WeMo Raises Series A+ Round to Accelerate Southeast Asia Expansion, Led by AppWorks

WeMo CEO – Davidd Liu 劉于遜 (Left), WeMo Co-Founder & Vice Chairman – Jeffrey Wu 吳昕霈 (Right)

Editor’s note: We’re thrilled to back WeMo Scooter, a pioneer in urban mobility technologies. With its proven track record in smart transportation and fleet management, WeMo is working with partners in Southeast Asia and around the world to realize net zero carbon emission transportation. The press release from WeMo is below:

(漢文在下) WeMo Corp, a pioneer in urban mobility technologies, announced the completion of a Series A+ round led by AppWorks, with participation from Taiwan National Development Fund.

With its mission to reduce dependency on privately-owned vehicles and decrease carbon emissions, WeMo has amassed a user base of over a million members in its seven years of smart vehicle operations, and has gained a dominant position in the Taiwan market. The company has made dramatic adjustments throughout the pandemic to meet ever-changing consumer needs, and positioning itself for long-term growth, including investments in product and technology that are intended to help governments, businesses, and communities embrace more sustainable ways of transportation and living.

In 2022, WeMo launched a number of new products and services based on emerging consumer demand following Taiwan’s reopening, including: WeMo RenTour, which offers app-based rentals for electric cars, scooters, and bicycles; and WeMo PASS, offering free and discounted rides of electric scooters and other benefits on a subscription basis. Revenue has returned to pre-pandemic levels, recording double-digit growth. The company anticipates accelerated growth over the next few years, building off increasing demand for shared transportation, electrification, fleet management, and resumption of normal economic activity.

In addition to its convenient roadside rent-and-return services, WeMo offers a comprehensive Mobility-as-a-Service platform with a focus on fleet and operations management under one integrated system, which intimately aligns with global market urbanization demand and greenification trends. With WeMo’s modular, efficient, and all-in-one tool “Smart Mobility Center,” fleet operators are able to gain access to historical and real-time data, accurate forecasting, and analytics to improve fleet management. Data and module specifications can be customized to each operator’s region, vehicle type or other needs to help achieve sustainability goals and seamlessly manage vehicle fleets.

“As a pioneer of shared e-mobility in Taiwan, WeMo has gained significant momentum in the island country known to have the highest motorcycle per capita. Over the past seven years, we accumulated valuable experiences in product development, user experience design, and AI / IoT technologies. As WeMo emerges from the pandemic in a position of strength, we are excited to expand our footprint to Southeast Asia where we can help governments and businesses achieve greener transportation and effectively manage their electric fleets,” said Davidd Liu, CEO of WeMo.

With this round of financing, WeMo plans to expand its service to Southeast Asia, with an emphasis on Indonesia and Thailand. In anticipation of rapidly growing demand for electric vehicles and alternative transportation solutions, the company is building partnerships with governments, investors, businesses, and transportation providers throughout Southeast Asia to offer green transportation and fleet management services to support the region’s transition to zero emission.

“In recent years, accelerating impact of climate change and severe weather has created greater impetus to transition to net zero economic and societal models. Throughout the pandemic, the WeMo team has demonstrated amazing resilience and execution through operations excellence, product innovation and a focus on seamless consumer experiences, leading to a sound financial performance that will allow them to expedite expansion and contribute to Taiwan and the Greater Southeast Asia region’s pursuit of zero carbon societies. As an early believer in WeMo, AppWorks has great confidence in this team’s future under the leadership of Jeffrey and Davidd,” said Jamie Lin, Chairman, AppWorks.

“Sustainable green energy development is the predominant global trend for energy and transportation, and is the core spirit of WeMo from inception. Building off the continuous and steady growth of WeMo, we will leverage our proven expertise in electric and shared vehicles to offer sustainable solutions for smart transportation throughout the Greater Southeast Asia region,” said Jeffrey Wu, Founder and Vice Chairman, WeMo.

About WeMo

WeMo Corp is an urban mobility solutions provider developing technology and services with the goal of decreasing dependency on privately-owned vehicles, reducing pollution, and improving urban life for all. WeMo empowers urban residents to enjoy zero carbon transportation on their own terms, including mobile-based rentals for automobiles, scooters, and bicycles. Understanding the importance of mass adoption of green technologies, WeMo’s fleet technology offerings help businesses manage their electric vehicle fleets in real time. As of 2022, WeMo has contributed to positive growth and resolving issues through reducing CO2 emissions by 3.5 million kg.

