在美國的醫療門診市場中，真正限制診所成長的往往不是資金，而是那些跟看診毫無關係的瑣事。據統計，美國診所平均要耗費高達三分之一的時間處理非臨床事務，其中絕大部分是處理財務工作。考慮到美國醫療業是個 5.9 兆美元規模的市場，以及全美有著超過 35 萬家獨立診所，這樣的不效率令人難以想像。

長久以來，為了解決這個痛點，這些診所被迫使用非為他們量身打造的工具，包含費用報銷平台、會計軟體，採購系統等，靠著東拼西湊來應付系統上的落差。即便如此，還是無法真正解決效率低落的問題。

Nitra 正是為了填補這個缺口而生。他們為美國診所打造了一站式的財務與工作流程平台：包含專為醫療產業發行的信用卡、費用管理、帳單支付，以及整合了超過 35 萬種醫療用品 SKU 的採購平台。

解決一個 5.9 兆美元市場的痛點當然極具吸引力。但單靠市場夠大遠不足以成就一家偉大的企業。我們投資決策的核心，實際上是 Nitra 的創辦人 Timothy Hwang。在創辦 Nitra 之前，他曾走過一段傳奇的創業旅程：從擠在廉價的 Motel 6 汽車旅館，一路走到紐約證券交易所（NYSE）敲鐘。如今，他選擇重返起點，挑戰美國醫療體系中最棘手的難題。

從國會山莊到矽谷

和大部分典型的矽谷創業家故事不同，成為創業家前，Tim 原本志在政壇。在華盛頓特區長大的他，青少年時期就創辦了一個家教非營利組織，並將收益捐作弱勢兒童的開學用品。18 歲時，他成功當選郡教育委員會的委員，拿下 3.8 萬張選票、掌管 5 億美元預算，並肩負起 6 萬名員工的生計。隨後，他加入歐巴馬的總統競選團隊，擔任地區組織幹事。對 Tim 而言，政治從來都不是抽象的理念，而是一套能大規模動員群眾、朝共同目標邁進的系統。

這股對於「動員群眾，齊心達成目標」的信念及熱愛始終如一，但 Tim 對於政治的想法隨後發生了改變。身為少數族裔，看著茶黨運動（Tea Party Movement）重塑美國政治版圖，Tim 開始思考：從政真的是他能發揮最大影響力的一條路嗎？

帶著這樣的疑問，他跟隨同儕來到矽谷，並在普林斯頓大學就讀期間，透過引薦認識了 Jack Dorsey 並加入 Square。這段經歷徹底改變了他的視角。他意識到，打造一家公司和打一場選戰的驅動力如出一轍：一個值得解決的問題、一股支撐你走下去的強大信念，以及號召眾人與你同行的能力。唯一的差別是，商業世界的反饋速度快多了。

從父母的地下室走向紐約證交所

2013 年，Tim 與共同創辦人 Jonathan Chen 拿著 Plug & Play 的一筆小額種子資金，創辦了政策與市場情報 SaaS 平台 FiscalNote。在初期為了省錢，公司註冊地直接登記在 Tim 父母的地下室，整個創辦團隊更是擠在一間狹小的 Motel 6 的房間內長達數個月，只為打造出 MVP。之後，在急需資金又欠缺人脈的情況下，他們在某天半夜寄了一封 cold mail 給知名投資人 Mark Cuban，沒想到 Cuban 馬上回信。這封信件隨後開啟了一場長達六小時的即時 Due Diligence ，面對許多沒準備過的問題，兩位創辦人甚至得臨場即興發揮才能招架他犀利的提問。但這招奏效了，Cuban 最後決定投資 FiscalNote。

從那一刻起，這股敢拚、無所畏懼的基因就深植於公司。FiscalNote 在之後發展迅速，不到五年的時間內，團隊擴張至 200 多人，營收突破千萬美元。

2018 年完成 D 輪融資後，FiscalNote 迎來了與經濟學人集團旗下 CQ Roll Call，也是 FiscalNote 主要競爭對手的正面對決。Tim 找上一位與著名的羅斯柴爾德家族（同時也是經濟學人集團大股東）有交情的大學好友，成功約到了 CQ Roll Call 的執行長。對方以為這只是一場前輩指導後輩的閒聊，不料 Tim 直接攤牌：若不把數據部門賣給 FiscalNote，就準備迎戰一個資金充沛、且產品明顯優於 CQ Roll Call 的強勁對手。這場會面結束後，那位執行長帶走了一份被收購的投資意向書。最終，收購案順利落幕，奠定了 FiscalNote 在產業中的霸主地位。2022 年 8 月，公司正式在紐交所掛牌上市，如今服務全球超過 6,000 家機構，涵蓋過半的財富 500 強企業與破千個美國聯邦政府機構。

公司成功上市後，Tim 轉換了自己的角色，開始經營一家橫跨金融科技、國防與氣候科技的 Venture Studio。儘管有趣，但他總覺得少了點什麼。經過一段時間的探索後 Tim 才找到答案：他懷念那種捲起袖子在第一線拚搏的實戰感。與此同時，上述提到美國診所體系中的不效率，作為他職涯中所見過最大的未解難題，不斷在他眼前浮現。於是，他與 Jonathan Chen 再次聯手創立 Nitra。

醫療產業看似遙遠，但 Tim 在 FiscalNote 累積了十年的實戰經驗完美契合醫療市場的特性：如何贏得非科技原生傳統機構買家的信任、駕馭與合規高度相關的工作流程，並開發出能無縫融入日常營運的軟體。政府機構、律師事務所和醫療診所其實非常相似：它們都是在繁瑣法規限制下運作的專業服務機構，任何帳務疏失都會帶來財務與合規的雙重災難。當 Tim 和 Jonathan 重新踏上旅程打造 Nitra 時，他們帶著的是在 FiscalNote 打磨了十年的歷練。

為什麼是 Nitra？為什麼是現在？

產品上線三年來，成長數據呈現驚人的複利效應。Nitra 已成功協助 700 多家診所導入系統，最新的季度總交易額（GTV）年增率高達 9.3 倍。我們也看到越來越多診所以信用卡為敲門磚，進而採用 Nitra 所提供，包含費用管理、帳單支付與採購系統在內的全面財務管理系統。

展望未來，一個直覺的問題會是：AI 將如何顛覆現有醫療診所的工作流程？而 Nitra 正在回答這個問題。如今，Nitra 的 AI Agent 已經能處理平台上的各種任務，從發行虛擬卡、下訂採購單，到標記異常費用等；而用於病患預約排程的語音 AI，及支援臨床工作流程的 AI 模組也將於今年上線。隨著這些工具更方方面面地串入診所的工作流程，我們觀察到的是，Nitra 正在掌握通用型平台無法觸及的深層數據：每一筆流經診所、綁定特定供應商、藥品或療程的資金流向，並以此來提供給診所更好的服務。多年來，診所一直在拼湊那些從未為它們設計的工具；而當基礎設施終於是量身打造的，它們不再需要東拼西補。

與此同時，AI 時代正加速傳統產業的數位轉型，而醫療保健無疑是其中最大的一塊拼圖。Tim 擁有駕馭這種產業特性的成功實績：FiscalNote 曾將數據情報成功打入政府機構、國會辦公室與律師事務所。這些客戶同樣受制於繁瑣法規、對軟體陌生，且抗拒改變。他深知如何贏得這些人的信任、讓產品成為他們日常營運不可或缺的一部分，並藉此擴展版圖。這份經驗與 Nitra 正在做的事完美契合。

是的，「市場夠大」、「時機正好」，「產品也已獲驗證」都可以是我們投資的原因。但貫穿這一切的核心，是我們對創辦人的信念。Tim 和 Jonathan 選擇在成功 IPO 後將自己歸零，挑選了美國經濟中結構最複雜的市場，帶著當初那份草根的拼勁，以及如今更深厚的商業智慧重新出發。Tim 曾把一家公司從父母的地下室一路帶進紐交所，如今他回來挑戰更艱鉅的任務。單憑這一點，就比任何市場規模預估更能說明 Nitra 的無窮潛力。在他們追求更高目標的第二段創業旅程中，我們很榮幸能與之並肩同行。

The post 我們為何投資 Tim Hwang，Nitra 共同創辦人 appeared first on AppWorks 之初加速器.

In US outpatient care, the limiting factor isn’t capital. It’s the operational drag. Physicians and clinic administrators spend up to a third of their work hours on non-patient-facing tasks, and a significant share of that burden falls on financial operations. Multiply that across 350,000+ independent group practices in a $5.9T market, and the problem becomes staggering. The tools available to most practices were never built for them. The entire stack — expense platforms, accounting software, procurement systems — was architected for a different kind of company, and practices have been patching around that mismatch ever since.

Nitra was founded to close that gap. The company provides an all-in-one finance and workflow platform for US practices: a healthcare-native credit card, expense management, bill pay, and a procurement marketplace aggregating 350,000+ medical SKUs. 

Indeed, a $5.9T market is exciting, but markets don’t build companies. Underlying our thesis is Timothy Hwang — a founder who has already navigated the full journey from a shared Motel 6 room to the NYSE, and came back to do it again on one of the hardest problems in American healthcare.

From Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley

Before startups, Tim’s early ambitions were in politics. Growing up in Washington, D.C., he started a peer-to-peer tutoring nonprofit as a teenager, donating the proceeds to purchase school supplies for children in need. By eighteen, he had run for the county’s board of education and won—38,000 votes, a $500M budget, and responsibility for 60,000 employees. He later joined the Obama presidential campaign as a regional field organizer. Politics, for Tim, was never abstract. It was a system for mobilizing people toward a shared goal at scale.

That certainty about mobilizing people never left him—but the arena shifted. As a minority watching the Tea Party Movement reshape American politics, Tim began to question whether elected office was the highest-leverage path available to him. He followed his cohort to Silicon Valley, joining Square through an introduction to Jack Dorsey while still studying full-time at Princeton. What he found there reframed everything. Building a company, he realized, ran on the same fuel as a political campaign: a problem worth solving, a conviction strong enough to sustain you, and the ability to get people to move with you. The feedback loop was just much faster.

From Basement to NYSE

Tim and his co-founder Jonathan Chen received a small check from Plug & Play to kickstart FiscalNote, a policy and market intelligence SaaS platform, in 2013, registering the company in his parents’ basement and sharing a Motel 6 room to survive. Needing funding with no warm intros, they cold emailed Mark Cuban in the middle of the night. Cuban replied instantly, and what started as an email exchange turned into a six-hour live due diligence session, with the two founders making things up on the spot to keep up with his questions. It worked. Cuban invested. From there, that scrappy, fearless energy never left the company: FiscalNote scaled quickly, growing to a team of more than 200 in under five years and reaching eight figures in revenue.

