks 的四年,咻一ㄟ丟貴去啊,但在整個 AppWorks 生態系的歷史長河裡,還是有好多團隊跟好朋友們沒機會好好認識,藉這個發文來介紹自己。我是 Andy,在 AppWorks 擔任合夥人,我已投身創投產業超過 15 年,如果有各式疑難雜症,歡迎隨時來找我一起集思廣益。 

硬體到軟體 / Centralized 到 Decentralizing / 實體到虛擬 / 原物料到元宇宙

在加入 AppWorks 之前,其實比較常接觸的產業,是台灣的科技硬體公司。但即使在硬體產業找新創公司的投資機會,也明顯地感受到軟體的重要性越來越高。從全球的角度來看,全世界最高市值的公司早已由傳統、電腦產業,明顯轉向 AMAAT*。軟體更是提升硬體效率的有效方式,還記得有段時間看到有趣的科技新創,多是 Software defined XXX,打破單純由硬體控制的設計方式,有效地大幅提升產品效能跟可能性,這也讓我對於軟體在台灣還有哪些可能性,充滿了好奇心。加入 AppWorks 之後,除了以 AI / IoT、Blockchain、GSEA 數位經濟新創公司為主修之外,還很幸運的在 Web3 應用落地的初期階段,就有機會在海景第一排,欣賞到新一波科技大浪潮的到來。

掃地僧:籌資、投資、再到投後

回顧一路走來的工作經驗,經常轉換頭上要戴的帽子,似乎是最大的特色。做過創投基金籌資,跟所有新創團隊一樣,在談判桌上坐在投資人對面,推測跟回答投資人所關注的問題,過程通常跟新創公司的籌資過程相似,包括面對投資人源源不斷的 Q&A,以及思考誰是關鍵的決策者,或是潛在 Deal Breaker 等問題;做過新創投資案,用最高成長曲線的期待,拷問過不少的創業者,不過覺得這部分最有趣的,是長期觀察新創團隊的成長,曾經見過的團隊,後來歷經籌資、打磨產品、創辦人變更,一件一件都映在心裡,雖然不會參與到所遇到的每一家新創的投資,但也是很開心可以在不同階段認識創業者,甚至看到晉升獨角獸的過程。

投資後管理,戴的又是另一種帽子。希望在團隊鎖定的產品市場上,從產業廣度上提供看法跟觀點,協助新創可以少繞點路,或是可以看到更有效的市場進入方法,當然最重要的是,讓團隊在嘗試新產品、新市場的過程,降低失敗後的風險。曾經遇過最棘手的案例,是投資案的經營團隊,因為產品開發的方向,忽略了市場及客戶的評估,但由於佔公司一半人力的新產品線,始終找不到 PMF,在協助公司重新調整方向的過程中,由我去擔任交接期的董事長,上任第一天的重點工作,是必須砍掉一半的人力,始終還記得那些為著這個產品努力,卻必須面對資遣夥伴們的眼淚,回想起來,過程中有許多可以及早改變的做法,也默默在心中希望不要再讓類似的問題重演。積累這幾年的參與過程,應該有一些經驗談可以跟各位創業者交流分享,也希望能有效提供幫助,並歡迎一起研討以及探索各個產業的破關秘訣。

Long term thinking

隨著年歲漸長,覺得最重要的事情,應該就是要有長期思維。面對生活、工作、人生的難題,好像常常很容易只關注到短期的緊急任務,然而,長期的策略思考,往往可以讓人突然有豁然開朗的想法。好比,想要猜測接下來一週的天氣跟溫度,大概率是很難猜對的,但春夏秋冬的氣候,考量過去的歷史,是相對很容易判斷的。如果,很幸運的一切都順風順水,也 Echo 我們大家長 Jamie (林之晨、AppWorks 董事長暨合夥人) 經常呼籲的,以長期思維的角度,要培養健身的習慣,累積健康的本錢,也是人生很重要的一項關鍵指標。

PS. 因為年歲漸長,雖然人臉辨識的功能沒有衰退太多,但記名字功能的處理器速度緩慢,如果打招呼的時候,沒有直接喊出您的名字,還請多多包涵呀!

*AMAAT = Apple、Microsoft、Alphabet、Amazon 與 Tesla,是目前全球 5 家超過 1 兆美元市值的科技企業。

Five Fundraising Tips for First-time Founders

Joseph Chan, Partner (詹德弘 / 合夥人)

Joseph is a Partner who joined in 2013 and has since covered our “kitchen” — portfolio management, operations and advising startups on finance and fundraising. He is also in charge of connecting the ecosystems between Japan and Taiwan. Prior to AppWorks, Joseph spent 11 years with the CID Group, a Greater China leading venture firm, where he helped raise US$575M across multiple funds and headed portfolio management. Prior to that, Joseph served as a Manager of Backbone Network at Gigamedia, a NASDAQ-listed broadband ISP. Joseph earned his Master in Agriculture Machinery Engineering from National Taiwan University. He is native in both Mandarin and Japanese.