For more information, please visit http://www.wemoscooter.com

[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 largest founder community in Greater Southeast Asia.]

WeMo Scooter 疫情後穩健成長,AppWorks 2023 年開春加碼增資助攻開啟國際拓展

2020 年初疫情趨峻以來全球經濟市場受到衝擊,亞洲智慧共享運具先驅 WeMo Scooter 憑藉高度彈性應變能力並掌握即時數據,迅速針對消費者需求調整產品與盈利模式,在後疫情時代擴張用戶族群及數量、營收反彈成長,持續穩健發展。此外,WeMo Smart Mobility 團隊擁有三大優勢與核心智慧車聯網技術,既有投資人 AppWorks 看好其團隊具備跨域、跨運具營運能量,可望進軍商機龐大的東南亞智慧運輸市場,於 2023 年開春完成加碼增資數百萬美元助攻,以此展開拓展東南亞市場的初期工作,並啟動更多國際合作並募集海外資源挹注。

後疫情時代市場詭譎多變,WeMo Scooter 在短期內針對消費者需求調整產品與消費模式,2022 年底用戶數成長驚人,其活躍使用率更是提升逾 10%,不管是新舊用戶黏著度正不斷地升高,顯示疫情後大眾的移動習慣已產生改變。此外,因應消費者及企業端跨域、跨運具需求,WeMo Smart Mobility 團隊在 2022 年第三季推出子品牌 WeMo RenTour,是台灣首個結合手機 App 租賃,整合橫跨汽車、機車及電動自行車等多元運具與不同租賃品牌的服務。並且,團隊觀察到市場對共享運具的需求與使用習慣改變,於 2022 年第四季推出全台首創共享機車訂閱制 WeMo PASS,消費者不再受限過往訂閱的趟次與時數限制所綑綁,訂閱數在首月即獲得佳績,超越預估並翻倍成長。WeMo Scooter 在 2022 年整體營收相較去年以雙位數百分比成長,並回到疫情前水準,可望在未來三至五年再以倍數成長躍進。

WeMo Smart Mobility 團隊三大優勢及核心技術對齊市場剛需及趨勢,既有投資人 AppWorks 看準團隊應變效率與跨域、跨運具適性,加碼增資助攻海外:

  1. 後疫情時代大環境受到衝擊,WeMo Scooter 在一片紅海中非但不以變相削價方式競爭,更打破市場傳統框架推出 WeMo PASS,用戶黏著度創新高,營運含金量再提升。 「智慧城市調度」管理也高度提升資源有效利用,不但滿足用戶需求,更符合 WeMo Scooter 一直秉持的綠色永續發展精神。
  2. WeMo 為智慧運輸車聯網公司,主力產品 WeMo Scooter 在台灣三大城市經營 7 年以來,已打下深厚基礎,擁有豐富第一線營運及服務經驗,並具備完整「數據累積和即時運用」能力,成功應用在跨域及跨運具營運平台及整合租賃業者資源,有足夠成熟能量向海外擴展。
  3. WeMo核心能力不單是提供路邊隨租隨還的便利服務,其完備的車聯網技術與車隊整合系統精準對齊全球市場剛需及趨勢,並在每個開發階段所累積的數據與模組規格能夠彈性應用,達到車聯網服務最大化效能,不再侷限地域及運具,達到環境永續目標。

在經歷三年疫情的衝擊後,產業界開始面對 2023 年全新的政經局勢。國際貨幣基金 (IMF) 預期 2023 年全球將面臨嚴峻挑戰,美國、歐洲及中國三大經濟體將持續呈現衰退,將導致至少 1/3 其他國家陷入景氣衰退。

