來自香港的 Animoca Brands 近期宣佈以 10 億美元估值 (Valuation)，完成了最新一輪 88,888,888 美元的融資。Animoca Brands 主要業務是透過 NFT (非同質代幣) 向遊戲玩家提供數位資產，旗下遊戲包括：《F1® Delta Time》、《The Sandbox》和《MotoGP™ Ignition》等，是該領域全球領先的企業。

正值疫情升溫的當下，值得台灣新創與創投圈關注的角度與好消息，則是 AppWorks 也參與了本輪融資，並寫下兩個里程碑。第一，這是 AppWorks 繼 2019 年投資 Flow (由知名 NFT 應用《CryptoKitties》、《NBA Top Shot》開發團隊 Dappers Labs 所開發的區塊鏈鏈公鏈) 之後，另一個指標性的 NFT 投資案；第二，這也是 AppWorks 繼投資 Lalamove 與 Dapper Labs / Flow 後，投出的第三隻獨角獸。除了 AppWorks，本輪投資者還包括 Kingsway Capital、RIT Capital Partners、HashKey Fintech Investment Fund 等多家機構。

對 Animoca Brands 來說，本次增資更是一個策略里程碑。Animoca Brands 將利用募得的資金進一步加速成長，持續推廣 NFT 應用，為玩家提供更豐富、基於數位資產的遊戲與服務，更進一步實現 Play-to-Earn 和數位資產跨遊戲互通 (Interoperability) 等次世代遊玩方式。新資本也會用於進一步的購併、開發新產品、繼續進行策略投資，以及獲得更多熱門 IP 授權。這將可鞏固 Animoca Brands 及其各子公司在 NFT 與遊戲領域中的領導地位。

隨著區塊鏈遊戲包括《F1® Delta Time》、《The Sandbox》和《MotoGP™ Ignition》等的成功，以及相關代幣如 REVV 和 SAND 等的推出，並對 Dapper Labs、OpenSea、Bitski、《Axie Infinity》等進行了非常成功的投資，Animoca Brands 已經成為全球在區塊鏈、NFT 和遊戲領域的領導力量。

憑藉最近 GAMEE、TOWER 和 LMT 代幣的推出，Animoca Brands 正在開拓基於區塊鏈的遊戲內獎勵應用，創造全新的數位遊戲商業模式，而數位遊戲市場在 2020 年的市場規模為 1,797 億美元 (來源：IDC，2020)。

為紀念成為獨角獸的成就，Animoca Brands 也將向投資人、主要合作夥伴和其他幫助成就此時刻的支持者們發行一個 NFT。

對於選擇與 AppWorks 合作，Animoca Brands 共同創辦人暨董事長蕭逸  (Yat Siu) 說道：「台灣擁有一流的消費科技以及蓬勃的遊戲產業，也是全球遊戲領域的主要市場之一，能為 Animoca Brands 下一波成長挹注重要能量。我們選擇與 AppWorks 合作，因為 AppWorks Accelerator 是大東南亞 (東協加台灣) 最大的創業加速器，除了符合我們的長期策略目標外，也能協助我們參與並連結 AppWorks 龐大的創業社群。我們非常期待透過 AppWorks 的支援，在台灣設立一間辦公室。對於擁有台灣家庭根源的我來說 (我的曾外祖父是博士之父王雲五)，這是一個特別的時刻，也是我為這個不斷發展的寶島，做出貢獻的一種方式。」

AppWorks 主導這次投資案的合夥人蔡欣翰指出：「我們與 Animoca Brands 的理念不謀而合，都相信區塊鏈與 NFT，將為科技、商業、娛樂乃至於人們的生活，帶來巨大的典範轉移。Yat (蕭逸) 是這個領域的先行者，多年來一直努力推廣 NFT 更廣泛的應用與潛力，Animoca Brands 連續推出多款結合區塊鏈與 NFT 的熱門遊戲，已充分證明他們是這個領域的世界一流團隊，期待透過這次的合作案，能為 AppWorks 致力打造的大東南亞新創生態系，串接起 Animoca Brands 的經驗、技術以及全球頂級的遊戲開發社群，共同打造出更大的商機與前景。」

