AAA game studios have led the way in creating hyper immersive experiences that have captivated players’ hearts. Clocking in as some of the most expensive games to make, titles like Red Dead Redemption 2, Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3, and Grand Theft Auto V were able to fill its game with intricate details of dialogue, lore, in-game economies, and more.
But even with record spending on development, immersive experience gaps persist simply due to the impossible nature of anticipating individual players’ interests and interactions they’ll have with the game. As seen in user-generated content (UGC) and modifications expanding Skyrim and Garry’s Mod many years after their initial launch, players and creators consistently showcase their willingness to support and extend treasured immersive experiences. However, most games lack the tools that allow players to create content in a permissionless and composable nature sought by the community.
That’s why we’re excited to support Hypersonic Laboratories, founded by Jack “Maker” Kim. They’re building the Helix Metaverse, a hyper-realistic digital world that focuses on providing ultra-efficient tooling to enable players to play, co-create, and shape the immersive worlds that’d become the next frontier of entertainment.
From Robotics to the Metaverse: a Maker’s Journey
Jack’s entrepreneurial spirit and passion for creating began early, as he crafted and sold his own battle robotic parts. Seeking to expand his reach, he delved into web development, learning HTML and CSS to create his own distribution website. This experience revealed the scalability of software, fueling his curiosity to explore further. Soon, his mother noticed an influx of checks arriving at their house, as the Twilight and Marvel Heroes-themed Custom Search Engines he developed for friends began generating significant AdSense income for a teenager.
His drive led him to establish BeneLabs, a search engine donating AdSense income, before he enrolled at Stanford University to deepen his understanding of computer science. However, Jack soon dropped out to pursue an internship at Giphy, recognizing it as a valuable opportunity to learn directly from software builders.
Under the mentorship and encouragement of Alex Chung, Giphy’s co-founder and CEO, Jack embarked on a venture that birthed Rumblr—a viral parody of modern dating around the world. Jack later secured angel investment from Shana Fisher, founding partner of Third Kind Venture, as he redirected his focus to Hypersonic Laboratories, a move aimed to marry his passion in building digital product and the ethos of being a “Maker”, to develop the frontier digital playground for creators and modders harnessing the latest technologies.
The Helix Metaverse and the Future of Digital Creation
Jack saw the potential in Unreal Engine 5 and the possibility of building a hyper-realistic and immersive digital world. Even with hundreds of millions in development budgets, Grand Theft Auto V struggles to cater to the experience desired by those seeking a realistic digital world. A growing community of modded GTA V servers, such as FiveM and NoPixel, continues to jump through technological and legal hurdles to meet the increased demand, with more players now actively engaging in these modded servers than in GTA V Online.
Under Jack’s leadership, Hypersonic Laboratories aims to make Helix a modder’s paradise. They will focus on providing a platform of tools for digital creators who have traditionally been on the fringe of the gaming community. These tools will enable the creation of high-fidelity, interactive in-game content at scale, as well as 3D models and network solutions for multiplayer, real-time level, and map editing. The team will launch their first game based on a playable replica of New York City and give the reins to modders to fulfill their imagination and creativity set for later 2024.
See you in the Parallel Universe
Jack and his team are set on creating the most realistic digital clone of our world, building on top of the latest accessible technologies. We believe that with his focus on serving the new era of digital creators, they’ll be able to form a digital world where unlimited creativity and fun are unlocked for many.
We are thrilled to support Jack in this ambitious yet wonderful goal through participating in Helix’s Series A funding raising. We eagerly anticipate their journey ahead and can’t wait to see the creations made possible and dive into the parallel universe ourselves!If you are a founder working on a startup in SEA, or working with web3 and AI / IoT, apply to AppWorks Accelerator to join the largest founder community in Greater Southeast Asia.
With the success of TINC Batch #9, Telkomsel Ventures will continue its partnership with AppWorks through new strategic initiatives to be unveiled in 2025.
Telkomsel Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Telkomsel, in collaboration with AppWorks, Greater Southeast Asia’s leading startup accelerator and venture capital firm, today jointly hosted TINC Batch #9 Demo Day, recognizing seven outstanding startups innovating under the theme “B2B Solutions & Emerging Technologies.” TINC Batch #9 was joined by seven select startups from AppWorks Batch #29 (AW#29), featuring startups hailing from Indonesia and Malaysia, as AppWorks’ first Jakarta-based Demo Day event.
