What Taiwan-based VC AppWorks is Looking For in Malaysia (and SEA)

“Founders gotta be a little silly”

Enterprise Explores what Taiwan-based VC firm AppWorks is looking for in Malaysia and Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem with Sophie Chiu, Principal leading the Southeast Asia Arm at AppWorks.

We explore Sophie's role leading AppWorks' expansion efforts into Southeast Asia and the mandate given to her by HQ. We also reflect on her criteria for selecting portfolio companies, insights into the venture capital landscape in Southeast Asia, and how her background informs her approach to supporting and investing in startups.

AppWorks has 532 active startups and 1,6622 founders in its alumni network. Its ecosystem has raised a total of US$5.8 billion in funding to reach a total valuation of US$32.4 billion.

Founded in 2009, AppWorks provides 2 main services that cater to startups in 2 different stages. There’s AppWorks Accelerator which helps seed-stage startups go from 0 to 1, AppWorks Funds which provides financing to help growth-stage startups scale faster, and also AppWorks School which provides education to talents and prepares them for a career in the startup world.

Sophie is leading AppWorks' expansion efforts into Southeast Asia, connecting with and investing in promising founders across the region. Prior to AppWorks, Sophie had 10 years of public equity experience and was part of the portfolio management team at Neuberger Berman, focusing on emerging market opportunities. Before that she served as a research analyst at Credit Suisse, JPMorgan, and London-based Autonomous Research.