After its Series D in 2018, FiscalNote was going head-to-head with The Economist Group’s CQ Roll Call. Tim tracked down a college friend with ties to the Rothschild family, a major shareholder of The Economist Group, and secured an introduction to its CEO. The CEO arrived expecting a mentorship chat; Tim arrived with a choice: sell the data division, or face a well-funded, tech-native competitor. The CEO left with a term sheet. The acquisition followed, cementing FiscalNote as the dominant player in its category. In August 2022, the company went public on the NYSE, and today serves over 6,000 organizations globally, including more than half of the Fortune 500 and over 1,000 US federal government agencies.

After FiscalNote’s listing, Tim ran a venture studio across fintech, defense, and climate. He found it stimulating, but something was missing: the grind. Healthcare kept surfacing as the largest unsolved problem in his orbit, and he and Jonathan regrouped to build Nitra. The move made more sense than it looked: Tim’s decade at FiscalNote had given him a transferable playbook for exactly this kind of market: earning trust from institutional buyers who aren’t technology natives, navigating compliance-adjacent workflows, and building software that embeds into daily operations. Government agencies and law firms are not so different from healthcare practices: professional services businesses inside a regulatory maze where billing errors carry both financial and compliance consequences. When Tim and Jonathan sat down to build Nitra, that playbook came with them.

Why Nitra? Why Now?

Three years since launch, the numbers are compounding. Nitra has onboarded 700+ practices, grown quarterly GTV 9.3x year-over-year, and is seeing a growing share of those practices adopt multiple products across its financial back office, with the card as the entry point, expense management, bill pay, and procurement building on top. 

The forward-looking question is what this platform looks like with AI on top — and Nitra is already answering it. Today, Nitra AI agents already handle tasks across the platform, from issuing virtual cards, placing procurement orders, to surfacing expense anomalies in one conversation, while voice AI for patient scheduling and agentic modules for clinical workflow are on deck for 2026. Underneath all of it, the platform is capturing what no generalist fintech ever could: every dollar moving through a practice, tied to a vendor, a drug, a procedure. The long-term vision is a full CFO and operations layer woven into how a clinic runs. Practices have spent years stitching together tools that were never built for them. When the infrastructure is finally purpose-built, they stop patching, because they no longer need to.

The AI era is also accelerating how quickly underdigitized industries can adopt software — and healthcare is one of the largest of them. Tim has a direct track record of navigating exactly this dynamic: FiscalNote brought data intelligence to government agencies, congressional offices, and law firms. All of them were institutional buyers operating inside regulatory constraints, largely unfamiliar with software, and skeptical of change. He learned how to earn their trust, embed the product into daily operations, and scale from there. That experience maps directly onto what Nitra is building. 

The market is large, the timing is right, and the product is already working. Underlying all of it is our founder bet. Tim and Jonathan chose to return to zero after a public exit, picked one of the most structurally complex markets in the US economy, and are building with the same scrappiness and significantly more accumulated wisdom. The fact that Tim has already taken a company from his parents’ basement to the NYSE, and came back for something harder, tells us more about what Nitra can become than any market sizing exercise. We are proud to support them on this second, more ambitious journey.

The post Why We Invested: Tim Hwang, Co-founder & CEO of Nitra appeared first on AppWorks 之初加速器.

我們很高興宣佈 AppWorks 投資了 Sanctum 的原生代幣 $CLOUD。這項投資象徵著我們對 Sanctum 創始團隊的長期信念，以及對於他們多年來建立的強大護城河的認可。

在這篇文章中，我們將分享為什麼我們認為 Sanctum 是 Solana 生態系中最重要的基礎建設之一；它將如何重塑加密貨幣領域中最被誤解的垂直賽道，以及為什麼現在 Sanctum 正處於爆發前夕。

Sanctum：打破常規的 Solana LST

要理解 Sanctum，我們首先需要了解 Solana 流動性質押代幣（LST）的歷史。

很長一段時間以來，大多數人假設 Solana 的流動性質押市場會遵循以太坊的劇本：出現一個主導者（如 Lido），而其他競爭者的市占率將逐漸被該主導者蠶食鯨吞。因此，在 Solana 流動性質押市場的早期，許多協議爭相複製 Lido 模式，試圖在早期達到規模經濟並統治該賽道。

然而，最具洞察力的創辦人往往能看見他人忽視的細節。

Sanctum 的創辦人 FP Lee 作為設計 Solana 質押帳戶合約的核心貢獻者，很早就知道 Solana 的架構設定與以太坊有著根本上的不同。每一個質押帳戶（Stake Account）本質上都是模組化、可轉移且可組合的。這意味著所有 Solana 上的 LST 在核心層面上本質是同質的（Fungible），它們只是同一個底層質押帳戶的不同包裝。

有了這個認知，下一個問題顯而易見：假設一個有著多元 LST 的世界注定將發生，那我們還缺少什麼？

仔細觀察，質押池（Stake Pool）服務於三個不同的目的：

1. 代幣化（Tokenize）： 將原生質押帳戶轉換為生息的 SPL 代幣。
2. 委託（Delegate）： 實現高質押收益並分散網絡去中心化。
3. 流動性（Liquidate）： 為質押的 SOL 提供即時流動性。

對 FP 而言，他的答案是「流動性」。

原因很簡單：以太坊已經進行過這個實驗。Lido 之所以主導以太坊，很大程度上是因為 stETH 整合進了所有主要的 DeFi 協議，並具有極高的可組合性。多年的整合使其成為網路上最具可組合性的資產，其在派發上的優勢逐漸如滾雪球般幫助 Lido 達到了統治地位。

在 Solana 上，同樣的結論更加清晰：質押帳戶是可以互換的；每一顆質押的 SOL 在交易流中都承載著相同的經濟權重。在這個世界裡，「多 LST 並存」的未來是預設狀態，而誰能協調流動性，誰就能贏得這場競爭。

因此，FP 沒有試圖爭奪成為單一最大的質押池，而是看到了更大的機會：成為連結 Solana 上所有 LST 的流動性層。

這就是 Sanctum 的起點。

他們破解這個難題的方式與上述洞察息息相關。首先，他們創建了 「Sanctum Router」，用於在成千上萬種 LST 之間進行交換。這種交換只需簡單地「unwrap」和「re-wrap」底層質押帳戶即可完成。

必要時，這些 Swap 也可以導流到 Infinity Pool，其這可以被視為一籃子由 Sanctum 管理的 LST 組合，且所有這些 LST 都在 Sanctum 的 LST 發行基礎設施下運作。當 Swap 被導流進入 Infinity 時，交易費用將分配給 Infinity Pool 的流動性提供者（即 $INF 持有者）。

這種設計增強了整個 Sanctum LST 生態系統的流動性，同時將 $INF 本身變成了 Solana 上最具吸引力的 LST 之一。

最後，Sanctum 管理著規模可觀的原生 $SOL 儲備，這由所有 Sanctum 品牌的 LST 共享。對於任何項目來說，他們無需自行建立數百萬美元的流動性池，只需透過 Sanctum 發行他們的 LST，而不必擔心流動性的冷啟動問題。

在不到兩年的時間裡，Sanctum 已經和 Bybit、Crypto.com、Backpack、Jupiter 等領域內的主要參與者合作，管理著超過 20 億美元的 $SOL。截至 2025 年底，Sanctum 以創紀錄的指標結束了該年度：總管理資產達 1,436 萬顆 SOL（年增 96%），年營收達到 585 萬美元（年增 226%）。

另一個令人印象深刻的指標是 Sanctum 在 2025 年對 Solana LST 類別的統治力；Sanctum 實現了近 800 萬顆 $SOL 的淨累積流入，而其兩大競爭對手 Jito 和 Marinade 的 LST 產品則以淨流出結束了這一年。這種差距凸顯了 Sanctum 在 LST 市場中流動性護城河的複利競爭優勢。

回過頭看，人們很容易認為這一切都順理成章，彷彿 Sanctum 的崛起是注定的。但事實是，這是Sanctum 團隊於過去五年來堅持不懈、不斷迭代，並在市場寒冬中保持信念才達成的結果。這將我們引向第一個，也是最重要的投資原因：創辦人 FP Lee。

投資論點 #1：我們對創辦人 FP Lee 的核心信念

尋找非共識的洞見

我們在 FP 身上看到一種獨特的能力：他能看見別人錯過的東西，並深入鑽研一個概念，直到浮現出反向的洞察。

2023 年，當許多人競相打造「Solana 版的 Lido」時，FP 注意到了上游的一些東西：Solana 的質押帳戶在設計上是模組化且同質的。這單一的觀察顛覆了整個劇本。他沒有去競爭成為最大的質押池，而是將 Sanctum 打造為連結每一個 LST 的流動性層，這徹底改變了遊戲規則。

如今，在 Solana 生態系中建構多年後，他又發現了另一個鮮少人注意到的低效之處：Solana 交易層的不可預測性。簡而言之，我們相信他近期收購 Ironforge 並推出 Gateway 的舉動反映了同樣的模式：鑽得夠深，找到結構性的瓶頸，然後構建出其他人往往視為理所當然的缺失基礎設施。

與社群的深度連結 

我們認為創辦人在 Crypto 世界裡建立社群的能力常常被低估。對我們而言，FP 是少數不只是「管理」社群，而是與社群「共同建設」的創辦人之一。

Sanctum 在代幣生成事件（TGE）前舉辦的 Wonderland 活動，不僅僅是另一個積分農場（Points farm）；Sanctum 將其變成了一個協作的、遊戲化的任務層，用戶質押 LST 以賺取經驗值並共同完成社群挑戰，這使得參與度具有黏性，而非僅是為了逐利。

結果令人驚艷，Sanctum 的 TVL 在 38 天內增長了 171%，社群論壇衍生出了常態性活動（如 Cloudfam Emoji Clan 競賽），讓成員在初次空投後很久仍持續創作與招募，展現了有機的動能而非付費買來的流量。其社群（後來被親切地稱為 CloudFam）成為了 Solana 上最強大的草根運動之一。

大多數人不知道的是，FP 和團隊為了展現這份在乎付出了多少努力。當 $CLOUD 空投的時候，他們不僅僅是跑個程式腳本或在試算表裡算數字。他們手動篩選了成千上萬個 Discord 頻道和 Telegram 聊天記錄，以識別真正的死忠用戶，並給予他們遠比大多數項目更慷慨的獎勵。

代幣終究是創辦人的第二個產品。把「代幣投資人關係（Token IR）」做好不僅僅是管理價格；更是建立信任、透明度和歸屬感。許多創辦人說他們在乎代幣持有者，但很少有人真正言行一致。

FP 是少數言行合一的創辦人之一，從發布月度更新到在 Discord 中持續與用戶互動，他將社群建設視為一門他仍持續優化、且熱愛的事情。隨著時間推移，這種真實性會產生複利效應，將用戶群轉化為更接近「運動」的力量。我們相信這將仍然是 Sanctum 最強大的長期差異化優勢之一。

找到天命

FP 最初並沒打算成為創辦人。在進入加密貨幣領域之前，他只是一個試圖尋找方向的年輕軟體工程師。他是出於好奇和對成長的渴望而跌跌撞撞進入 Solana 的，而他之所以留下來，是因為在旅途中，他找到了天命。