With the success of TINC Batch #9, Telkomsel Ventures and AppWorks will continue close collaboration in 2025, enhancing the partnership through new strategic initiatives. By partnering together, Telkomsel Ventures and AppWorks will jointly cultivate the startup ecosystem, leveraging their rich resources to provide outsized support to startups and help founders succeed.
The deepening partnership comes as Telkomsel Ventures and AppWorks jointly held TINC Batch #9 Demo Day, unveiling seven startups focusing on the theme of B2B Solutions & Emerging Technologies. Over the past six months, participating startups worked closely with Telkomsel Business Units (BUs). All startups were able to create successful proof of concepts (PoCs) with Telkomsel, demonstrating significant commercial value for both sides. The program successfully promoted the development of Indonesia’s digital economy as well as drive forward inclusive and sustainability initiatives.
In tandem, AppWorks Demo Day #29 made its debut in Jakarta as the first stop on a roadshow before Taipei and Singapore in December, with seven out of forty-nine startups from AppWorks #29 (AW#29) presenting this time. Many AW#29 startups are led by seasoned founders and have demonstrated strong traction, with several already securing institutional funding. Selected startups for the event hailed from Indonesia and Malaysia, showcasing their innovative solutions for education, construction, finance, tourism, healthcare, and agriculture.
The seven startups from TINC Batch #9, and corresponding Telkomsel BUs included:
PrimaKu: Simplifying record-keeping and milestone tracking for new parents with a dedicated newborn baby health platform (Founder: Didit Indraputra) (Telkomsel BU: Enterprise Product Enablement and Solutions);
Rey.ID:Empowering Indonesians to manage their health holistically through a platform that integrates insurance, wellness programs, and medical records (Founder: Evan Tanotogono) (Telkomsel BU: Enterprise Product Management and Development);
Skorlife: Empowering Indonesians to achieve financial well-being and to obtain fair credit through easy access and simplified credit monitoring. (Founder: Ongki Kurniawan) (Telkomsel BU: Data Solutions and Digital Financial Services);
Peacom: Multichannel messaging platform for carriers and enterprises. (Founder: Han Truong) (Telkomsel BU: Digital Advertising, Wholesale and Interconnect);
Finfra:Building the financial infrastructure of Southeast Asia by enabling seamless integration of financial services for companies. (Founder: Markus Prommik) (Telkomsel BU: Enterprise Product Management and Development);
CarbonEthics: Combating climate change through innovative solutions for carbon offsetting and sustainable development projects. (Founder: Agung Bimo Listyanu) (Telkomsel BU: Corporate Strategy, Innovation, Sustainability and Marketing);
myECO: A smart home hardware-software solution for electricity savings, offering automation and easy device management for both B2C and B2B. (Founder: Maulana Derifato Achmad) (Telkomsel BU: Technology Strategy and Consumer Product Innovation);
CapBay (MY): Promoting financial inclusion for MSMEs through innovative fintech lending services. (Founder: Darrel Ang Tzer Hong);
GOERS (ID): Enriching fan experience with dynamic ticketing and live entertainment discovery. (Founder: Niki Tsuraya Yaumi);
Verihubs (ID): Developing AI-Powered verification solutions for fraud prevention. (Founder: Rick Firnando);
Nexmedis (ID): Empowering healthcare services through AI-driven data analysis and diagnosis recommendations. (Founder: Yehuda Dani Utomo);
“This partnership with AppWorks marks a significant step forward in Telkomsel Ventures’ commitment to fostering innovation and driving the growth of Indonesia’s digital economy. By combining our resources and expertise, we aim to empower promising startups and create a vibrant ecosystem that benefits businesses and consumers alike. The success of TINC Batch #9 demonstrates the strength of our partnership to deliver concrete value to startups and position them for lasting success,” said Mia Melinda, CEO, Telkomsel Ventures. “Every startup in TINC Batch #9 was able to successfully create a Proof of Concept (PoC) with Telkomsel, resulting in meaningful value for both Telkomsel and our startups, and a huge validation for the TINC program.”