同時間，AppWorks 正在積極招募 NFT 新創加入下一期 AppWork Accelerator #23，歡迎所有有興趣與 Dapper Labs / Flow、Animoca Brands 等 AppWorks 投資的 NFT 平台連結、合作的創業者加入。

關於 Animoca Brands

Animoca Brands 是數位娛樂、區塊鏈、遊戲化和人工智慧領域的領導者，名列《金融時報》2021 亞太地區高成長公司。 Animoca Brands 開發並發布了廣泛的產品組合，包括 REVV 代幣和 SAND 代幣；《The Sandbox》、《Crazy Kings》和《Crazy Defense Heroes》在內的原創遊戲；以及使用熱門知識產權，諸如Formula 1 ®、漫威、美國職業摔角、恐龍戰隊、MotoGP™和多啦 A 夢品牌的產品。 

Animoca Brands 的區塊鏈投資組合和合作夥伴包括 Sky Mavis (《Axie Infinity》)、Dapper Labs (《CryptoKitties》和《NBA Top Shot》)、OpenSea、Harmony、Bitski 以及 Alien Worlds。其子公司包括《The Sandbox》、Quidd、Gamee、nWay、Pixowl 以及 Lympo。欲了解更多信息，請瀏覽 www.animocabrands.com，或通過關注 Animoca Brands 的 Facebook 或 Twitter 以獲取更新的資訊。

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SoopahGenius announces the completion of its pre-seed round with Taiwan’s AppWorks Fund. SoopahGenius joined AppWorks Accelerator #20 in March 2020, and is thrilled to continue their partnership in the next stage of company development. This round of funding will help grow their engineering team and accelerate development of Catapult, their AI-powered platform that smartly navigates video content. 

Catapult’s innovation lies in its ability to chew through giant video files. It helps livestreamers and their community to find key moments 10X faster in a stream through an intelligent combination of high speed scrubbing, audio and text analysis, computer vision, and for select games, all game events. Every stream is stored in the cloud, which eliminates the need to upload and download files and opens the opportunity to collaboratively edit a stream or multiple streams. 

“We knew from our own experience that one of the things storytellers get very little help with is dealing with the vast amounts of footage and material they create as the story is taking shape. What we found with livestreamers was that this problem is so bad for them, it often proves itself to be insurmountable, and is really the key reason why they don’t create as much as they want.” said Mike Calcagno, CEO of SoopahGenius. “Bringing the power of AI, and, quite simply, just more computing firepower to the problem, we think that’s a great start towards making visual storytelling easier for everyone.”

With shared interests in AI/ML supported visual storytelling, SoopahGenius was founded by Cortana architect Mike Calcagno, Dropbox technical lead Constance Duong and video artist, and second- time founder Susie Lee. “AppWorks invests in founders, full-stop,” said Joseph Chan, Partner of AppWorks. “We know from experience that an interesting business idea is never enough; a great team is always necessary to overcome the enormous challenges to build something visionary. As we watched the SoopahGenius team work strategically with maturity and steadiness, we were confident they could tackle this very interesting and difficult problem.” 

Catapult is currently in beta with flexible and powerful product features in development for V1,  where they will expand their customer base. For now, interested streamers can request to be part of the beta or sign up via their waiting list.

【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.】

Docosan, a Ho Chi Minh City health tech startup which is getting Vietnam’s digitally savvy masses to skip crowded waiting rooms by booking doctors on its mobile app, has raised over $1 million in one of Vietnam’s largest health tech seed rounds ever.

The oversubscribed round was led by top Taiwanese tech venture capital firm AppWorks, one of the most active early-stage investors in the region and whose prior investments include Lalamove, Carousell, ShopBack, and KKday. The round was joined by biotech entrepreneur David Ma and Singapore-based investors Huat Ventures. 

“Docosan is bringing the digital revolution to healthcare in Vietnam thanks to its determined team and innovative platform,” said AppWorks partner Andy Tsai. “We noticed Docosan’s potential early on because of its participation in the AppWorks Accelerator. Docosan Founders demonstrated strong experience and dedication to the healthcare issues in the region. We are proud to be supporting Docosan’s vision of better healthcare access for all.“

In less than a year of operations, Docosan has helped over 50,000 patients discover and book appointments with hundreds of vetted doctors across 35 specialties. Docosan’s CEO and co-founder Beth Ann Lopez chalked up the rapid growth to vast untapped demand for a convenient and intuitive way to find the top healthcare options.