AppWorks 董事長暨合夥人林之晨指出:「近幾年大家都感受到氣候變遷與劇烈氣象,對生活帶來的衝擊,認知到實現淨零碳排的必要,其中,加速共享、綠色運輸的發展,至為關鍵。因此,AppWorks 長期支持 WeMo Smart Mobility,期望加速其在台拓展與區域化的腳步。過去三年,在疫情反覆衝擊的營運環境下,WeMo 經營團隊展現出驚人的韌性與執行力,不僅在產品與服務上能持續創新,提供用戶更多選擇、更好體驗,在 WeMo PASS 助攻下,財務表現更是屢創新高。AppWorks 相信,進入後疫情階段,經過淬鍊的 WeMo 團隊,結合自身的經驗與優勢,必定能在大東南亞舞台寫下美好的新篇章。」

WeMo 執行長劉于遜表示:「身為台灣綠色共享運具先驅,過去 7 年以來在台灣本土深耕獲得許多寶貴經驗,也累積成熟能量發展各種盈利模式,並隨時保持敏捷滾動式調整策略與腳步,在最壞也是最好的時代從台灣出發,期盼能在海外市場取得更多國際合作與資源挹注。」

全球及亞太智慧運輸市場需求激增,依據 kbvresearch 調查,全球智慧運輸市場正以 8.7% 複合成長率擴張,將在 2023 年達 571.95 億美元的市場規模。越南、菲律賓、泰國、新加坡、印尼、印度等亞太多國皆有重大交通建設工程。WeMo 副董事長暨創辦人吳昕霈強調:「綠能永續發展亦是全球焦點趨勢,也是 WeMo 營運發展核心之一,WeMo 在持續穩健成長之下,將挾三大優勢跨海強攻,並在 AppWorks 加碼增資助攻之下,目標在數位經濟時代以跨國界、跨運具之強大策略武器打開所有可能,建立亞太智慧運輸永續生態圈。」

【歡迎 Web3 / DAO、AI / IoT 以及目標 Southeast Asia 市場的創業者,加入 AppWorks Accelerator

Indonesia’s Largest AgriTech Platform EdenFarm, Raises $13.5M Pre-Series B Round Co-led by TMI, AppWorks, and AC Ventures

Editor’s Note: We’re proud to back EdenFarm, the largest agritech platform in Indonesia. EdenFarm has secured $13.5 million in its latest Pre-Series B round. The press release from EdenFarm is below:

  • Led by Telkomsel venture arm, TMI, with AppWorks and AC Ventures among other investors.
  • EdenFarm has raised $13.5 million in their new Pre-Series B funding round; proceeds from this round will advance EdenFarm’s proven profitability track record in improving farm-to-table sustainability and providing tech-based solutions to B2B food supply chain’s most pressing problems.
  • This new round demonstrates TMI’s commitment to supporting the empowerment of leading digital players while accelerating digital transformation in the country’s agricultural sector to strengthen an impact-driven and sustainable national digital ecosystem.

EdenFarm, a food service-focused startup based in Indonesia, has secured $13.5 million in its latest Pre-Series B bridge round, which was led by Telkomsel venture arm – TMI, AppWorks, and AC Ventures, also supported by Decart Ventures, Fubon Capital, Trihill Capital, OCBC NISP Ventura, Nakhla and Capria Ventures. This corporate action is Telkomsel and TMI’s commitment to nurturing the potential digital startups in the country and the Indonesian agricultural sector to be more advanced and developed through the use and optimization of leading and sustainable digital technology.

EdenFarm aims to build a food supply chain ecosystem in Indonesia that is profitable and sustainable for the farmers and all stakeholders. EdenFarm has raised $34.5 million throughout the fourth significant funding round for EdenFarm since its establishment in 2017. The funds raised will deepen EdenFarm’s penetration in key farming partners across Indonesia, improving customer experience with tech-based solutions for the country’s most pressing food security and efficiency problems.

Founder and CEO EdenFarm’s, David Setyadi Gunawan says, “EdenFarm is thrilled to team up with Telkomsel to add precision farming technologies and insights to our local farmers. Our range of products caters to all aspects of the agriculture industry, from farms to distribution, to help farmers create sustainable and profitable businesses. The recent funding will allow us to grow our presence in Indonesia and solidify our position as a leading player in the agriculture and food service sectors. We believe that this partnership with Telkomsel will significantly benefit our platform.”

“EdenFarm has seen almost 60X growth in the last 40 months and has laid the foundation to remain profitable on its path, leading amongst other players who are suffering big losses. It signifies the victorious status of EdenFarm as a market leader in agri-tech. We aim to widen the profit in the next 12 months, along with 3.5-4X growth on a YoY basis. From there, it will pursue new markets”, added David.