“The startups showcased today from both TINC Batch #9 and AppWorks #29 represent the incredible talent and drive within the Southeast Asian ecosystem” said Jamie Lin, Chairman & Partner, AppWorks. “We’re thrilled to deepen our collaboration with Telkomsel Ventures. This partnership reflects our shared belief in the power of Southeast Asia’s digital economy and the potential of its founders. By combining AppWorks’ 15 years of experience cultivating the startup ecosystem in the Greater Southeast Asia with Telkomsel Ventures’ strategic resources and market access, we can supercharge the growth of these promising startups and contribute to the region’s continued development.”
About Telkomsel Ventures
Telkomsel Ventures, established in 2019, is the investment arm of Telkomsel. As a strategic investor, Telkomsel Ventures invests and collaborates with promising startups to accelerate Telkomsel’s digital transformation and create innovative services. With a current portfolio of 18 startups, Telkomsel Ventures is committed to empowering startups through strategic investments, leveraging Telkomsel’s expansive ecosystem and capabilities. The goal is to actively contribute to Indonesia’s technology landscape while supporting Telkomsel’s strategic objectives.
Founded in 2009, AppWorks is a leading startup community and venture capital firm built by founders, for founders. We are committed to backing the next generation of entrepreneurs in Greater Southeast Asia (ASEAN+Taiwan) and helping them facilitate the region’s transition into the digital age. Just as how mobile and the internet completely transformed the status quo, we believe the current era of technology is currently being defined by major three paradigm shifts: AI, Blockchain, and Southeast Asia (ABS).
As such, whether its mentorship, investment, or talent, AppWorks has established a one-stop-shop for ambitious founders willing to bet against the consensus and drive a change they want to see in the world. We help startups build disruptive businesses from even an inkling of an idea into world-class enterprises through our three primary lines of service: Accelerator, Funds, and School.
Ching is a Principal leading the Web3 Arm at AppWorks. Ching interned at AppWorks when she was in college and returned as an Analyst after earning her B.B.A from National Chengchi University in 2015. Her keystone achievement as an Analyst was helping CHOCO TV’s journey from Series A to an eventual acquisition by LINE. Ching became our Associate in 2019, spearheading our foray into the blockchain industry by recruiting founders active in the space and effectively jumpstarting our web3 ecosystem, which has since grown into a thriving community. She’s also helped AppWorks participate in several prominent investments, including Dapper Labs / Flow, and Animoca Brands. Ching was promoted to Principal in 2022. Off the clock, she likes to experience new things, travel, and play tennis.
We are thrilled to announce our investment in Marcelo Ruiz de Olano, the visionary CEO of karpatkey, who is redefining treasury management in DeFi. By providing non-custodial treasury management solutions and infrastructure, karpatkey has already garnered the trust of major DeFi protocols like AAVE, Uniswap, and Balancer. Here’s why we decided to back Marcelo and his exceptional team.
Marcelo Ruiz de Olano: A Visionary with a Story of Resilience and Innovation
At AppWorks, we seek founders with the vision, determination, and execution ability to address critical challenges in their fields. Marcelo Ruiz de Olano not only possesses these traits but his deep expertise in both finance and decentralized systems makes him uniquely qualified to revolutionize treasury management in decentralized finance (DeFi). His ability to navigate complex financial environments and his commitment to building transparent, secure solutions have positioned him as a transformative leader in this space.
Marcelo’s journey is a testament to resilience and adaptability. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he often felt like an outsider, fueling his desire to seek new opportunities and a sense of belonging beyond his home country. During college, Marcelo longed to participate in an exchange program to explore life outside Argentina, but his parents refused to support him, dismissing it as a desire to party abroad. Determined, he found a way to finance himself and moved to Spain to fulfill his ambition.
However, the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis made opportunities scarce. Without any financial backing from his family or the government, Marcelo faced tough challenges and was on the verge of proving his parents’ doubts right. Yet, he persevered, supporting himself through the economic downturn and overcoming the cultural differences between Argentina and Spain, despite the shared language
Upon returning to Argentina, Marcelo joined Chevron, where he refined his decision-making skills and financial modeling on major capital projects exceeding $100 million. This role significantly deepened his understanding of global finance. By the age of 28, Marcelo had mastered the art of arbitraging stocks, bonds, and commodities, generating enough cash flow to achieve financial independence. He left the corporate world to travel and explore new opportunities. His journey eventually led him to cryptocurrency during the 2017 boom. The subsequent ICO bust became a pivotal moment, solidifying his belief in the transformative potential of decentralized finance.