One of the biggest challenges among first-time founders is putting together their first priced fundraising round. In markets like Taiwan and Southeast Asia, the venture ecosystem is still relatively young, leaving a number of misconceptions around deal making among both entrepreneurs and investors alike. Some first-time founders, especially those from blue-chip backgrounds or elite pedigrees, may treat the deal process as a competition driven by game theory—where there must be a winner and a loser. From my experience, however, treating discussions with investors as a win-lose proposition only leads to mutually-assured failure. Everyone should leave their egos at the door.

What’s at stake when a founder tries to over optimize their own self-interest? Some investors may choose to walk, making the fundraising process that much tougher. Worse yet, you may end up bringing on angel investors who begrudgingly put some skin in the game, but not enough to really help you out when push comes to shove. Setting a good faith tone between founders and investors from the getgo will make it much easier for both sides to come to an agreement. While a startup’s first round of fundraising may seem like a standard process, it sets the long-term legal and financial foundation for the company’s relationship with investors, making it mission-critical for founders to understand exactly what they’re getting into.

1. Find a founder-mentor

The most valuable thing that a first-time founder should do—and maybe the first thing they should do when starting a company in general—is find a founder-mentor, someone who has been there, done that, and knows the ropes of fundraising and term setting with early-stage investors. Founder-mentors can be powerful advocates and filters for your company when sourcing customers or potential backers. Remember, as investors run due diligence on you, it’s important that you also conduct due diligence on them as well. Not all investors are created equal, and you may sometimes find that their actions contradict their words only after the ink has dried.

That’s why first-time founders need to surround themselves with the right people. Mentors and angel investors play an indispensable role in guiding founders to understand the true nature of the founder-investor relationship. By seeking out founder-mentors or angel investors who have experience working with venture capital firms or joining an accelerator program that provides mentorship, first-time founders can better navigate the fundraising process with much greater ease. Finding such advocates will help founders avoid bad actors, understand term sheet best practices, and put the startup on a solid footing for the journey ahead. 

2. Mind your timing

Before any team looks to fundraise, the most important factor is timing. Timing is everything. Investors want to invest in attractive companies in an attractive space. First-time founders should initiate fundraising efforts after gaining traction, signing on new customers, or proving out your MVP. The less founders have to show for the company, the worse the valuation and terms investors are likely to provide to discount the uncertainty, unless you already have some sort of track record or successful exit behind you. On a more macro level, VCs tend to invest in underlying paradigm shifts, so always be prepared to answer: why now and why you? 

3. Use a savvy lawyer

Another area that frequently trips up first-time founders is finding quality legal counsel. In developing markets, founders cannot rely solely on lawyers to negotiate in their best interest. Outside of the Bay Area, venture capital is simply not a large or profitable enough vertical for legal specialization—so venture deals are often a low priority for emerging market lawyers. When it comes to structuring a deal, lawyers play a fleeting role as the relationship may be strictly transactional. Their nature is based purely on winning something on paper for their clients, and once the deal is done, they move on to the next client. For investors and founders, the first term sheet is just the beginning, as each round of investment adds another layer of complexity, requiring a solid foundation to build off of, with the initial term sheet setting sustainable grounds for the company’s development. Accepting a lousy term sheet is like building a house on poor soil, setting the structure up for collapse under adverse circumstances.

4. Understand the value of vesting

One of the most frequently misunderstood terms among first-time founders is vesting. Many founders ask me, why is vesting necessary? Or perhaps fear that the investors may try to drive out the founding team down the road for replacements. Vesting is a prevalent industry practice, acting as a mechanism to create forward-looking incentivization and alignment between founders and investors. Investors want founders to be in the deal for the long haul, rewarding their dedication to the company. I have found that vesting-related issues most commonly arise among solo founders, where there is significant key-man risk, whereas teams with multiple co-founders tend to reinforce one another to buy into vesting terms. If there is no founder vesting in place, co-founders who leave abruptly can just as easily take their shares with them. I’ve seen cases where 40% of the cap table is locked away due to a co-founder who decided to jump ship, leaving the other founders and investors with little recourse to salvage the company’s ownership outlook. For a more comprehensive explanation of founder vesting, you can reference this article

5. Be wary of uncommon practices

As far as industry best practices go, there are some less common terms that may put founders at a disadvantage if not understood properly. For example, an investor can try to secure excessively generous veto rights, which could come into play if a company is looking to stay afloat by initiating a down round of financing. In some cases, I’ve seen an investor veto the round as they thought the company could still raise at a markup. In the end, the company had to shut down. To mitigate such an issue, it is important for founders to carefully design your cap table and avoid agreeing to unnecessarily strong minority veto rights, unless you believe the situation truly calls for them. 