這種天命的發現來自於從事真正熱愛的事情。在加密領域建設多年後，FP 經歷了許多事情：FTX 的崩潰、許多創辦人對用戶撤資跑路、項目魯莽地賭光整個國庫等等。在一個常被短期主義和貪婪籠罩的行業裡，FP 想要證明：在 2026 的今天，你仍然可以打造一個偉大的產品、保持透明，並以正確的方式成功。

雖然聽起來有些虛無飄渺，甚至有些老套，但我們相信這是這個產業中最欠缺，卻也強大的驅動力之一，這也正是我們想要支持的使命。

投資論點 #2：許多對於 Sanctum LST 的利好正在醞釀

我們看見 Sanctum LST 的幾個催化劑，並堅信現在萬事俱備，只欠東風。

Solana LST 仍處於早期階段並在成長中

Solana LST 的滲透率在兩年內增長了 4.4 倍，從 3% 增長到 13.3%。這種加速是由像 Sanctum 這樣的生態系基礎建設的出現，以及節點運營者對搶佔 LSTfi 市場份額日益增長的需求所積極推動的。

然而，這 13.3% 的滲透率意味著大多數質押的 $SOL 仍然是非流動的。對比以太坊更成熟的市場（接近 35-40% 的 LST 滲透率），顯然 Solana 的流動性質押層——這個解鎖資本效率和可組合性的關鍵——仍處於早期局勢。

在此背景下，我們相信 Sanctum 正處於那個轉折點。Sanctum 的產品套件（Router、Reserve、Infinity）被明確設計為這種中立的流動性中心。這創造了一個強大的護城河，使 Sanctum 成為這個快速擴張且碎片化市場的預設聚合點。

LST 的網路效應

對於任何發行新 LST 的協議來說，他們不想自行建立數百萬美元的流動性池。相反，最簡單的方法是接入 Sanctum，並只專注於品牌、核心產品和分發；Sanctum 提供流動性層（Router + Reserve + Infinity），使這些 LST 在第一天就能與 Solana 的其餘部分互換。這就是我們所見證的。這個聯盟每天都在變得越來越強大。迄今為止，Sanctum 正在服務所有最大的客戶，如 Jupiter、Bybit、Backpack。

更多整合 → 更多支援的 LST → 更多可互換的路徑 → 跨 DeFi 的更深層效用。 這個飛輪效應是很難被追上的。

機構也正在採用 Solana LST

對 Solana 收益的競爭正迅速演變，超越了 DeFi 原生協議的範疇。新一波規模更大的成熟資本，從傳統金融的資產管理公司、潛在的 SOL 質押 ETF 到上市公司（如 DATs），正進入這個競技場。

對於這些實體而言，基礎質押收益僅僅是起點。為了吸引龐大的資產管理規模（AUM），他們必須提供合規、品牌化且高度差異化的流動性產品。這需要在基礎 LST 之上疊加獨特的驗證者策略、透明的報告和深度的 DeFi 整合。

這正是 Sanctum 成為關鍵賦能基礎設施的地方。作為一個中立、模組化的平台，它提供了全端式的「質押即服務（Staking-as-a-Service）」，讓任何實體都能發行自己的 LST。它允許他們保留對財務策略和品牌的完全控制權，同時將深層的技術複雜性外包給 Sanctum 經過驗證的流動性層和可組合後端。

我們已經看到了強有力的驗證。2025 年 5 月，上市金融公司 DeFi Development Corp (NASDAQ: DFDV) 使用 Sanctum 的基礎設施推出了 dfdvSOL。這標誌著上市公司首次持有並使用定制的 Solana LST。他們的明確目標是將流動性貢獻回 Solana DeFi 生態系統，創造一種也能讓自家公司資產負債表受益的飛輪效應。

我們的核心信念是，隨著更多結構化的 SOL 產品出現以競爭這波新資本，Sanctum 將成為他們的預設發行合作夥伴和流動性骨幹。

我們的論點很明確：在中短期內，Sanctum 是這波機構浪潮中最被低估的基礎設施標的，他們正悄悄成為每個主要生息 Solana 產品所依賴的必要管線。

投資論點 #3：Sanctum App 將成為 Solana 的實質入口

在 2025 年 Solana Breakpoint 大會上，Sanctum 揭曉了其最新力作：Sanctum App。這是一個輕量級的手機端應用程式，旨在幫助用戶在一個有趣、遊戲化的環境中，透過每日獎勵輕鬆增長他們的 $SOL 持有量。

回到我們最初的論點，Sanctum LST 尚未達到市場滲透率峰值的主要原因是當前 DeFi 用戶體驗（UX）固有的摩擦。人們很容易忘記，許多 $SOL 持有者完全存在於「DeFi 泡沫」之外。他們對 Solana 的技術內部結構或 LST 收益背後的複雜數學不感興趣；接觸他們的唯一方法是將這些複雜性抽象化。

繼 Wonderland 的巨大成功之後，我們加倍確信 Sanctum 創始團隊是少數擁有這種「基因」的團隊之一：不僅能建立社群，更重要的是能贏得社群持久的信任。從團隊基因的角度來看，我們有信心他們能再次創造奇蹟。

從產品角度來看，這段旅程已經形成了一個完整的閉環。Sanctum 團隊是將複雜的質押帳戶概念轉化為易於使用的 LST 的先驅。現在，他們正將這一使命擴展到更廣泛的受眾。展望未來，我們預期 Sanctum App 將成為日常用戶的主要介面和入口，而 Sanctum LST 則繼續作為整個 Solana 基礎設施的基石。

總結

當我們看到 Sanctum 時，我們看到的不僅僅是一個協議，而是 Solana 下一個篇章的基礎：其核心是 FP，一位充滿長期思維，以信念以及熱忱建構產品的創辦人，他帶領 Sanctum 從一個簡單的想法發展成為 Solana 的流動性織物，現在更進一步擴展到交易基礎設施。除此之外，我們也預期 LST 業務將透過強大的網路效應、機構採用和跨生態系統的深度整合持續產生複利。

這就是我們投資的原因。FP 和 Sanctum 代表了我們所相信的一切。

About AppWorks

AppWorks 成立於 2010 年，是亞洲領先的創業加速器與創投機構。其生態系匯聚超過 2,000 位創業者，旗下基金管理規模達 3.86 億美元。AppWorks 加速器專注於協助早期新創實現從 0 到 1 的跨越，而 AppWorks 創投基金則支持團隊進行規模化成長。

The post AppWorks 基金為何投資：FP Lee，Sanctum創辦人 appeared first on AppWorks 之初加速器.

We are delighted to share that AppWorks has invested in $CLOUD, the native token of Sanctum, as a demonstration of our long-term belief in Sanctum’s founding team and in the strong defensibility and moat they’ve built over the years.

Below, we will share why we think Sanctum is one of the most important companies being built on Solana; how it is reshaping one of the most misunderstood verticals in crypto, and why everything is finally clicking for them.

Sanctum – A Chronicle of Finding the Non Consensus and Right

To understand Sanctum, we need to first understand the history of Solana LST. 

For the longest time, most people assumed Solana’s liquid staking market would follow the Ethereum playbook: one dominant player, i.e. Lido, and everyone else fading into the background. Many protocols rushed to build copycats of the Lido model, believing the game was simply about scale and validator sets.

The most insightful founders see what others miss. FP Lee, Sanctum’s founder, being the core contributor who has designed Solana’s stake account contracts, knew early on that Solana’s setup is fundamentally different from Ethereum’s. Every stake account is modular, transferable, and composable. That means all LSTs on Solana are essentially fungible at their core. They are just wrappers of the same underlying stake accounts.

With that realization, the next question was obvious: in a world of many LSTs, what’s the missing primitive? 

Look closely, stake pools serve three distinct purposes: 

• Tokenize – convert native stake accounts into yield bearing SPL token
• Delegate – achieve high staking yield and decentralize the network 
• Liquidate – Provide instant liquidity for staked SOL

And FP bet on liquidity. 

Why? Because Ethereum already ran the experiment. Lido dominated Ethereum largely because stETH is integrated into all major DeFi protocols and has extremely high composability. Years of integrations made it the most composable asset on the network, and distribution compounded into dominance.

On Solana, the conclusion is even clearer. Stake accounts are interchangeable; every staked SOL carries the same economic weight in the transaction flow. In this world, a multi-LST future is the default, and whoever orchestrates liquidity wins the competition. 

Therefore, instead of fighting to become the single biggest stake pool, FP saw a bigger opportunity in becoming the liquidity layer that unites all LSTs on Solana.

And this was the start of Sanctum. 

The way they cracked this is deeply connected to the insight. First, they created “Sanctum Router” for swaps between thousands of LSTs. A swap takes place with simply unwrapping and re-wrapping the underlying stake account.

When necessary, swaps can also be routed into Infinity Pool, which can be regarded as a basket of LSTs that is managed by Sanctum, and all of these LSTs are under Sanctum’s flagship white labeled LST issuance infrastructure. When a swap is routed into Infinity, the trading fees are distributed to the liquidity providers of Infinity Pool, i.e. $INF holders. 

This design reinforces liquidity for the entire Sanctum LST ecosystem while turning $INF itself into one of the most compelling LSTs on Solana.

Lastly, a sizable native $SOL reserve managed by Sanctum is shared across all Sanctum branded LSTs. For any project, instead of spinning off another multi-million liquidity pool, they can just issue their LSTs with Sanctum without worrying about bootstrapping the liquidity. 

In less than 2 years, Sanctum is now managing over US$ 2B of $SOL with various key players in the space, including Bybit, Crypto.com, Backpack, Jupiter, etc. By the end of 2025, Sanctum closed the quarter with record-high metrics: 14.36M SOL (+96% YoY) under its umbrella and an annual revenue of US$5.85M (+226% YoY).  

Another impressive metric to look at is Sanctum’s dominance of the Solana LST category in 2025; Sanctum achieved a net cumulative inflow of nearly 8M $SOL, while its two largest competitors, Jito and Marinade, saw their LST offerings end the year with net negative inflows. This disparity underscores the compounding competitive advantage of Sanctum’s liquidity moat within the LST market.

Looking back, it is easy to think it was all smooth and inevitable, as if Sanctum’s rise was destined. But the truth is, this was the result of five years of persistence, iteration, and unshakable conviction through market winters. Every piece of today’s success was earned the hard way, block by block, decision by decision. And that leads us to our first and foremost thesis: the founder FP.

Thesis #1: Our core beliefs in FP Lee as a founder

Practiced Contrarianism

We see in FP that he has a unique ability to see what others miss and to dive deep enough into a concept until a contrarian insight emerges.

In 2023, while many were racing to build “the Lido of Solana,” FP noticed something upstream: Solana’s stake accounts were modular and fungible by design. That single observation flipped the playbook. Instead of competing to be the biggest pool, he built Sanctum as the liquidity layer that unites every LST, and that completely changed the game. 