CEO of Telkomsel Mitra Inovasi (TMI), Mia Melinda says, “TMI believes in the important use of “tech for good” and helping entrepreneurs and small businesses with high dedication and passion for making a positive impact for Indonesia’s economy has always been our focus. EdenFarm’s strong B2B food supply chain network from upstream to downstream empowers local farmers to gain better income and create a positive impact in rural areas. Hence, we are excited to back the EdenFarm food ecosystem with funding and collaboration with Telkomsel Digital Food Ecosystem (DFE), which is one of Telkomsel’s initiatives to support the digitization in the agricultural sector, and other synergies to propel EdenFarm’s platform throughout Indonesia to secure long-term food needs.”

Adrian Li, Founder and Managing Partner at AC Ventures, said, “Strongly aligned with our firm’s ESG-focused investment philosophy, EdenFarm is operating at nearly 0% food waste and delivering a robust and meaningful impact to the livelihoods of Indonesia’s farmers. The startup is revolutionizing the country’s B2B food supply chain by addressing some of the most pressing challenges both producers and sellers face. We at AC Ventures are confident in EdenFarm’s business and are excited to participate in its latest funding round. We are proud to serve as a catalyst to drive forward EdenFarm’s mission of building a more efficient and sustainable food ecosystem in Indonesia. The impact EdenFarm is making is truly transformative, and we can’t wait to see more positive changes this team brings about in the industry.”

EdenFarm, a food-service-focused startup pioneer with a focus on B2B customers, started the business in 2017 with a vision to simplify Indonesia’s B2B food supply chain and empower the food ecosystem to improve the welfare of farmers, food and culinary business actors through accurate demand consistency, various training, and technological support. EdenFarm serves more than 50,000 customers in the B2B segment, ranging from the secondary market, culinary SMEs, and HORECA to startup partners.

About EdenFarm 

EdenFarm is a pioneer in B2B food service focused startups in Indonesia, whose mission is to build an efficient food ecosystem for farmers and food & culinary business. Leveraging technology to empower local farmers and create a positive impact in rural areas, EdenFarm aims to simplify food supply chains and, at the same time, helps to improve farmers’ welfare through accurate demand consistency and various training. Supported by local and global investors, EdenFarm now operates in 14 cities and three districts throughout Java and continues to serve over 50,000 B2B customers throughout the island. EdenFarm’s user-friendly mobile app is available on the AppStore and Google Play Store.

For more information, please visit www.edenfarm.id

[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 largest founder community in Greater Southeast Asia.]

Why We Invested: The Decentralized Quartet of Origami, Inc.

Jack An, Analyst (安良方 / 分析師)

Jack is an Analyst covering AppWorks Accelerator. Before joining the team, he was a co-founder and early team member at two InsurTech startups, where he developed a passion in user experience and product development. Previous to his startup journey he worked as a commercial property underwriter at Chubb Insurance in New Zealand. Jack graduated with a Bachelor of Music from Waikato University where he studied classical piano. He loves to cook, read and is a practicing stoic.

With the introduction of a new form of asset ownership such as fungible tokens (cryptocurrencies) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) powered by blockchain, accounting for production value is perhaps at the most efficient point in human history. These new tools – and any other tool that came before – change human behavior as suddenly the world we perceive now works differently. This could very well be the first ripple to forever change how humans organize and collaborate with each other. 

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, DAOs for short, is envisioned to be a re-invented form of community-owned organization that follows rules encoded by computer program, decision making and financial transactions following these rules are transparently made for the community and kept on blockchain ledger, creating this “trust-less” environment that open up the possibility for organizations to function without relying on total oversight such as the government or a few selected authoritative. This allows organizations to operate from anywhere in the world, as they are incorporated on-chain instead of with local sovereign regimes, and the payment for these operations can also be made to anyone in the world leveraging cryptocurrencies and NFTs.

DAOs really took off this year as all sorts of communities adopted this form of on-chain organization from gaming to DeFI, to social and non-profit organizations. The most prominent and immediate DAOs that are seeing strong traction right now are investment DAOs where people pool money together and make investments similar to an angel club. These on-chain investment DAOs are able to invest in both NFTs and tokens, while people in the DAO possess something representing their ownership stake of the collective funding. Investment DAOs have seemingly found a product-market-fit (PMF) this year. 