There are even more stringent examples of uncommon terms. Some investors may force upon founder unfair guarantees, requiring founders to be personally liable for unforeseen tax consequences and subsequent reimbursements to the company. This should be a major cause for consideration, as founders typically should not be responsible for these kinds of issues outside of integrity or fiduciary duty-related issues. Nevertheless, unusual terms are put in place for unusual circumstances. Every deal is contextual, so be sure to understand the full scope of your situation and adjust the terms accordingly.

It is also worth noting that in emerging and frontier markets where venture capital tends to be more scarce, some investors—especially those from traditional backgrounds—may view and treat founders as employees on the cap table. Now, there are certainly founders that do in fact appreciate and require this level of involvement or guidance; but, for many, these types of investors may end up micromanaging every course of action, leaving little room for creative freedom, flexibility, or control. It’s imperative to understand which camp you prefer.

Playing the long game

Now, is there any difference in term sheets for emerging markets compared to mature markets like Silicon Valley? Not really. There are global standard practices and terms that appear across markets that are consistent with the asset class; however, each market and sector have their own unique conditions that require investors and founders to adjust terms accordingly. Local investors may better understand regulatory conditions or cultural sensitivities, which allow both sides to come to an agreement that may better suit the on-the-ground circumstances of the market and company. 

Ultimately, a term sheet is just a framework for partnership. What’s more important is whether or not you can see yourself working with this investor for the next 5-10 years, and then setting the terms from there. Over the past decade, financial literacy among first-time founders in Taiwan and Southeast Asia has improved dramatically. Investors have also adopted global best practices to help them win deals by removing once-common archaic harsh terms. For AppWorks, we aspire to work with founders throughout the entrepreneurial life cycle, guiding first-time founders in term sheet discussions and ensuring that founders are equipped with the tools for long-term success. Term sheets should not be a win-lose proposition for investors and founders. As the ecosystem matures, the market will naturally filter out bad terms, leading to better investor-founder dynamics that foster higher-quality investment and innovation.

【If you are a founder working on a startup in SEA, or working with AI, Blockchain, and NFT, apply to AppWorks Accelerator to join the largest founder community in Greater Southeast Asia.】

Photo by Razvan Chisu from Unsplash

AppWorks Announces New Business Arms and Key Internal Promotions

AppWorks’ a number of key internal promotions, including 2 Principals Alyssa Chen, Ching Tseng, and Associate Jun Wakabayashi (from left to right).

AppWorks, a leading venture capital firm and accelerator in Greater Southeast Asia, today announced a series of institutional and organizational developments in tandem with a number of key internal promotions. 

As part of its organizational upgrades, AppWorks has established new arms that encapsulate the firm’s core mandate components, including dedicated arms for its accelerator and web3 practices. To drive these programs, AppWorks made a number of key promotions, including Alyssa Chen, from Associate to Principal to oversee AppWorks Accelerator arm; Ching Tseng, from Associate to Principal to lead the newly created web3 arm; as well as Jun Wakabayashi, from Analyst to Associate to head AppWorks Beacon Funds operations. These promotions reflect AppWorks commitment to cultivating talent and recognizing and rewarding excellence within the firm.

In addition to these developments, AppWorks will begin its fundraising process in Q2 for AppWorks Fund IV at a target size of US$360 million.

As the foundation of the AppWorks ecosystem, the AppWorks Accelerator is held twice annually, welcoming entrepreneurs focused on the firm’s core mandate of AI, blockchain and Southeast Asia (“A.B.S.”) to attend and gain close mentorship from the program to build founder fundamentals, accelerate business growth, and gain access to funding opportunities. Since its establishment in 2010, AppWorks Accelerator has built a community of 1,402 alumni entrepreneurs, operating 435 active startups spanning across the region with combined revenues of US$13.9 billion, cumulative fundraising of US$4.7 billion, and 20,169 jobs created.

The firm also runs the bi-annual Wistron Accelerator, a joint collaboration between Wistron, one of the world’s largest suppliers of information and communications products, and AppWorks, that recruits outstanding founders across AI, IoT, cloud, information security, education and medical verticals. As more corporates aspire to establish their own vertical accelerator to bring them closer to startups as well as help startups partner with traditional industries, AppWorks decided to further institutionalize its accelerator arm to bridge the gap and amplify the firm’s existing efforts to cultivate the next generation of founders.