And now, after years of living in Solana’s core, he’s spotted another inefficiency few others even noticed: the unreliable transaction layer. In short, we believe his latest move of acquiring Ironforge and launching Gateway reflects the same pattern: go deep enough, find the structural bottleneck, then build the missing piece of infrastructure that everyone else takes for granted.

Deep attachment to community

We believe founders’ ability to build a community in crypto is underrated. FP is one of the rare founders who doesn’t just “manage” a community but builds alongside them. 

The Wonderland campaign, which Sanctum team held before their TGE, wasn’t just another points farm; Sanctum turned it into a coordinated, gamified quest layer where users stake LSTs to earn EXP and complete community challenges together, which kept participation sticky instead of mercenary. 

The result was amazing, Sanctum’s TVL grew 171% in 38 days, and community forums spun up recurring events (like the Cloudfam Emoji Clan contests) that kept members creating and recruiting long after the initial drop, showing organic momentum rather than paid churn. Its community, later affectionately known as CloudFam, became one of the strongest grassroots movements on Solana.

What most people don’t know is how far FP and the team went to show that care. When it came time for the $CLOUD airdrop, they didn’t just run a script or crunch numbers in a spreadsheet. They manually sifted through thousands of Discord channels, Telegram chats to identify true evangelists and rewarded them far more generously than most projects would.

A token is ultimately a founder’s second product. Doing “token IR” right isn’t just about managing price; it’s about building trust, transparency, and belonging. Many founders say they care about token holders, but few actually walk the talk. 

FP is one of those few that from publishing monthly updates to constantly engaging users in Discord, he treats community building like an ongoing craft. Over time, that level of authenticity compounds, turning a user base into something closer to a movement. We believe this will remain one of Sanctum’s strongest long-term differentiators.

Found his mission along the way

FP didn’t set out to be a founder. Before crypto, he was just a young software engineer trying to find his way. He stumbled into Solana out of curiosity and a desire for growth, and he stayed because, somewhere along the journey, he found meaning.

That meaning came from experience. After years of building in crypto, FP has seen it all — the FTX collapse, teams rugging their users, projects recklessly gambling away entire treasuries. In an industry often clouded by short-termism and greed, FP wants to prove that it is still possible to build a great product, stay transparent, and win the right way.

As intangible, and perhaps as cliché as it sounds, we believe this is one of the strongest forms of drive in the industry — and it is precisely the kind of mission we want to back.

Thesis #2: Major upcoming catalysts for Sanctum LST 

We see several catalysts for Sanctum LSTs, and we hold a strong conviction that everything is clicking for them now. 

Solana LST is still early-stage and growing

Solana’s liquid staking penetration has expanded 4.4x in two years, from 3% to 13.3%. This acceleration was actively driven by ecosystem catalysts like Sanctum and a growing appetite from validators to capture LSTfi market share.

However, this 13.3% penetration implies that most of the staked $SOL remains illiquid. Drawing a parallel with Ethereum’s more mature market (approaching 35-40% LST penetration), it’s clear Solana’s liquid staking layer, the key to unlocking capital efficiency and composability, is still in its early innings.

We believe in this context, Sanctum is positioned right at that inflection point. Sanctum’s product suite (Router, Reserve, Infinity) is explicitly designed to be this non-partisan liquidity backbone. This creates a powerful moat, positioning Sanctum as the default aggregation point for a rapidly expanding and fragmenting market.

Network effects of LSTs

For any protocols that are launching a new LST, they don’t want to spin up multi‑million‑dollar liquidity pools. Instead, the easiest way is to plug into Sanctum, and focus solely on branding, core product, and distribution; Sanctum supplies the liquidity layer (Router + Reserve + Infinity) so these LSTs are interchangeable with the rest of Solana on day one. This is what we have been seeing. The alliance has been getting stronger and stronger every day. To date, Sanctum is serving all the biggest clients like Jupiter, Bybit, Backpack. 

More integrations → more supported LSTs → more interchangeable routes → deeper utility across DeFi. 

That flywheel is hard to catch up to. 

The Institutional Staking Layer

The competition for Solana’s yield is rapidly evolving beyond DeFi-native protocols. A new, larger wave of sophisticated capital, ranging from TradFi asset managers and potential SOL staking ETFs to publicly traded companies (like DATs), is now entering the arena.

For these entities, base staking yield is merely the starting point. To attract serious AUM, they must offer compliant, branded, and highly differentiated liquid products. This requires layering unique validator strategies, transparent reporting, and deep DeFi integrations on top of a base LST.

This is precisely where Sanctum becomes the critical enabling infrastructure. As a neutral, modular platform, it provides the full-stack “Staking-as-a-Service” for any entity to launch its own LST. It allows them to retain full control over their financial strategy and branding while outsourcing the deep technical complexity to Sanctum’s proven liquidity layer and composable backend.

We are already seeing strong validation. In May 2025, DeFi Development Corp (NASDAQ: DFDV), a publicly traded financial firm, launched dfdvSOL using Sanctum’s infrastructure. This marked the first time a listed company held and utilized a bespoke Solana LST. Their explicit goal is to contribute liquidity back to the Solana DeFi ecosystem, creating a flywheel effect that also benefits their own corporate balance sheet.

It is our core belief that as more structured SOL products emerge to compete for this new wave of capital, Sanctum will be their default launch partner and liquidity backbone.

Our thesis is clear. In the short to medium term, Sanctum is the most underrated infrastructure play for this institutional wave, and they are quietly becoming the essential plumbing every major yield-bearing Solana product will depend on.

Thesis #3: Sanctum App will become the de facto entry point for Solana 

At the 2025 Solana Breakpoint, Sanctum unveiled its latest endeavor: the Sanctum App. This is a lightweight, delightful application designed to help users effortlessly grow their $SOL holdings through daily rewards in a fun, gamified environment.

This pivot stems from a first-principles approach. Referring back to our initial thesis, the primary reason Sanctum LSTs haven’t yet reached peak market penetration is the friction inherent in current DeFi UX. It is easy to forget that many $SOL holders exist entirely outside the “DeFi bubble.” They aren’t interested in the technical internals of Solana or the complex math behind LST yields; the only way to reach them is to abstract that complexity away. Following the massive success of Wonderland, we are doubling down on our belief that the Sanctum founding team is one of the few with the “DNA” to not only build a community but—more importantly—earn its lasting trust. From a team-gene perspective, we are confident they can capture lightning in a bottle once again.

From a product standpoint, the journey has come full circle. The Sanctum team were the pioneers who took the complicated concept of stake accounts and made LSTs accessible. Now, they are scaling that mission to a much wider audience. Moving forward, we expect the Sanctum App to serve as the primary interface and entry point for everyday users, while Sanctum LSTs continue to function as the foundational backbone of the entire Solana infrastructure.

Summary

When we look at Sanctum we see more than just a protocol, but the foundation of Solana’s next chapter: at its core is FP, a contrarian founder who builds with conviction and has led Sanctum from a simple idea into the liquidity fabric of Solana, and now it’s expanding even further into the transaction infrastructure. Apart from that, we also see the LST business continues to compound through strong network effects, institutional adoption, and deep integrations across the ecosystem. 

Ultimately, this is why we invested. FP & Sanctum represent everything we believe in. 

About AppWorks

Founded in 2009, AppWorks is a leading accelerator + VC  in Asia and Web3, managing US$ 368M across its funds. At AppWorks, we invest in the founders who are obsessed with true product-market fit and committed to playing the long game. If this resonates with you, let’s chat. 

The post Why We Invested: FP Lee, Co-founder & CEO of Sanctum appeared first on AppWorks 之初加速器.

AppWorks announced the final close of its fourth flagship venture capital fund, AppWorks Fund IV, at US$165 million, bringing its total funds raised to US$386 million.

Fund IV marks the first time three major sovereign LPs, featuring Taiwan’s National Development Fund, Malaysia’s Jelawang Capital, the national fund-of-funds under Khazanah Nasional, and Korea Venture Investment Corporation (KVIC), joined forces in a single vehicle. Other LPs include leading corporates and institutional investors such as Fubon Life, Taiwan Mobile, Wistron, Phison, and E Ink. This Pan-Asian footprint aligns with AppWorks’ mission to connect founders with high quality capital and corporates into a regional startup ecosystem driving both frontier-tech adoption and top-quartile venture returns.

Turning Asia’s Largest Founder Ecosystem into a Venture Flywheel

Since its founding in 2009, AppWorks has built one of Asia’s most extensive founder communities—with 2,086 entrepreneurs and 653 active startups that have collectively created 28,256 jobs across the region. Built by founders, for founders, this ecosystem thrives on collaboration, peer learning, and shared networks, forming a strong foundation for innovation and regional economic growth.

Over the past decade, AppWorks has evolved this community into a venture flywheel that continuously drives both ecosystem development and investment performance. Since 2017, the firm has focused on AI and Web3, nurturing active founder communities comprising 128 active AI startups and 146 live Web3 startups and projects, at the same time expanding its reach across Asia—with around 70% of founders in each of the recent 14 accelerator batches now coming from outside Taiwan.

When AppWorks launched the Fund IV raise in late 2022, the initial target was set at US$360 million. Soon after, the Fed entered into a tightening cycle, triggering global capital markets correction and a broader recalibration across the venture landscape. Integrating both LP feedback and market signals, the firm reassessed the size of the fund in light of the repriced opportunity set. In what is shaping up to be one of the more compelling venture vintages in recent years, AppWorks ultimately optimized the vehicle at US$165 million—a size that enables disciplined deployment into high-conviction opportunities emerging from its ecosystem across the region.

This founder-first ecosystem has become a proprietary pipeline of high quality opportunities for AppWorks Funds, backing during early stages category leaders such as Lalamove, Flow/Dapper Labs, Animoca Brands, 91APP, Carousell, ShopBack, KKday, and 17LIVE.

AppWorks’ 2014 vintage Fund II has delivered a 1.9x DPI, placing it among top-quartile global venture funds—showcasing how an ecosystem-first approach can deliver both innovation outcomes and realized returns across Asia.

Empowering Corporates to Innovate Through Founders

Having partnered with corporate LPs for more than a decade, AppWorks deeply understands how enterprises are seeking new engines for growth in an era shaped by rapid technological advancement. Building on this experience, AppWorks not only delivers top-quartile financial returns to its LPs but often serves as a portal to the future—connecting corporates with visionary founders building the next generation industry leaders. Through these collaborations, AppWorks enables corporates to engage with frontier technologies in AI and Web3, co-developing products and business models that extend beyond their core businesses. By working closely with startups, corporates gain early access to emerging technologies and entrepreneurial energy—turning innovation into their next growth engine.

A standout example is Taiwan Mobile, which partnered with USPACE (AppWorks Accelerator #18 alumni) to launch MyCharge, an EV-charging service integrating 5G, smart-parking and charging technologies. The partnership accelerated Taiwan Mobile’s entry into the EV ecosystem while enabling USPACE’s cross-border expansion into Japan, Indonesia and Thailand through AppWorks’ connections.