That’s why we are very excited to make our investment into Origami, Inc., launched by veteran founder and crypto native Ben Huh, alongside Bloomberg Beta, Protocol Labs, Dylan Field, Balaji Srinivasan, and many others. Ben  and his co-founders are extremely passionate about helping humans co-create their tribes and organizations by building tools and playbooks that can help scale these organizations into the future. 

Origami co-founders – a true test to decentralization organization

The co-founders of Origami are spread across different time zones. Ben (CEO) and Johnny Chin (CGO) are both based in San Francisco, while Matt Voska (COO) is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Stephen Caudill (CTO) is based in Colorado. This made scheduling our calls slightly difficult with AppWorks being in Taipei. But in those early morning calls we were still able to really find resonance with the team’s passion for collaboration, even with thousands of miles between them. Which stands as a solid proof that DAOs can work and they can work very well together.

Being decentralized, the team was naturally formed on the internet like most DAOs these days. But more than just randomly DM’ing each other, the Origami team already had an interesting track record together co-founding OrangeDAO and raising US$80 million to back ambitious crypto founders around the world. The team initially connected as they were all part of different Y Combinator programs, but as YC didn’t really focus on crypto and web3, the Origami founders turned their maxed-out WhatsApp crypto group of 256 people into OrangeDAO with over 1,000 members.

The founding of OrangeDAO wasn’t by luck either. Just before the WhatsApp group started, Ben was introduced by friends to some famous internet cats that took the crypto world by storm – Cryptokittes – created by Dapper Labs, an AppWorks portfolio. Ben is a veteran when it comes to cats on the internet, having built I-Can-Has-Cheezburger.com (ICHC), a collection of User Generated Content (UGC) websites fueled with memes. And at the prime of their operation had 400 million unique views per month.

Ben immediately made the connection between the relationship of blockchain and how it can power communities in a whole new way. With his time at ICHC, Ben and his team cultivated thriving communities that produced endless streams of new content, metas, and derivative content of everything in between. However, there simply wasn’t a way to account for the values created by the community itself nor the value of cultivating the community itself. This problem seems finally solvable with the new tools brought to us by blockchain.

Onboarding the next 100,000 DAOs

The team took their learnings from OrangeDAO and made it into a framework for other investment DAOs to adopt, including Kauffman Fellows VC3 DAO, Techstars Constellation DAO, and Bessemer Venture’s BessemerDAO. But it doesn’t just stop there. Although investment DAOs have found PMF this year, there are also countless other DAOs formed and operated across Decentralized Finance, web3 gaming, open-source NFT governance, social clubs, and so much more that in 2021 alone the assets held by DAO treasuries grew 40x to US$11 billion in one year. Even the 2022 Taipei Blockchain Week is run and hosted by a DAO dubbed Bu Zhi DAO.

However, it isn’t easy to run a DAO. A lot of DAOs struggle to keep their communities engaged, select the best voting style for their community, or still find it difficult to properly communicate among their peers. And this is where Origami comes in. With the funding, Origami will be able to scale up technologies and support a variety of DAOs, with their framework in tandem to provide these new organizations a guideline on how to optimize coordination in voting, decision making, and member management so they can produce a consensus decision wherever they are and in whatever field of focus.

Places to belong

Ben, the Origami team and their investors, including we at AppWorks, all believe DAOs will play a very crucial role through onboarding general users and giving them their first web3 aha moment. At the end of the day, humans are a very diverse bunch with all sorts of different wants and needs, and each of us desires to belong and spend our time here on earth on things we find meaningful. We’ve already witnessed the result of connecting diverse communities and organizations that span around the world via Reddit or other forums alike. But for the very first time, these assorted forums of fascination can now be so much more than just text with efficient organization powered by DAOs.

At AppWorks, we look for great founders who are building new and innovative models. We’re honored to have the privilege to partner with Ben and the entire Origami team as they continue to push the envelope on DAOs and how people organize in the digital age.

[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.]

