AP

AppWorks

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AppWorks

VC Fund 📍 Taiwan, Asia

About AppWorks

AppWorks is a Taipei, Taiwan-headquartered venture capital firm and startup accelerator founded in 2009 by Jamie Lin, who continues to lead the firm as Chairman & Partner. What began as the AppWorks Accelerator in 2010 has grown into a four-fund venture platform managing roughly US$350 million, with a self-reported network of 660+ active portfolio startups, thousands of founders, and tens of billions of dollars in cumulative portfolio valuation. AppWorks describes itself as one of the most active early-stage investors in "Greater Southeast Asia," a self-coined term reflecting its dual base spanning Taiwan and the wider Southeast Asian region.

Its portfolio includes several of the region's best-known technology successes — Carousell, 91APP, Tiki, Dcard, ShopBack, and Web3 names like Animoca Brands and Dapper Labs among them. Its direct Philippine footprint is thin but real: its own investments page names one Philippine company, Clout Kitchen (an AI-powered creator-economy startup founded by three Filipino repeat founders), which AppWorks led at the pre-seed stage in 2024 — the firm itself notes its portfolio "underrepresents the Philippines relative to other regional markets like Indonesia and Vietnam."

Investment Thesis

AppWorks invests from seed through growth stage (its own site cites checks from roughly US$200K at seed up to US$15 million leading a Series C), typically writing 20-30 new deals per year across Taiwan and Greater Southeast Asia. The firm has broadened over time from a general early-stage tech mandate into more explicit conviction around AI, Web3/blockchain infrastructure, and fintech, while remaining a generalist across consumer, logistics, and SaaS opportunities. Its stated approach leans on a large in-house community/accelerator network (AppWorks Accelerator and the Aiworks program) to source and support founders well before a first institutional check.

Portfolio Companies

Carousell, 91APP, Tiki, Dcard, ShopBack, Animoca Brands, Dapper Labs, Clout Kitchen (Philippines)