Carrying the Mission Forward in Asia’s Next Chapter

As AI is reshaping industries worldwide, Asia stands at the heart of this transformation—anchored by its deep tech expertise, manufacturing capabilities, and fast-growing digital economies. Now with the support of sovereign partners and capital networks, AppWorks bridges Taiwan’s deep tech and manufacturing strengths, Malaysia’s multilingual and commercially savvy founders, and Korea’s frontier consumer technologies with cross-border commercialization and capital access. 

This moment reinforces what AppWorks has always believed—and what it has continued to do relentlessly: helping founders disrupt the world. That same mission now extends across an expanding regional landscape, bringing together founders, corporates, and investors to build the technologies that will define the next generation.

“I want to take this chance to express my deepest gratitudes to every single one of our LPs for their enormous support during the fundraising process,” said Jamie Lin, Chairman & Partner, AppWorks. “Everyone knows it has not been the easiest environment to raise and we truly appreciate every dollar that has been entrusted with us.  Team AppWorks has already started executing our strategies to deliver both extraordinary financial returns and business synergies to our LPs. Together, I am certain we will take Asia’s startup ecosystem to the next level.”

The post AppWorks Closes Fund IV to Lift Total Funds Raised to US$386M, Uniting Pan-Asian Sovereign and Corporate Limited Partners to Accelerate Regional Startups appeared first on AppWorks 之初加速器.

AppWorks宣布第四支創投基金AppWorks Fund IV完成最終募集 (Final Closing)，基金規模達1.65億美元，累計募集基金規模達3.86億美元，穩居亞洲具規模創投機構。

AppWorks Fund IV是亞洲少數同時獲得三個國家級資本支持的創投基金，包括台灣國家發展基金、馬來西亞國庫控股 (Khazanah Nasional Berhad) 旗下的fund-of-funds Jelawang Capital，以及韓國風險投資機構Korea Venture Investment Corporation (KVIC)，加上包含富邦人壽、台灣大哥大、緯創、群聯電子、元太科技等領先機構投資人，自此AppWorks在亞洲串連起台灣、東南亞及東北亞的完整網絡，推動區域前沿科技的同時，為投資人創造卓越的財務及策略回報。

化亞洲最大創業者生態系為創投飛輪

自2009年成立以來，AppWorks已建立了亞洲最具規模的創業者社群之一，聚集2,086位創業者、總共653家活躍新創，爲區域創造28,256個工作機會。創業者社群橫跨台灣、印尼、新加坡、馬來西亞、越南、菲律賓、韓國、日本與香港等九大市場，AppWorks致力於陪伴創業者打造跨市場、具長期競爭力的事業，持續為亞洲帶來創新動能與經濟效益。自2017年以來，AppWorks深入耕耘AI和Web3領域，目前AppWorks新創生態系中，已累積128家活躍AI新創與146家Web3新創。同時，AppWorks也持續擴大其在亞洲的影響力—在最近14屆的加速器中，已有七成的創業者來自台灣以外的地區，為創業者創造了早期接軌國際市場的同儕網絡。

在推動創業者生態系的同時，AppWorks也發展出獨特的投資模式，成功將生態系轉化為獨家案源，讓AppWorks管理的創投基金得以在早期階段支持Lalamove、Flow/Dapper Labs、Animoca Brands、91APP、Carousell、ShopBack、KKday 和 17LIVE等多間具相當代表性的領先科技公司。

AppWorks於2022年底啟動Fund IV募資時，原始目標設定為3.6億美元。緊接著美國聯準會進入緊縮週期，全球資本市場大幅修正，新創投資環境也重新校準。管理團隊在將投資人回饋及市場動向納入考量後，審慎重新檢視基金規模，同時間，2024-2025年也被認為是近10年來最具潛力的創投基金成立年份，最終AppWorks在1.65億美元規模完成募集。此金額足以讓AppWorks在現階段有紀律地積極部署投資，充分把握來自其生態系豐沛的優質投資機會。

於2014年成立的AppWorks Fund II，目前已實現1.9倍DPI (實質回報倍數)，基金表現位居全球創投基金的前四分之一 (Top Quartile) 之列，充分顯現以創業者生態系為本的投資策略，能夠為投資人實現卓越的財務回報。

賦能企業透過新創實現新事業可能

AppWorks 與企業投資人深度合作超過十年，深知在科技快速迭代的時代，企業正積極尋求下一個十年的成長引擎。

對企業來說，AppWorks常扮演「通往未來」的科技入口，協助企業涉足AI和Web3等前沿科技。透過系統性地與新創公司合作，企業投資人得以接觸新興科技和創業文化，開發超越其核心業務的產品和商業模式，賦能並啟動下一波成長動能。

其中一個成功案例是台灣大哥大與USPACE (AppWorks Accelerator #18) 共同推出MyCharge電動車充電服務，完美結合5G與智慧停車及充電服務技術。這項合作加速了台灣大哥大跨足電動車生態系的步伐，也在AppWorks的跨境網絡協助下，助力USPACE拓展日本、印尼及泰國市場。

AppWorks承繼初心，推進亞洲下一世代的科技變革

AI浪潮正重塑全球產業，而亞洲憑藉其深厚的技術底蘊、強大的製造能力以及快速成長的數位經濟，被視為驅動這場變革的關鍵引擎。如今，在企業與國家級資本網絡的強大串聯下，AppWorks成功打通台灣的高端科技和製造優勢、馬來西亞多語言和商業敏銳度高的創業文化，以及韓國活躍的前沿消費科技，創造更多跨區域的商業化活動，進一步壯大泛亞洲的經濟影響力。

2009 年創辦以來，AppWorks始終相信並持續實踐初心：協助創業者實現改變。如今，這項使命以台灣為基石，並在整個亞洲區不斷茁壯，將創業者、企業和投資者聚集在一起，共同建構下一世代的科技變革。

AppWorks 董事長暨合夥人林之晨表示：「我想藉此機會向我們每一位投資人，對這次募資過程所給予的巨大支持，表達最深的謝意。大家都知道，這不是一個容易募資的環境，我們衷心感謝託付給我們的資金背後所代表的高度信任。AppWorks團隊也已經開始有紀律的執行投資策略，以期為股東實現卓越的財務回報和戰略合作價值。AppWorks將繼續努力，與投資人攜手，把亞洲的新創生態帶往下一個高峰。」

The post AppWorks完成第四支創投基金最終募集，總募集基金規模達3.86億美元，攜手國家級資本與企業，共啟創業生態系新篇章 appeared first on AppWorks 之初加速器.

AI走進最難自動化的場域，從廁所清潔到金屬研磨都開始交給機器人 

供應鏈以資料重新排列、能源與資本市場重新定義Web3的基礎建設角色

AppWorks(之初加速器)今日舉辦AppWorks Accelerator #31與Wistron Accelerator #9 以及TINC Batch X聯合Demo Day。AppWorks Accelerator #31共23組新創登台，其中有 19組AI團隊、4組Web3團隊，20組國際新創，來自香港、新加坡、馬來西亞、南韓、日本、菲律賓、印尼、美國等國，整體組成反映AppWorks以過去10年深耕的「台灣＋東南亞」為基礎，已開始向泛亞洲市場輻射，涵蓋日韓等東北亞市場的新創版圖正逐步成形。

從本屆新創趨勢也可觀察到，亞洲企業導入AI的步伐，已從早期的試驗階段，跨入「可複製、可擴張」的規模化部署階段；本屆團隊多半直接切入最不易標準化、最缺工、也最依賴經驗判斷的現場作業，使AI與機器人成為真實環境中運作的核心系統，而非輔助角色。

在供應鏈重組、中美技術競爭與東協市場擴張的推動下，本屆團隊的區域分布與應用場景，顯示亞洲市場正把成長重心，從單純擴大消費規模，轉向以技術升級與營運效率為核心的長線佈局。隨著AppWorks十六年累積的跨國創業網絡日益成熟，本屆 Demo Day也成為觀察亞洲科技創業脈搏的重要窗口。

商用清潔、金屬加工到城市導航，AI開始接管最不標準化的現場流程

來自新加坡的Hivebotics聚焦商用清潔機器人，鎖定過去最難倚賴自動化的場域：公共廁所的整理與維護。其機器人產品Abluo能在馬桶、小便斗、洗手台與地面之間自主移動，結合蒸氣、高壓清洗、烘乾與吸塵模組，搭配AI視覺即時判讀污漬與清潔程度，讓過去高度依賴人工判斷的「乾淨」首次被量化、標準化。Hivebotics目前已在新加坡樟宜機場完成測試，並獲得ISS、Sodexo、Kintsugi Holdings與Chaico Development等國際企業採用。產品亦已出貨至美國，將於主要國際機場啟動試點，並預計在香港與阿布達比等公共設施展開部署。

Hivebotics亦獲得新加坡教育部(MOE)與MDDI聯合舉辦的“Enhancing Toilet Cleaning Operations in Schools”創新挑戰首獎，將進入頂尖Junior College展開為期12個月的長期試點，作為校園清潔標準升級的示範場域。

在台灣，Holon Robotics則把金屬加工領域最依賴師傅經驗的「研磨／拋光流程」數位化。透過無須程式碼的作業系統HolonOS搭配3D視覺逆向建模，Holon能掃描實際工件，一鍵生成機械手臂路徑，並在生產過程中即時修正誤差，老師傅過去「看光澤、看紋路」的隱性技術被轉成能複製的Digital IP，使工廠能在缺工與世代交替下維持品質並擴張產能。

來自香港的Auki Labs則嘗試解決另一項硬問題：裝置如何「正確理解空間」。Auki以“Real-World Web”為核心概念，打造讓AI、機器人、手機與智慧眼鏡可以共同存取的空間運算基礎設施。透過將真實場域建構成高精度3D數位分身，Auki讓裝置能在幾公分誤差範圍內即時定位、規劃路徑，並在同一套空間座標上疊加導覽、數據分析與機器人導航等應用。

Auki認為，在這層空間基礎設施尚未被建構前，機器人無法真正做到「在任何場域自動運作」。目前Auki的技術已導入超過1,000個場域，年營收達數百萬美元，並逐步成為embodied AI與機器人協作的關鍵底層。

紡織、金屬到廢棄物處理，傳產流程迎來以資料為核心的新規則

AppWorks長期支持台灣經濟與產業創新，其中傳統產業鏈的轉型，在今年Demo Day中呈現更明顯的「AI 重建期」 趨勢。來自台灣的NunoX以AI模擬重新定義紡織材料研發流程，過去需要多次打樣、反覆試驗才能完成的布料配方與塗佈工藝，如今能在早期階段就由模型預測可行性，大幅縮短40–60%開發時程並降低生產成本。