“It’s so easy to use your smartphone to order a banh mi or a motorbike taxi but finding the right doctor is still a frustrating experience for many. Many rely on word of mouth recommendations from family members and sit for hours in crowded waiting rooms hoping for an appointment instead of booking in advance,” Lopez said. “Docosan’s mobile platform, which includes transparent pricing information, verified customer reviews, and 24/7 booking, makes finding the right doctor as easy an opening our app.” 

Docosan’s platform works by allowing patients to book and filter doctors based on price, location, specialty, reviews, and more. Key to the platform’s success has been quick adoption by the many healthcare providers who struggle to expand their customer base and manage appointments.

“Many clinics are frustrated after spending large amounts on social media marketing because these networks’ vast, opaque user bases are difficult to harness to reach new patients. Docosan gives providers a far better, more tailored user base to expand,” Lopez said. “Meanwhile, Docosan’s proprietary booking software provides doctors an easier way to manage bookings compared to the crowded waiting rooms, which people are increasingly wary of amid the pandemic.”

Docosan has already integrated e-payments and insurance into its platform, with future plans to add telehealth and pharmacy services. The startup’s ambitious vision has been featured in the British Medical Journal and NASDAQ.com.

“Southeast Asia has been transformed by mass smartphone adoption and the rise of tech platforms, but in many places healthcare has yet to catch up with this trend. We’re very excited to make this happen thanks to our investors,” Lopez said.

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

Yummy Corp, the largest cloud kitchen management company in Indonesia, today announced the company has raised US $12 million in their series B funding. The round was led by SoftBank Ventures Asia with the participation of Hongkong-based Vectr Ventures, AppWorks, Quest Ventures, Coca Cola Amatil X, Palm Drive Capital, as well as existing investors Intudo Ventures and Sovereign’s Capital. Previous investors include Sinarmas Digital Ventures (SMDV) and East Ventures.

Yummy Corp’s cloud kitchen business, Yummykitchen, is the only cloud kitchen service in Indonesia that positions itself as a full-service operator, where Yummykitchen not only rents out shared kitchen space, but also carries out operational procedures on behalf of their partner brands to help brands to accelerate their expansion and reach wider consumers.

Harris Yang from SoftBank Ventures Asia states, “Buoyed by the fast-growing food delivery market in Indonesia, Yummy has become the largest cloud kitchen management player in Indonesia. Given the Company’s strong expertise in the F&B industry and unique value proposition to brands, we believe that Yummy will continue to be the leader in this space. We are excited to support the team and help them scale their business in this emerging sector.”

Yummykitchen, launched in June 2019, now operates the largest cloud kitchen network in the Indonesian market. The company has a footprint of over 70 kitchens across Jakarta, Bandung, and Medan, and works in partnership with more than 50 food and beverage (F&B) brands, including veteran players Ismaya Group and Sour Sally Group, as well as emerging brands such as Padang Merdeka, Dailybox, and Hong Tang.

The year 2020 has been a relatively difficult year for many industries in Indonesia. Various restrictions placed in the effort to suppress the growth of pandemic cases have had many impacts across different sectors, including F&B. However, some F&B businesses — especially those who have focused on digital channels – have actually shown a positive increase.

Mario Suntanu, CEO of Yummy Corp states, “We have seen unprecedented growth for Yummykitchen. With this funding, we will focus on our mission to take an active role in helping the F&B industry grow their delivery business, especially during this pandemic. We invite all F&B entrepreneurs, both large and small, to partner with us, so that together we not only survive this pandemic, but can also expand rapidly.” Yummy Corp has always emphasized the importance of food safety and hygiene, as evidenced by their HACCP-certified facilities and processes. By extending this operational standard across their kitchens, Yummykitchen aims to provide a food delivery experience that’s guaranteed to be easy and safe for customers on their favorite food delivery platform.

About Yummy Corp

Yummy Corp is a cloud kitchen and online catering company, focused on using the latest technology to develop innovative solutions for corporates and F&B brands. The company has served over 5 million meals since its founding in 2017 and is now the largest cloud kitchen operator in Indonesia with over 70+ kitchens serving more than 50+ brand partners to manage their daily F&B operations.