Why We Invested: Marius Ciubotariu, Co-founder of Hubble Protocol

Jack An, Analyst (安良方 / 分析師)

Jack is an Analyst covering AppWorks Accelerator. Before joining the team, he was a co-founder and early team member at two InsurTech startups, where he developed a passion in user experience and product development. Previous to his startup journey he worked as a commercial property underwriter at Chubb Insurance in New Zealand. Jack graduated with a Bachelor of Music from Waikato University where he studied classical piano. He loves to cook, read and is a practicing stoic.

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is without a doubt one of the most revolutionary inventions of the 21st century. The “decentralization” part of DeFi refers to the core qualities of blockchain technology – censorship resistance, permissionlessness, and trustlessness. As long as one can connect to the internet, one can access to and ultimately benefit from financial goods and services. A basic need that most of us in the developed world often take for granted. 

Factors like having a stable currency that does not lose purchasing power abruptly, or having a variety of yield generating financial instruments that protect and add to our wealth – these are issues that many people in developing economies face. It is frightening to consider losing access to technologies that can secure your financial nest. And that’s why building a resilient DeFi system is extremely important. 

Apart from the underlying blockchain network that computes and supports DeFi, “stablecoins” – a digital currency whose value is pegged to a real-world currency, most commonly the US Dollar – plays an instrumental role in DeFi because it provides a consistent manner of storing and transmitting value, a necessity for all financial operations.

Nevertheless, stablecoins are not all created equal due to the fact they use different methods to peg their value to the dollar. Some stablecoins are centralized, giving control to a single authority, which can lead to censorship, manipulation, or act as a single point of failure, ultimately weakening the entire DeFi system.

This is why we are thrilled to be supporting Marius Ciubotariu, co-founder of Hubble Protocol. Marius and his colleagues are developing a decentralized stablecoin system that aims to create a fully censorship-resistant stablecoin that can stand the test of time, to securely facilitate the DeFi ecosystem in the long run.

Connecting the dots backwards

Marius started his journey in technology early. At the age of 13, devoted to making money with his mind, he began learning how to code and participated in many coding olympiads and contests in his childhood. Marius’ passion for technology continued, and by the time he turned 16, he was already taking on projects as a software developer to support himself and earned a sizable income. 

Initially, it was a straight path to becoming a software engineer after college. However, at the suggestion of his father, he decided to pursue an undergraduate in business instead. Marius’s fascination with finance and economics led him to become a sales analyst at Bloomberg in 2016. Through analyzing markets and trends, he saw the future where “software eats the world” and didn’t want to sit on the sidelines and watch this happen.

Marius made the jump within Bloomberg to begin developing the technology that runs the products Bloomberg were selling, as well as attempting to launch multiple software products outside of work. He became Bloomberg’s internal Rust champion, shipping their first-ever Rust-based infrastructure project. At the same time, Marius began studying blockchain and was intrigued with AMMs and lending products that offered real-world utilities, as well as the multidisciplinary requirements needed to establish them.

Marius recognized the importance of DeFi and the role stablecoins play in this emerging field, which is why he is taking on the difficult task of developing a censorship-resistant, permissionless, and trustless stablecoin. Looking back, his ambition and perseverance to excel and his expertise in engineering and finance creates the perfect combination for the foundation of Hubble Protocol.

Stablecoins adoption continues to soar 

When customers put up over-collateralized loans, Hubble Protocol issues “USDH” stablecoins. To do so in a decentralized manner, the platform must also include mechanisms to self-govern and rebalance loans at risk. Building a resilient infrastructure capable of timely managing loan positions in the face of crypto’s rapid price changes is no easy feat in and of itself.

However, attracting individuals to take out over-collateralized loans is also a difficult task. Hubble’s goal together with Marius’s experience is to create winning strategies as structured products that are principal-guaranteed that maximize return. Furthermore, the team is also working on tools that will eventually support under-collateralized loans in order to attract a larger market of consumers and expand the total DeFi market.

The stablecoin market has expanded dramatically, with the total value of stablecoins issued reaching around US$185 billion in April 2022, up from US$30 billion in the beginning of 2021. This bodes well for the Hubble protocol, which itself is dedicated to developing the most resilient and commonly used stablecoin.