目前NunoX已與台灣與越南多家布料與成衣供應鏈合作導入，其中包括成衣大廠Makalot(聚陽實業)，並已取得Under Armour、Little King、印度最大成衣製造商 SHAHI等國際品牌採用其技術作為數位打樣與布料開發流程的一環。這類以預測模型為核心的研發方式，正逐步形塑台灣紡織業邁向淨零與高效率生產的新基礎。

同樣來自台灣的AIRECO將視覺AI技術整合至整廠自動化分選流程，結合高速自動分選設備與機器手臂，實現廢棄物精準分類與回收。該系統由AI主導決策與營運，將過去高度仰賴人工經驗的回收流程全面資料化與自動化，並同步建立每項回收品項的ESG追蹤紀錄。

團隊目前已在多家回收處理場落地驗證，預期可將產能提升至傳統回收廠的2倍，減少超過70%的人力需求，並大幅提升塑料與紙類等項目的回收純度。AIRECO同時入選 NVIDIA Inception與Plug and Play Taiwan，持續強化AI模型效能與機器人部署能力，朝全自動化、零人工干預的智慧回收工廠目標邁進。

台灣團隊GreenBidz切入工廠轉型與產能移動帶來的設備再利用需求，透過AI驅動的B2B競標平台，協助台灣製造業處理大型設備的跨境轉移與再部署。目前已累積超過100間企業客戶，包含保瑞藥業、台達電子、全家、Siemens與Nana Chemical，過去12個月平台GMV達1,065萬美元。GreenBidz讓二手機械從台灣流向印度、東南亞等新興生產基地更透明、高效。

新加坡的Farmio正打造以AI驅動的食品供應鏈營運系統，目前已在新加坡服務超過1,600客戶，以不到12個月的時間達成600萬美元年化營收(ARR)，並以僅5人團隊完成5.5萬筆以上的自動化訂單處理。Farmio的長期願景是成為供應鏈的AI Operating System，為品牌與跨國供應鏈企業提供AI‑as‑a‑Service(AaaS)，以一套可模組化擴張的 agentic infrastructure，推動區域的供應鏈自動化與效率提升。除新加坡之外，Farmio目前已正式啟動香港市場，並規劃進入台灣、日本、阿聯酋等地。

製造與供應鏈的數位化已走過初期階段，今年可以明顯感受到企業開始以資料與模型重新調整流程本身。無論是紡織開發、金屬加工、廢棄物分類，或設備的跨境再利用，新技術的導入都不再止於提升效率，而是直接改變現場的運作方式：哪些步驟可被預測、哪些工序能被複製、哪些資產可以重新流動。這些變化正在重新定義傳統產業鏈的作業節奏，也為下一波升級展開了新的起點。

奢侈品真偽、旅遊點數、醫療判讀等高信任場景出現AI方案

今年可觀察到，AI已能在消費與專業服務領域，承接原本需要真人執行的環節，從鑑定、審核到初級判讀，開始直接替代而非輔助人工。香港團隊LegitApp專注奢侈品鑑定市場，處理使用者在二手電商中最棘手的問題：「買到假貨卻無法判斷、平台端也缺乏足夠驗證能力」。LegitApp目前每日處理3,000件鑑定申請，累積超過2百萬用戶，年營收300萬美元。

平台已與PopChill、Carousell、TikTok Shop等合作，為高假貨率、高仿品快速流動的市場提供「10分鐘內完成、多層次AI＋人工專家」的鑑定服務。

在跨境電商快速成長的背景下，超級仿冒品所帶來的問題更加層出不窮。LegitApp正成為二手時尚市場的信任基礎建設，讓平台得以建立更健康的交易環境，也協助政府與海關辦案單位辨識可疑物品。

新加坡團隊HeyMax聚焦旅遊獎勵整合，處理亞洲旅客最常面臨的問題——航空公司、飯店與平台回饋分散、難以管理、價值流失。HeyMax以單一介面統整多來源點數，讓旅客能以更一致的方式管理並兌換跨境回饋資產，重建多平台獎勵體系的使用效率。

目前HeyMax已累積15萬用戶(其中4萬為付費用戶)，並與Japan Railways East、Cathay Pacific、新加坡航空、卡達航空、Trip.com、KKDay、Amazon.sg、Octopus HK、Klook等超過800家商家合作。年化營收達600萬美元，月活使用者45,000，是亞洲旅遊獎勵市場整合能力最完整的新創之一。

在醫療與內容產業鏈，AI的角色同樣朝向「輔助決策」與「降低行政負擔」。台灣團隊Medvisor由台大醫學生獨立創立，產品正以高速迭代逼近USMLE(美國醫師執照考試)滿分水準，被視為醫療AI領域的潛力新秀。

不同於一般的單次問答工具，Medvisor具備獨創的 「長期健康記憶」 功能，能整合用戶過往病史、檢查紀錄與日常健康數據，生成更貼近個人狀態的精準衛教建議。近期也新增 居家「認知功能評估」，讓原本僅有醫院能提供的專業檢測，首次以輕量化形式走進家庭，成為使用者的AI健康管家。

這些能力使Medvisor成為醫療院所提升初級照護效率的可能解方，也為高齡社會的居家健康管理建立新的操作模型。

來自菲律賓的HeyEva則為娛樂產業開發AI經紀助理，用於安排檔期、整合資料與處理大量行政繁瑣，使經紀人能將更多時間投入在內容或人才管理本身。

今年的消費與專業服務新創呈現出一個共同趨勢──AI不只是提升效率，而是開始「重寫某些產業的標準」。從奢侈品鑑定、旅遊點數、到初級醫療，每一項原本依賴經驗、模糊不清的判斷，都被迫變得可度量、可追蹤、可驗證。

分散式電池、法幣入金到私募代幣化，Web3回到基礎建設主軸

面對持續高波動的市場環境，今年Demo Day登台的Web3團隊普遍聚焦在基礎建設層級，從能源、法幣入金到高端資產的取得方式，都可看到更務實的應用方向。

台灣新創Juic3 Labs正構建分散式電池網路，透過邊緣電池節點提供電力平衡與能源調度，提供智慧電網可能的運作雛形。團隊已取得來自電池商、EPC(工程採購建置)與EMS(能源管理系統)三家關鍵能源夥伴支持，累積部署2.8MWh電池容量，成為台灣能源網路走向分散式架構的重要實證案例。

馬來西亞團隊Hata則以合規為核心，作為當地持牌的數位資產交易所，提供MYR與 USD的法幣入金服務，強化Web3與傳統金融之間的制度連結。目前Hata已累積6.5萬註冊用戶、託管資產約1,800萬美元，年營收達380萬美元，成為區域金融機構佈局Web3的重要合規入口。

來自香港的Singular則瞄準高端投資市場的最大痛點——私募基金門檻高、跨境取得難、流動性不足。Singular以鏈上基礎設施提供 私募資產的「小額化、可分割、跨市場取得」，讓原本僅限機構與高淨值族群的資產，得以以更透明、更可追蹤的方式被更廣泛的投資者接觸。

目前平台已累積55,000名註冊用戶、8,300 MAU、1,020名付費投資者，累計託管資金 63.7萬美元，並在穩定幣支付軌道上達成99.6%成功交易率。Singular已於香港、馬來西亞、日本與阿聯酋等市場啟動營運，成為亞洲跨境資產代幣化領域成長最快的新創之一。

這一波Web3團隊所投入的，不再是市場投機循環，而是讓能源、資產與場域資料能有更可靠的交換與運作方式，顯示這個領域正逐步朝向更長線的基礎建設形態發展。

外骨骼、永續材料到跨境人力平台，硬體與服務鏈出現新需求

同步登場的Wistron Accelerator（緯創加速器）Demo Day #9呈現的是硬體、永續材料與跨境人力服務在區域市場中的新需求。截至第九屆，Wistron Accelerator已累積46家團隊，來自11個國家，合計創造565個就業機會，形成橫跨製造、通訊、永續與人力服務的創業社群。

新加坡團隊ArmasTec以布料外骨骼協助減輕物流、製造及醫療現場的人力負荷，提供一種更輕量、可長時間佩戴的輔助方式。目前ArmasTec已獲Micron、SATS、SingHealth等企業採用，並持續擴展至更多高工時產線與醫療場景。

另一家新加坡團隊TalentHero則以EOR(Employer-of-Record)平台協助企業快速在亞洲部署人力，符合遠距工作與跨境人才流動的趨勢。成立僅28個月，TalentHero已擁有120家付費企業客戶，包含Agora、Momos、OCP Group等國際公司，並在新加坡、越南、泰國與菲律賓管理超過1,000名跨境遠端員工。團隊年營收規模已達350萬美元，成為亞洲成長速度最快的EOR服務之一。

台灣團隊REWOOD則重新定義永續木材供應鏈，從植樹、材料再製到成品開發，提供一條龍的產品化流程，呼應全球ESG需求的快速攀升。目前REWOOD已執行100+個 B2B／B2G專案，協助119所學校回收再利用超過2,000公噸木材，每年減少1,800公噸CO₂e。

團隊營運版圖遍及台灣、日本、馬來西亞，年營收達250萬美元，成為亞洲永續建材領域的重要新創。

這些團隊補足了AppWorks生態系在硬體、永續與人才服務上的關鍵拼圖，並提供與軟體新創相互連動的產業面向。緯創技術長沈慶堯也在會上高喊：「除了持續投入加速器之外，緯創算力捐贈計畫以每年捐贈100萬小時GPU算力，希望讓全球AI新創與研究團隊的創新不被資源所限。」

票券流通與語音客服成為東南亞服務業的兩大數位化引擎

今年的TINC Batch X共有兩家團隊登台，分別為來自新加坡的3TGDS與來自印尼的Cavos。

3TGDS提供跨境B2B電子票券基礎設施，整合品牌、銀行、支付與點數通路，讓餐飲、飯店、便利商店、文化體驗與旅遊服務等商品能在多國市場順利流通。3TGDS在2024年度的年營收實現逾1,150%的年增，2025年收入再成長超過250%，達USD14.4M。跨境電子票券交易量持續上升，並與多家電信商、OTA、電子錢包與連鎖品牌合作，包括台灣大哥大、Trip.com、蝦皮、KKday、7-11、昇恆昌、兆豐銀行等。也透過TINC加速器，與印尼電信旗下的myTelkomsel完成POC驗證，使平台由台灣擴展至更大的國際市場。

Cavos則以Voice AI重構企業的聯絡中心流程，其語音代理能協助企業處理大量客服、合規性審查與例行溝通，自今年推出以來，已在多家企業客戶中落地，成為印尼早期導入Voice AI的代表案例之一。團隊目前與印尼、菲律賓、澳洲及台灣的企業展開超過10項合作專案。

這兩家團隊的案例，也彰顯AppWorks與印尼最大電信商Telkomsel在跨境創新上的合作成果，為新創打開區域級的B2B商務機會。

亞洲創業能量進入落地期：35%團隊年營收破百萬美元，跨境生態全面成形

今年的Demo Day反映出亞洲科技市場的成熟度正快速提升。AI、IoT、Web3與硬體解決方案不再停留在概念階段，而是進入可部署、可跨境複製的實際落地期。本屆更有約35%的團隊已突破年營收100萬美元大關，展現創業者面對資金環境轉變時，仍具備強大的商業化能力與市場執行力。