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

Beam 身為亞太地區領先的新生代共享個人移動載具的租賃業者，宣布該公司已募集了 2,600 萬美元的 A 輪融資。該輪融資由 Sequoia India 與韓國的 Hana Ventures 帶頭，並有著心元資本（Cherubic）與台灣的之初創投（AppWorks）的參與。

與既定的無樁架式、隨處可停放個人移動載具的模型相比，Beam 展望能為各人移動行業開闢一條新的道路。Beam 認為，個人出行行業的未來在於用尖端科技，在城市的運營範圍內創造出虛擬停車系統，並激勵用戶把載具環到設置的停車位。在無需動土搭樁架的情況下，同時正面的規劃共享出行載具的使用行為。

Beam 創辦人和 CEO Alan Jiang（蔣松叡）表示：「投資者對於 Beam 獨特的『虛擬停車理念』充滿信心，且持續的在這國際經貿環境不確定的形勢下提供支持，為此，我們深感謝意。我展望 Beam 的新創科技，有效地降低個人出行載具隨處亂停放的現象，提高載具的保有率，改善在城市運營的規劃。期盼在沒有負面的觀點下，為民眾和社區帶來更多好處。」。

AppWorks 之初創投合夥人 Jessica Liu（劉侊縈）指出：「Beam 團隊出色的執行能力為我們留下了深刻的印象。他們對於提供優異的用戶體驗和卓越的技術執著，特別是以安全為主的理念、成功且持續性的推動亞太地區市場迅速發展。展望未來，我們相信 Beam 團隊已具備優勢條件，為台灣和整個亞太地區的上百萬名出行者重新定義短程間的出行體驗。」。

Beam 的另一位共同創辦人和 CTO Deb Gangopadhyay 補充：「對於任何新創科技的成功，取決於大眾的接受程度。綠色代步共享運具為城市帶來的好處雖然眾所周知，但是因未解決無樁架式所造成的凌亂現象，許多城市和市民對這項新創科技略微排斥。Beam 既要提供用戶出行的便利，又要顧及到城市美觀的考量，因而努力的投入科技研發，提供兩全其美的辦法。我們根據這項洞察來規劃我們的營運和產品設計，這是我們與其他業者眾不同之處。」。

此外，Beam 將使用新資金來擴展業務，為韓國、澳洲、紐西蘭、馬來西亞、台灣等地培育出亞太區最強大、先進的電動代步載具團隊，加速地把 Beam Saturn，Beam 最先進的第三代電動滑板車，推出至所有市場。

Beam Saturn 是亞太地區所經過最嚴格測試與最安全的共享電動滑板車。Beam Saturn 具備可拆卸的電池、創新的航太級鋁框、25 公分無內胎安全輪胎、高抓地力後輪驅動與雙機械式與電子煞車系統。

Beam 的安全理念，在電動代步載具行業裡已經是首屈一指。Beam 也將持續強化其「Beam 安全學院」計畫，導入一系列在線上的培訓工具，並進一步拓展亞太地區唯一的實體世界電動滑板車訓練課程。

Beam 為亞太地區唯一獲得「氣候中和認證」的電動滑板車營運商。Beam與氣候中和組織合作，測量了其2019年的碳排放量，並透過投資於防止碳排放的項目如可再生能源，或透過清除大氣中的碳如種植樹木來沖銷其全部的碳足跡。如同 Beam 所承諾的，將持續在今年與其後大幅減少碳排放量。

有鑑於 Covid-19 新冠肺炎的持續發展，Beam 已採取嚴格的清潔與操作規範，以限縮病毒傳播的可能性。從社區對於 Covid-19 新冠肺炎的反應來看，開放式的共享運具如電動滑板車，仍然是安全且可負擔的交通工具選項。

關於BEAM

懷抱著發展新型態運輸方式的熱情，Beam 正改變城市中的移動方式，並優化民眾、商品、服務的運輸方式，以改善城市與所有人的生活方式。

Beam 致力於透過更好的第一與最後一哩路的連結，並提供短距離運輸解決方案，來改善城市中的連結性。首先是電動摩托車分享平台，該平台已經服務於澳洲、馬來西亞、紐西蘭、與南韓。

【歡迎所有 AI / IoT、Blockchain、佈局東南亞的創業者，加入專為你們服務的 AppWorks Accelerator】