Under Marcelo’s leadership, assets within karpatkey’s DeFi treasury network have skyrocketed from $300 million to over $1.8 billion in less than 3 years. His vision of creating a non-custodial, transparent treasury management system earned the trust of industry giants like Uniswap and AAVE. Marcelo’s personal and professional journey is a testament to his relentless drive to innovate and lead in the world of decentralized finance.
karpatkey: Empowering DeFi with Transparent, Non-Custodial Treasury Management and Advanced Automation Tools.
karpatkey has quickly established itself as a leader in DeFi treasury management, transforming how top organizations manage their financial assets. Originally formed in 2020 to manage the Gnosis treasury, karpatkey has since expanded its services to provide sophisticated financial solutions for renowned DeFi protocols such as AAVE, Balancer, and ENS.
karpatkey is trusted by the DeFi community due to its commitment to transparency and security. The company’s non-custodial approach allows DAOs to retain full control over their assets—a critical feature in today’s trust-driven ecosystem. karpatkey also offers advanced automation tools for risk management, ensuring that clients’ assets are managed with precision and care.
karpatkey: Redefining Finance with Innovative DeFi Solutions and Seamless Institutional Access.
karpatkey’s future vision includes expanding its product suite to serve both the DeFi and traditional finance sectors. One of the upcoming initiatives is the launch of actively managed open-ended funds, designed to give institutional investors access to blue-chip DeFi tokens and yield-generating opportunities.
karpatkey is also preparing to introduce a DeFi Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), providing institutional investors with a secure and regulated gateway to DeFi yields. This marks a significant step toward bridging traditional finance with DeFi, reinforcing karpatkey’s role as a pioneer in decentralized financial management.
Join Us in Shaping the Future of DeFi
If you are a DeFi founder or project looking to collaborate, we invite you to explore potential synergies with karpatkey and the AppWorks community. Together, we can build a stronger, more resilient DeFi ecosystem that is ready to redefine the future of finance.
Founded in 2010 by Jamie Lin, AppWorks Accelerator is a startup community created by founders, for founders. We are committed to fostering the next generation of entrepreneurs in Greater Southeast Asia, accelerating the region’s transition into the digital era.
Every six months, we welcome founders trailblazing on the frontiers of AI, web3 and Southeast Asia, equipping them with the necessary resources, mentorship, and guidance to get their ventures off the ground.
We know there are many considerations for founders when applying to an accelerator. That’s why we’ve created an FAQ page to help you decide whether or not AppWorks is the right fit for your startup.
As of October 2024, AppWorks Accelerator #30 is open for applications. You can find important information about the Accelerator experience on our main page.
The FAQs
1. What do I need to know before joining the accelerator? What is AppWorks doing to help founders make the most out of the accelerator?
We understand the unique needs and aspirations for founders, and we’re committed to providing an experience that’s both flexible and comprehensive:
a. Tailored Events for Founders: We recognize that each founder’s journey is different, influenced by their unique locations and timelines. That’s why we’ve designed a program that blends online and offline events to accommodate this diversity. This flexibility ensures that you can engage with our program in a way that fits your specific circumstances, whether you’re based in Taiwan or anywhere around the globe.
b. Regional Presence in Greater Southeast Asia: We take immense pride in our strong regional presence, spanning seven vibrant markets: Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. This expansive network means that you have access to opportunities and support, no matter where you’re located.
c. Unlocking Taiwan’s Potential: Taiwan is home to a dynamic tech ecosystem, and we proudly maintain the most extensive network in the region. We invite you to consider Taiwan as a market ripe with valuable opportunities, a wealth of digital talents, reliable manufacturing partners, and a robust supply chain. The resources available here are vast and can significantly boost your venture.
Through our online and offline regional activities, we’re dedicated to connecting you with our network, helping you forge meaningful relationships in both Taiwan and Southeast Asia.