隨著AppWorks、Wistron與Telkomsel的合作加深，生態系已形成橫跨台灣、東南亞、日韓的創業網絡，讓創業者能在更廣泛的市場與業態中取得早期驗證。

這張逐步擴大的跨境網絡，也象徵AppWorks將持續加深技術與市場間的連結，協助更多具備執行力與全球視野的創業者，將真正能解決問題的技術推向整個區域。

AppWorks董事長暨合夥人林之晨表示：

「我們正見證AI從『數位助理』進化為『實體勞動力』的關鍵轉折點，本屆Demo Day最令我興奮的，是看到創業者們不再只是用AI寫程式生成影片，而是讓AI拿起抹布、工具，走進廁所、工廠等實體場域，去解決產業缺工的痛點。當AI學會手眼協調，台灣與泛亞洲的強大硬體供應鏈，將為新創在下一波全球科技發展中，提供最堅固的後盾。在創投產業大體回歸理性的此刻，我們在這些創業者身上看到了偉大的韌性——他們不只是擁抱AI或Web3典範轉移，更進一步用技術產生真實的營收與獲利。當AI開始接管現場、Web3打好穩固基礎，亞洲新創已經從『盲目成長』走向『商業落地』，準備好在全球洗牌的浪潮中，定義下一波產業規則。」

關於 AppWorks 之初加速器集團

2009 年成立，由「創業者」為「創業者」設立的加速器，以及基於加速器發展的新創社群與創投機構，致力協助下世代的創業者，抓住數位革命的成長機會。正如 Mobile Internet 曾引發巨大的產業變革，我們相信 AI 與區塊鏈正推動新一波關鍵的典範轉移。我們認為，創造一個偉大事業的過程中，創業者是主角，而投資人則是配角，我們專注扮演配角，從種子時期開始支持有想法的團隊，一路陪著他們打造區域級、世界級的偉大企業。

更多資訊：appworks.tw

關於 AppWorks Accelerator 之初加速器

2010 年成立，AppWorks Accelerator 每半年遴選最具潛力的團隊加入，協助創業者從 0 到 1 找到 Product-Market Fit、並在成長階段建立可持續與可擴張的商業模式。截至目前，AppWorks 生態系共有 653 家活躍新創、2,086 位創業者；其中包含 288 家 AI 新創、600 位 AI 創業者，以及 156 家 Web3 新創、424 位 Web3 創業者。這些公司合計已募得 73 億美元，總市值 377 億美元，共同創造 174 億美元年營收，並提供 28,256 個工作機會。我們的新創社群分佈於台灣、印尼、新加坡、馬來西亞、越南、菲律賓、韓國、日本與香港等九大市場，陪伴創業者打造跨市場、具長期競爭力的事業。

更多資訊：appworks.tw/accelerator

AppWorks Demo Day #31×Wistron Demo Day #9×TINC Batch X—登場團隊列表（依字母排序）

The post AppWorks Demo Day #31×Wistron Demo Day #9×TINC Batch X聯合發表28家新創 appeared first on AppWorks 之初加速器.

緯創資通與 AppWorks 從 2014 年開始合作，是 AppWorks Fund II、Fund III 的主要股東之一，之後也陸續投資了 MoBagel (AW#16)、 ANIWARE (AW#17)、Authme (AW#18) 與  Aiello (AW#20) 等自 AppWorks Accelerator 畢業的新創校友，雙方有長期的策略合作關係與默契，並於 2021 年 9 月首度啓動緯創垂直加速器，由大東南亞領先的新創加速器 AppWorks 提供營運等核心業務。

計畫申請緯創加速器的新創團隊，也許對本計畫將有更近一步的疑問，因此，我們整理了以下常見問題，希望可以協助創業者從中得到解答。

【Wistron Accelerator #10 現正開放申請中：申請專頁】

1. 緯創集團期待藉由加速器與新創達成什麼樣的合作成果？緯創集團可以提供新創什麼幫助？

Wistron Accelerator 可以提供的相關幫助包括： 

1. 緯創集團各企業 / 事業單位高階主管提供產業面的專業建議

這個加速器的最大特色，是由緯創集團各企業與事業單位高階主管擔任 Mentors，加入的新創可直接與 Mentor 們討論合作內容與商業模式，從他們身上，獲得產業最前緣的 Insights，大幅減少新創摸索、試錯與實驗的機會成本。緯創集團參與 Wistron Accelerator 的企業與事業單位如下：

1. Wistron 緯創資通 (包含CVC 企業投資辦公室)
2. Wiwynn 緯穎科技
3. WNC 啟碁科技
4. Wistron ITS 緯創軟體
5. WMT 緯創醫學
6. WiAdvance 緯謙科技

有與企業合作經驗的創業者都知道，通常高階主管負責策略，而團隊負責執行，因此如果能直接與最高層級溝通，那麼在策略合作聚焦，以及共同發展出新服務、新事業的機會將因此大增。

除此之外，當新創與企業合作時，常遇到的挑戰是，即便新創在本身領域具備一定的專業能力，但面對每一個不同領域的產業、每一家組織規模更大的企業，都是仍有許多需要更深入掌握的軟硬知識與技術。

因此，Wistron Accelerator 在內容設計上，一開始就由高階主管親自上陣，解決上述問題。新創在加速器期間，將與各事業單位負責人進行深度的合作與互動，不只能更深入理解企業真正的需求與計畫、產業 Insight，也能藉此學習如何與企業客戶有效溝通、幫助解決他們的問題。

1. 與緯創集團獨家合作 PoC
   
   做 B2B 生意的新創都知道，因為企業組織與決策流程的關係，要成功推動企業合作，通常需要醞釀比較長的時間，動輒一季、甚至超過半年，都是常有的情形。
   
   為了加速合作的速度，Wistron Accelerator 在時程、進度與合作目標，都經過了精心規劃。參與 Wistron Accelerator 的團隊，以與緯創集團各企業共同協作 PoC 為目標，過程中 AppWorks 也將全程協助推動 PoC 的討論與實作，以 4 個月的時程安排，驗證最小可行性產品 (MVP)，作為新創與緯創集團的協作學習經驗，以及後續合作的評估標準。

2. 緯創集團會從申請加入的新創之中，觀察哪些重點？

當收到創業者提出申請後，結合 AppWorks 輔導創業者的經驗，以及緯創集團的產業專業，我們特別重視引領創業者持續自我精進、排除阻礙的北極星，以及產品的核心技術。以下幾個問題，可幫助創業者思考是否適合加入 Wistron Accelerator：

• 為什麼要創業？
• 你希望透過創業解決什麼問題？為什麼？
• 你已經做了哪些努力來證明你正在解決這些問題？
• 你所打造的產品，與其它既有的解決方案有什麼不同之處？
• 你期待藉由與緯創集團的合作得到什麼？你能為緯創集團帶來什麼價值？

3. Wistron Accelerator 要收費嗎？我們現在需要一筆資金，加入就可以被投資嗎？

Wistron Accelerator 是針對創業者完全免費的服務。我們不會向新創團隊收取租金、服務費，也不會要求技術股、選擇權、營收和獲利分成等任何形式的回饋。同時，每一支入選 Wistron Accelerator 的新創團隊，皆會獲得緯創贊助 20 萬新台幣的補助 (不佔股份)。

緯創近幾年的策略投資，已投入超過 130 億新台幣，超過 60 家投資甚或長期經營的對象，更於 2021 年成立了企業創投 (CVC)，將積極佈局新創策略投資。因此入選  Wistron Accelerator 的新創，不論在加速器期間，或是加速器應屆計畫結束後，都將有機會與緯創企業創投、所合作的企業與事業單位，進一步討論未來的正式合作或投資機會。

4. 為什麼限定招募來自 AI、物聯網、雲端、資安、教育與醫療科技的創業者？

緯創資通身為全球 ICT 產業領導廠商之一，正積極佈局未來、邁向永續。憑藉堅強的研發及技術創新能力，以及多元化產品發展，將硬體設備結合軟體服務、雲端數據系統，提供技術服務與解決方案，建立新技術產業鏈以及創新平台，大力將事業擴展至教育、企業服務、物聯網及醫療等新領域。

藉由 Wistron Accelerator，緯創集團希望分享其產業經驗與豐富的業界資源，結合新創獨有的解決方案，藉由 PoC 合作，探索新的發展機會，幫助新創測試 B2B 解決方案、擁有緯創集團作為使用者案例。同時，也樂見緯創集團透過加速器期間的合作成果，發展成為下個十年的創新動能。

5. 什麼階段的新創適合申請 Wistron Accelerator？

我們並沒有限定申請團隊的成熟階段，但我們會建議來申請的新創，最好已經有和企業的合作案例，或是至少有 1~2 個 PoC 的合作經驗，將能更善用加速器所規劃的 4 個月時程，並確保在這樣的時間內，能有一定程度的成果產出。

如果你目前仍處於打磨 MVP、尚未和目標客戶接觸的階段，我們會建議你優先專注於打造你的產品，並嘗試接觸幾個目標客戶，搜集意見回饋、調整產品，確認自己想解決的問題以及核心優勢之後，再申請 Wistron Accelerator。

如果你已經有產品雛型，但尚未設立公司，根據我們的經驗，我們會建議你先完成此程序，這將有助於尋找事業夥伴並洽談後續合作。AppWorks 備有專業的會計與法務顧問，可以為創業者團隊提供成立公司過程中，所需要的協助，也有豐富的經驗，能為海外團隊處理落地台灣的手續。

6. 我不是台灣公民，能否幫忙申請簽證？

入選 Wistron Accelerator 的國際創業者，可根據個人的需求與條件，由緯創與 AppWorks 提供協助申請 Entrepreneur Visa 創業家簽證、Gold Card 就業金卡與 Business Visa 商業簽證，讓來自海外的創業者能在台灣專心工作，不需為了簽證問題出境往返。

我們將持續關注台灣政府的最新政策，以確保能提供所有創業者必要的協助。

7. 進駐 Wistron Accelerator 後，是否每週一到五整天都要待在緯創？我們可以遠距參加嗎？

新創並不需要整天待在緯創集團工作，每一家錄取的新創，將與其媒合的事業單位或企業，針對其合作需求，討論必要的會議頻率、工作地點，以及會面方式。

8. 申請書的題目都是英文，用中文寫會不會影響分數？

Wistron Accelerator 的線上申請書共有約 26 個題目，包含團隊、產品、商業模式，與市場分析等眾多面向，非常詳盡，需要花一定的時間與心思填寫。我們希望透過這些題目協助每一個來申請的團隊，釐清自己當下的發展狀態與所需協助。

填寫報名表是一種自我健檢，因為在填寫過程中，創業者必須深入思考自己的產品、市場策略、團隊分工，以及整體產業環境。因此，不管申請與否，我們都建議創業者針對這些問題仔細思考、研究。

我們鼓勵你嘗試以英文作答，但用中文填寫並不會影響評估結果，最重要的是必須清楚表達你想傳達的訊息。另外，我們也鼓勵創辦人 (CEO) 拍攝一段一分鐘的自我介紹影片，讓我們能夠更完整的認識你。

9. 第一階段申請和第二階段申請有何差別？

Wistron Accelerator 的面談與入選採先收先審制度 (Rolling-basis)，根據過去的經驗，先繳交申請書的團隊，有較高的入選機率，且能提早知道自己已經入選，有更充裕的時間預先規劃相關事宜。因此，我們會鼓勵創業者在第一階段就填寫申請書，以免到了最後申請截止前夕，競爭變得更加激烈。

希望以上整理能幫助你釐清對 Wistron Accelerator 的諸多疑問。若還有其他需要進一步瞭解的地方，歡迎留言給我們，或是來信至：a@appworks.tw，我們將盡量為你解答。

【歡迎所有 AI、物聯網、雲端、資安、教育與醫療科技的創業者，加入 Wistron Accelerator 申請，早鳥輪申請截止日為 2025 年 12 月 28 日】

The post Wistron Accelerator FAQ 緯創加速器常見問題回覆 (為 #10 申請團隊準備) appeared first on AppWorks 之初加速器.