Fighting the good fight

The Hubble protocol team is focused on building a DeFi platform the right way the first time, given the early stages of DeFi and the constant regulatory challenges. It is essential to maintain an open and censorship-resistant DeFi ecosystem to ensure that access to financial products remains a basic human right. As supporters of the Hubble protocol team, we are excited about what they are building and are looking forward to being part of their journey.

We look for strong founders who are using innovative technologies like DeFi to address real-world problems. We’re thrilled to work with Marius and his team at Hubble Protocol as they continue to spread the fundamental value of DeFi and blockchain to all around the world.

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.

Virtual Real Estate Marketplace, Parcel, Raises $4M in Round Led by Framework Ventures

Editor’s note: Congratulations to Parcel on another great milestone. As the virtual real estate economy grows, Parcel aims to be the leading one-stop-shop for landowners and creators in the metaverse. AppWorks is excited to be a part of the journey. The press release from Parcel is below:

Parcel, an NFT marketplace for virtual real estate, has raised $4 million in a seed round led by Framework Ventures, a venture capital firm known for its early entry into Web3 and decentralized finance (DeFi). Additional participants in the round include Fifth Wall, Blizzard Fund (Avalanche), AVIV Group (Axel Springer), AppWorks, Great Oaks, and Serafund; as well as an impressive roster of angel investors including Aaron Wong (SoftBank), Sebastien Borget (The Sandbox), and Santiago Santos.

Co-Founders Ian Mukherjee and Noah Gaynor

By aggregating digital land listings and architectural services for virtual landowners, sellers, and builders, Parcel is the first comprehensive marketplace tailored exclusively for the virtual real estate economy. Parcel launched in July 2021 amidst a virtual real estate market that generated more than $500 million in sales in the 2021 calendar year and has already surpassed $1 billion in sales during the first half of 2022. The platform aggregates real estate listings across several of the largest virtual worlds on the Ethereum blockchain, including The Sandbox, Decentraland, Voxels, Somnium Space, Mona, and NFT Worlds. Multi-chain support on Avalanche and Polygon is planned for later this year.

Parcel’s marketplace offers interactive, data-rich visual maps to help users more seamlessly navigate the virtual real estate ecosystem. Parcel also provides real-time price appraisals for open listings and utilizes a proprietary gas-efficient smart contract to facilitate sales, enabling users to buy and list land for half the cost of gas fees found on existing NFT marketplaces. For a limited time, Parcel is reimbursing gas costs for wallets that list land on its marketplace.

“The ongoing growth of the digital land ecosystem presents endless opportunities for creators and investors,” said Noah Gaynor, Co-Founder and CEO of Parcel. “However, to build a truly successful metaverse economy, users need a marketplace solution that not only encourages the sale and transaction of digital land, but the development of valuable projects and businesses across virtual worlds as well. By aggregating resources for all metaverse stakeholders – from prospective landowners and sellers to virtual world service providers and architects – Parcel provides the full suite of services needed to build a thriving metaverse.”

To encourage the development of diverse projects and services across virtual worlds, Parcel is developing a comprehensive creative directory known as Creatorverse. Through Creatorverse, landowners will be able to easily discover and employ virtual architects and service providers by browsing their portfolio of digital work. Parcel also offers Learn, an educational platform that helps seamlessly onboard new users and advance knowledge for the Web3 community.

“Though the metaverse land market has grown rapidly over the last year, the market is still quite fragmented between various virtual worlds,” said Michael Anderson, Co-Founder of Framework Ventures. “We believe Parcel is uniquely positioned to unify the virtual real estate ecosystem and lead the development of an open and thriving metaverse. We’re very proud to work alongside their team as they become the leading marketplace for the virtual real estate economy.”

The funds from the round will be utilized to continue developing Parcel’s feature set for the Creatorverse and expanding marketplace listings to virtual worlds beyond the Ethereum ecosystem.

About Parcel

Parcel is on a mission to empower people with the tools they need to find their home in the metaverse. Born out of an industry that was scattered and lacked transparency, Parcel developed the first comprehensive marketplace tailored exclusively for virtual real estate. By aggregating digital land listings and fostering connection between landowners and creators, Parcel offers the full suite of services needed to build a thriving metaverse community and economy. To learn more, visit https://parcel.so and join the community on Twitter @ParcelNFT.

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