We firmly believe that there’s no substitute for physical, face-to-face interactions when it comes to building strong relationships and gaining profound insights. That’s why we encourage founders like you to join us in person for the offline portion of the accelerator program, whether here in Taiwan or in other Southeast Asian countries. We’re confident it will enrich your entrepreneurial journey in the most meaningful ways.
Your success is at the heart of what we do. We can’t wait to embark on this journey with you.
2. Why does AppWorks now only admit founders working on AI, web3, or SEA?
We believe that AI and blockchain are based on a solid foundation built by earlier generations of founders, and extended data applications and decentralized models represent a huge disruption that founders must address over the next decade.
The increasing demand for automation, personalization, and optimization in various industries creates new opportunities for AI to drive innovation. Taiwan plays a pivotal role in the world’s development of AI as the hub for manufacturing semiconductors, the heart of AI computing. Founders can further enhance their innovation efforts by harnessing the power of Taiwan’s AI and AIoT ecosystem, making their endeavors even more dynamic and accessible in this rapidly evolving landscape.
Web3 continues to be an area of innovation and excitement, with value creation occurring across cycles. As the web3 industry enters mass adoption, it requires infrastructure to seamlessly facilitate increasingly everyday transactions and activities. Meanwhile, applications for the web3 industry will speed up the process of onboarding end users. New primitives such as DAOs and protocols will completely disrupt the way people structure and run organizations from finance to entertainment to commerce—and this will all be done by leveraging the open, decentralized, permissionless, and trustless nature of blockchains. The time to build is now.
Southeast Asia’s digital revolution is well underway, with a young, ever-expanding, and increasingly affluent middle class driving brisk economic growth across the region and mass adoption of digital services. The scale of Southeast Asia’s digital economy is estimated to reach US$1 trillion by 2030. As the digital economies of Southeast Asian countries are still developing, there are many opportunities for growth, building off a strong foundation from the past decade of value creation. Each market in this region has its own unique opportunity. But many examples showed that having multiple markets in this region seems to be a must for great success, ie. SEA Group, GoTo Group, Bukalapak, Traveloka, Grab, 17LIVE and Lalamove. Our founder community is built to cater to this. We have a regional network for founders in Southeast Asia to build a bigger success than working on their own.
These are three areas where we’ve seen significant activity and can offer outsized support to founders, building off the firm’s long track record. In the past 10 years, we’ve witnessed the popularity and penetration of mobile internet, and have participated in this process by supporting founders in their endeavors. If you aspire to capture life-changing opportunities over the next decade, it is important to think about how to leverage these key areas to create the future.
3. I already raised a Series A / I’m profitable, is AppWorks right for me?
The short answer is, yes!
The long answer is, reaching a funding goal can be a cause for celebration, but it’s also a relatively minor part of the founder journey. So many more things can go right or wrong, even with a funding round. There are many other facets to overcome and master. When we admit founders into the program, it is because we have carefully considered what they need as a founder, and how our resources and network across Taiwan and Southeast Asia can help them grow.
Joel Leong and Henry Chan atShopBackhad already built a business model and received seed funding in 2015 when they launched in Singapore before they came to AppWorks Accelerator #13 in 2016.
Joel told us that had the team known about Taiwan’s massiveUS$20 billion GMV e-commerce market and all the region-wide technical and tactical innovations that it would eventually yield, they would have made the move to Taiwan much sooner. Taiwan has since become one of ShopBack’s biggest markets and R&D centers. It demonstrates that funding rounds and business model maturity do not limit founders in learning something new.
As long as you think that AppWorks can help you in the entrepreneurial learning process, you should apply.
4. How can AppWorks Accelerator help a web3 founder?
As our web3 ecosystem has grown, so have opportunities for partnerships, knowledge exchange, and founder-to-founder support—all critical for entrepreneurs building in this network and community-driven space:
a. Grow with one of the largest web3 founder communities.
Entrepreneurship is a lonely journey. After starting your own business, most of your friends and family won’t understand the ups and downs you’re experiencing as a founder. If you can share these experiences with fellow founders who are as capable and determined and who understand when you encounter setbacks, you will be more motivated to continue. In addition to founders in the same batch accelerating together, we will hold frequent alumni gatherings where you’ll meet many alumni who have gone through the zero-to-one process.