For the firm’s web3 investment strategy, as a new paradigm in technology transforming the digital economy, by establishing the web3 arm, AppWorks will focus on providing entrepreneurs with targeted resources to drive web3 mass adoption and support innovation in new business models. The firm will also assist founders in web1 and web2 spaces of its founder community to pivot to web3 models, bridging traditional startups into the blockchain space. Since its entry into blockchain in 2018, AppWorks has accelerated and invested in a total of 75 active new startups and 141 entrepreneurs in the web3 space, including Dapper Labs, Figment, Animoca Brands, Blocto and XREX, among others.

As part of AppWorks commitment to building a comprehensive venture ecosystem connecting Taiwan with Southeast Asia and the global blockchain industry, the firm has launched the AppWorks Beacon Funds strategy, to date backing  more than 20 venture capital funds off AppWorks GP’s own balance sheet. Select AppWorks Beacon Funds include Pantera Capital, Animoca Ventures, AC Ventures, Asia Partners, Golden Gate Ventures, and others. In addition to sharing know-how, through cooperation, AppWorks Beacon Funds strategy generates co-investment opportunities, provides global due diligence and landing support, and builds portfolio company synergies throughout the ecosystem. Roughly one-third of all AppWorks investments are now sourced from AppWorks Beacon Funds. The firm plans to invest in 10 more funds every year aligned with AppWorks’ core investment mandate.

“Through the combined effort of the AppWorks portfolio company founders and our team, the AppWorks ecosystem has experienced remarkable growth since its inception. We are proud of the performance and contributions of Alyssa, Ching, and Jun—and we have decided to put on their shoulders greater responsibilities as part of our institutionalization process,” said Jamie Lin, Chairman and Partner, AppWorks. “With these structural improvements and our upcoming Fund IV, AppWorks will be more ready to create an even greater impact on the development of Taiwan and Southeast Asia, supporting more entrepreneurs, and accelerate emerging and innovative new segments of the digital economy.”

The organizational upgrades come with the firm’s recent success in key investments, such as 91APP and FLOW, designed to accelerate the firm’s momentum in key investment areas. With a 2014 vintage, AppWorks Fund II (US$51 million) has achieved an annualized internal rate of return (IRR) of 29.3% and a distribution to paid-in multiple (DPI) of 1.34x. The firm’s AppWorks Fund III (US$150 million), vintage 2018, currently posts an annualized IRR of 92.9% and has also begun to generate substantial distributions.

To further drive the growth of the AppWorks ecosystem, the firm is actively recruiting investment associates passionate about venture capital in Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and the global web3 industry. AppWorks offers globally competitive pay and packages, with salaries ranging between US$92,000 to US$180,000, and annual childcare assistance of US$12,000 for each child 0-6 years old. 

Alyssa Chen – Principal

Alyssa Chen oversees the AppWorks Accelerator, Wistron Accelerator, as well as AppWorks alumni, mentor network, and community programs. Alyssa joined AppWorks as an intern during university, later returning to the firm as an Analyst in 2016 and promoted to Associate in 2019. During this period, Alyssa drove the rapid growth and regionalization of AppWorks Accelerator, incorporating the core mandate of AI, blockchain, and Southeast Asia (“A.B.S.”) and successfully implementing a hybrid in-person/digital model for the accelerator in response to the global pandemic. In 2021, Alyssa successfully launched the Wistron Accelerator vertical accelerator in cooperation with Wistron.

Ching Tseng – Principal

Ching Tseng oversees AppWorks investments in global web3 projects, and started with the firm as an intern in 2015. Joining the firm after graduation as an analyst, Ching was promoted to Associate in 2019. With a passion for blockchain and its associated applications, Ching has built the firm’s web3 practice from the ground up as an early mover in Asia’s web3 ecosystem, bridging Taiwan to global projects and teams. Select investments include Dapper Labs, Animoca Brands, Blocto, and CHOCO TV (acquired by LINE), among others.

Jun Wakabayashi – Associate

Jun Wakabayashi leads the day-to-day operations of AppWorks Beacon Funds, overseeing investment activity in Greater Southeast Asia and coaching the accelerator team. Born and raised in the United States, Jun joined AppWorks as an Analyst in 2017, driving the regionalization process of the AppWorks platform, and engaging with startup communities in Greater Southeast Asia, gradually winning the trust of entrepreneurs, investors, and ecosystem builders. Jun’s efforts have enabled AppWorks Accelerator to attract outstanding entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia, generate tangible results for the AppWorks Beacon Funds, and investing in regional startups including EMQ and Beam.

【If you are a founder working on a startup in SEA, or working with AI, Blockchain, and NFT, apply to AppWorks Accelerator to join the largest founder community in Greater Southeast Asia.】