The web3 ecosystem within the AppWorks community now consists of 179 active teams with a total of 325 founders. These extraordinary web3 startups include Pendle (AW#20), a DeFi yield-trading protocol that enables the tokenization and trading of future yield; Blocto (AW#19), a mobile portal to the blockchain world featuring seamless integrations with different wallets and web browsers; and Event Horizon (AW#28), a meta-governance platform that mobilizes community assets to influence external governance proposals.
As one of the most flourishing web3 founder communities in the region, we support founders working on most, if not all, web3 verticals tackle the ins and outs of entrepreneurship through founder or mentor introductions and connect you with relevant resources in the web3 startup ecosystem. Moreover, founders can learn together with fellow founders about tokenomics, DAO structures, and community-building.
b. Stay ahead of the game to capture the pulse of the ecosystem and access premium development partners
In web3, startups developing on the right public chain and working with the right partners can help create synergies and accelerate scaling. Within the AppWorks web3 ecosystem, almost 80 teams have developed their products on various public chains, including Ethereum、Cosmos、Solana、Polygon、Arbitrum、Polygon、TON and so on. If you are a founder building on these chains, you can always find a connection within our ecosystem.
AppWorks is actively fostering a dynamic and thriving ecosystem for web3 startups to collaborate and innovate together. As the web3 landscape evolves rapidly, with new chains emerging frequently, we continually work to stay connected with the most prominent L1 and L2 ecosystems, ensuring that founders have access to top-tier resources.
At the same time, AppWorks builds partnerships with essential development tools, platforms, and cloud services such as GSR, Alchemy, Quantstamp, and Chainlink to make sure that blockchain startups gain the support they need to grow and thrive.
5. How does AppWorks Accelerator help founders enter new markets?
Since 2010, AppWorks has made close connections within founder communities and throughout the venture capital ecosystem. When startup teams decide to enter a new market, we can quickly help them learn from local partners to tap into key resources and business models that are specifically tailored to different regions.
The AppWorks community includes our accelerator alumni, international startup teams that have received investment from AppWorks Venture Funds, and mentors with insight and experience. Our community of founders are based all around the world, and many are from our key markets in Southeast Asia, such as Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia. For example, Qoala is an InsurTech startup headquartered in Indonesia that has expanded to Thailand and Malaysia, and the CEO/Co-founder, Harshet, is a seasoned founder and has been an active mentor to many startups in the region. Carousell is a startup from Singapore, which focuses on C2C e-commerce and has expanded into eight markets across Asia. The CEO/Co-founder, Siu Rui, has always been the go-to person for fellow founders who are exploring regional expansion.
In addition to our community, AppWorks has also established strategic relations with more than 25 venture capital funds across Southeast Asia and the web3 industry. Our partners include ACV, Golden Gate Ventures, Openspace Ventures, Ascend Vietnam Ventures, Foxmont Capital, Figment Capital, Reforge VC, and others. When entering a new market, we can easily cooperate with investors from different regions to help you quickly gain access to local connections and business opportunities.
6. What does AppWorks look for in applications?
When AppWorks reviews applications submitted by founders, we pay special attention to a founder’s north star. Some questions that might help you think about whether AppWorks is a good fit for you:
Why did you launch your startup?
What problem do you want to solve and why?
What do you believe fundamentally needs to exist in this world that doesn’t already?
What kind of future do you want to create and how will you get there?
What have you already done to demonstrate your commitment to tackling this problem?
AppWorks Accelerator’s online application covers about 30 topics related to team background, product/service, business model, market analysis, and more. It is very detailed and requires time to complete. It also includes a required one-minute self-intro from the founder (CEO) for us to know you better.
7. Does AppWorks Accelerator cost anything?
No. AppWorks Accelerator has always been free for founders. We will not charge rent or service fees, nor will we require any form of compensation, such as sweat equity, tokens, options, revenue, or profit-sharing. Our exclusive mission is to help founders.
8. We need funding now, can we get an investment by joining AppWorks?
The short answer is you will have much better access to us than non-AppWorks accelerated teams. We will discuss with you and help you figure out at this stage of your startup’s journey if capital can give your startup a significant edge and/or take it to the next level, or if there are other more burning issues, e.g., achieving stronger product-market fit, figuring out a working go-to-market strategy, recruiting a solid co-founder, etc.
Any AppWorks founder is welcome to start a discussion with us on fundraising anytime. We will do our best to advise and support you with US$350 million in total fund size behind us.
9. I am not a technical founder, or I need to find an engineer to help scale my idea, can I still apply?
Yes, you can. In a manner of speaking, you have come to the right country.
Taiwan graduates over 25,000 hardware and computer science engineers each year and is world-famous for the engineering and computer science mastery that has boosted the quality of international companies like Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta and Acer in hardware and Google and Microsoft in software, to name a few.
We strongly recommendfounders who come to Taiwan to check out the country’s vast human talent resources. Part of the founder journey will be about learning how to hire, and there is probably no better place in Asia to hire engineers than here.
10. My service (or product) has not yet started to make money. Can I still apply?
Of course! There probably isn’t a better time to learn in an accelerator than as a founder just starting out. This period before a founder has built a startup into a scalable business model with Product-Market Fit is called the “seed stage.” During this period, founders always need more than funding; they need a variety of entrepreneurial-related insights, inspiration from other founders, and room for trial and error. AppWorks Accelerator, with over 14 years of experience, was built to provide these lessons and more.
11. I’m planning to expand my business into Taiwan, however, since I am not a Taiwanese citizen, can you help me obtain a proper visa?
International founders admitted to AppWorks Accelerator, according to your qualifications and needs, AppWorks can help with your application for theGold Card, or Entrepreneur Visa in Taiwan. This enables founders from overseas to concentrate on work in Taiwan without traveling abroad to sort out troublesome visa issues. We can offer guidance on this process.
12. Do I have to set up a company to join AppWorks Accelerator?
Not necessarily, but we recommend founders to set up an office when entering a new market, especially those of you that are B2B facing. This may enable you to build relationships with business partners and make negotiating commercial agreements smoother in the future.
For the founders who are planning to land in Taiwan, AppWorks has professional accounting and legal specialists who can assist in managing the necessary procedures, making the process of setting up much easier and more efficient.
13. What is the difference between applying during the first round vs. the final round?
The application period is split into two intakes, with interviews and admissions facilitated on a rolling basis. Based on past experience, teams that submit their application earlier tend to have a higher chance of being admitted and are also immediately granted access to all the resources that AppWorks Accelerator has to offer.
14. I have previously applied to AppWorks and have been rejected, can I apply again? Will it affect the chances of admission?
Reapplying represents the determination of the founder and is a positive signal for us. Therefore, we will re-evaluate all aspects, not only for the growth of the founder but also for the progress of the company. In the past, some entrepreneurs applied 2-3 times before being selected. In some cases, after unsuccessful applications, they continued to explore and eventually achieved more user growth and deeper insights. In other cases, they honestly faced the fact that there was no Product-Market Fit (PMF), changed their topic, found a scalable business model, and reapplied. These entrepreneurs have performed well after graduating from the accelerator.
We hope the above FAQ can help clarify your questions about AppWorks Accelerator. If you seek more clarity, please write to:[email protected], and we will try to answer your questions.
If you’re a founder working on AI, web3, or Southeast Asia, you’ve come to the right place! Applications forAppWorks Accelerator#30 will be open until December 31 , 2024.
2. 為什麼 AppWorks 現在限定招募來自 AI、web3 或是 Southeast Asia 的創業者？
我們認為，基於過去 Internet 打下的良好基礎，由 AI 及 Blockchain 所延伸出的數據應用，以及去中心化的價值交換模式，是下個十年創業者必須槓桿的巨大板塊位移機會。
而台灣作為 AI 發展核心的半導體之製造中心，在全球 AI 的演進及普及化當中，扮演愈趨重要的角色。隨著算法、算力的進步，加上開源框架與生成式 AI 的普及，使 Founder 可以在醫療保健、金融、零售和遊戲等不同產業間嘗試 AI 以及 AIoT 的各種潛在應用，善加利用台灣的生態系，為新創團隊打開新的大門。