Wistron has been working closely with AppWorks since 2014 and is one of the major limited partners of AppWorks Fund II and Fund III. It also invested in MoBagel (AW#16), ANIWARE (AW#17), Authme (AW#18),  Aiello (AW#20) , and other alumni who have graduated from AppWorks Accelerator. Wistron and AppWorks have been working closely together and have a long-term strategic partnership, and launched the Wistron Accelerator in September 2021. AppWorks, itself a leading accelerator in Greater Southeast Asia, provides core logistics and operations support.

We put together some frequently asked questions for startup teams who still had questions about the Wistron Accelerator program after reading the information on the landing page. If you have similar questions, we hope you can find the answers below.

[Wistron Accelerator #10 is taking applications now!]

1. What outcomes does Wistron Group expect to achieve through the Accelerator program? What kind of support can Wistron Group provide?

Some domain-specific perks include:

a. Access to C-level Mentors from Wistron Group

The most significant value of this accelerator is that the C-levels of different business units at Wistron Group will serve as your Mentors. Startups in the Wistron Accelerator can directly discuss partnerships and business insights with C-level Mentors at Wistron Group, significantly increasing the chance of collaborative success.

The Mentors participating in the Wistron Accelerator are from the following business units:

1. Wistron Group (including the CVC team)
2. Wiwynn
3. WNC 
4. Wistron ITS 
5. WMT 
6. WiAdvance

People who have experience working with enterprises know that the CEO or C-level manager is usually responsible for the strategy, and their team is accountable for execution. Therefore, if you can directly communicate with high-level managers, you may significantly increase the chances of developing a strategic partnership, new services, and new business.

In addition, even though startups already have domain knowledge in their focus area, when facing different industries and large enterprises, there is still much to learn, including both hard and soft skills.

In the Wistron Accelerator program, Mentors take on the role to solve the aforementioned issues. During the accelerator period, startups will have in-depth collaboration and interaction with the heads of the designated business unit. Startups can further understand companies’ needs, plans, and insights, and learn how to work with large corporations effectively.

b. Exclusive PoC collaboration with Wistron Group

Startups running B2B businesses know that it takes a long time to successfully onboard corporate partners because of the different organizational nature and the longer decision-making processes. It’s very common to take a quarter or even more than six months to kick off a collaboration.

Wistron Accelerator has thoughtfully planned the schedule, process, and goals to speed up the collaboration process. The startups participating in the Wistron Accelerator will directly collaborate with Wistron Group to come up with a PoC. During the program, AppWorks will facilitate the discussion and implementation of the PoC. Startups can develop the minimum viable product (MVP) within the four-month timeline and further discuss more in-depth collaboration after the program.

2. What are the important factors you consider when evaluating applications?

The application review process combines AppWorks’ experience in mentoring startups and Wistron’s industry expertise. We are looking for founders who continuously work on themselves and have a clear North Star in their founder journey, which we believe will help founders overcome obstacles and build up the product’s core competitive advantages. 

The following questions can help you think about whether you are suitable to join Wistron Accelerator:

• Why did you start your business?
• What problem do you want to solve? Why?
• What efforts have you made in solving these problems?
• How is your product different from existing solutions?
• What do you expect from the collaboration with Wistron Group? What value can you bring to Wistron Group?

3. Is there a charge for the Wistron Accelerator?  If we need capital now, will we receive investment after joining?

Wistron Accelerator is an entirely free service for founders. We will not ask for rent, service fees, or any types of concessions such as stock, options, revenue, or profit-sharing. At the same time, every enrolled startup will receive a NT$200K subsidy from Wistron, which is not in exchange for any shares.

Wistron has been a bullish strategic investor, in recent years investing more than NT$13 billion with over  60 companies in their portfolio. In 2021, Wistron established a corporate venture capital (CVC) team and is actively looking into strategic investments. Startups selected for the Wistron Accelerator will have the opportunity to discuss further collaboration or investment with Wistron CVC, business units, or its subsidiaries during and after the program.

4. Why does Wistron Group recruit startups only from AI, IoT, cloud, cyber security, education, and medical technology industries?

Wistron is one of the world’s leading manufacturers in the ICT industry. In recent years, Wistron has been investing in R&D, tech innovation, and diversified product development, and has also seized on the growing trend of cloud applications. They have successfully integrated a multitude of hardware devices, software services, and cloud applications, and offer technical service platforms and solutions. During this time they have also expanded their business to new fields like education, corporate services, IoT, and medical care.

Through the Wistron Accelerator, Wistron Group hopes to share its industry experience and rich resources with startups, and to explore innovative opportunities by working on a PoC together. Wistron Group is happy to be one of the case studies for startups to test their B2B solution. Wistron Group also expects to develop growth opportunities for the next decade through this collaboration.

5. What stage of startups is suitable for the Wistron Accelerator?

We do not have a strict standard on the stage of the startup. But we do recommend startups that have experience working with enterprises or have a few proven PoCs to apply. These startups should be able to better utilize the four-month timeline and can reasonably expect a certain level of results from the program.

If you are still in the MVP stage and have not yet defined your target customers, we would suggest you focus on developing your product first, try to get some initial users, collect feedback, and iterate accordingly. Once you validate the problem you want to solve and know the core advantage of your product, that will be a better time to apply for the Wistron Accelerator.

If you already have a product prototype but have not yet established a company, we recommend that you complete the company setup process first. From our experience, it can help you onboard business partners and initiate collaborations more efficiently. 

AppWorks can provide professional accounting and legal services to help founders set up a company, whether you are from Taiwan or overseas.

6. I am not a citizen of Taiwan. Can you help me get a visa?

Wistron and AppWorks can assist international founders enrolled in the Wistron Accelerator to apply for the Entrepreneur Visa, the employment Gold Card or the Business Visa based on certain conditions. Founders from overseas can concentrate on their work without worrying about visa issues.

7. While participating in the Wistron Accelerator, do we have to stay at Wistron Group’s office all day from Monday to Friday?  Can we participate remotely?

We do not stipulate work locations. Every startup will discuss the meeting frequency, and format with the Mentor on a case-by-case basis.

8. The application questions are written in English. Will writing in Chinese affect the score?

Wistron Accelerator’s application has 26 questions, covering team, product, business model, market analysis, etc. It requires a certain amount of time and effort to fill out. We hope that by this design, we can help every team clarify their current status and the assistance they are looking for.

Filling in the application is like having a health check-up. Founders must think profoundly about their products, market strategies, team and the overall industry environment. Therefore, regardless of if you decide to apply or not, we still recommend you to carefully think about these questions.

We encourage you to answer in English; however, using Chinese will not affect the results. The most important thing is to express your views clearly. Furthermore, we also encourage the founder (CEO) to make a one-minute self-introduction video for us to get to know you better.

9. What is the difference between the first round and final round application?

Wistron Accelerator’s admission is on a rolling basis. Based on previous experience, teams that applied earlier had a higher chance of being selected. They could also know the results earlier to have adequate time to plan for the PoC. Therefore, we encourage founders to apply early to avoid high competition during the final application deadline.

We hope the answers mentioned above can help you clarify any questions about the Wistron Accelerator.

If there are further questions, please send a message to us or write to: a@appworks.tw. We will reply to you as soon as possible.

[Calling founders working on AI, IoT, cloud, cybersecurity, EduTech, and MedTech. The deadline for the Early Bird Round is Dec 28, 2025]

The post Wistron Accelerator FAQ (For Founders Applying to Wistron Accelerator #10) appeared first on AppWorks 之初加速器.

Founders, partners, and mentors gathered for AppWorks Demo Day #31 in Singapore

A defining characteristic of this cohort is its operator depth: 54% of founders are repeat entrepreneurs, reflecting the region’s shift toward experienced builders with a track record of shipping, scaling and solving real problems in increasingly complex markets.

1. AI and IoT Enter Real-World Deployment Across SEA

The Southeast Asia AI market is rapidly expanding with strong adoption across enterprises and SMEs. BCG estimates that AI could contribute up to USD 120 billion to regional GDP by 2027, driven by productivity gains across logistics, healthcare, finance, and infrastructure.In 2024, AI adoption among SMEs in Southeast Asia tripled from 4.2% to 14.5%, supported by a young, tech-savvy population and increasing investments in AI-ready data centers. Southeast Asia is poised to become a global AI powerhouse, with vibrant startup activity and growing collaboration between global tech leaders and local innovators accelerating ecosystem growth.

With 14 teams applying AI and IoT to commercial use cases, Demo Day #31 showcases how intelligence systems are being embedded directly into the operating fabric of Southeast Asia.

A standout example is Hivebotics (Singapore), a robotics company tackling labour shortages and operational inefficiencies across commercial cleaning and facilities management. Co-founded by Rishab Patwari and Tuan Dung, Hivebotics deploys autonomous restroom and building-cleaning robots powered by machine learning and workflow optimisation models. Hivebotics is already working with Changi Airport Group, ISS, Sodexo, Kintsugi Holdings, and Chaico Development (HK) Pte. Ltd. across Singapore, the UAE, the US, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, reflecting strong enterprise demand for automation amid labour constraints..

Another notable case is Fluid (Singapore), founded by Trasy Lou and Steven Li, is an AI B2B payments and embedded credit platform used by 3,000+ suppliers and buyers across Singapore and Malaysia. Powered by AI Finance Agents, Fluid automates reconciliation and collections while unifying underwriting and payments into a single flow, helping SMEs improve liquidity, reduce manual work, and get paid faster.

2. Repeat Founders Strengthening Execution Readiness

A recent statistic from Bain’s e-Conomy SEA 2025 report highlights that Southeast Asia’s digital economy is projected to surpass USD 300 billion in gross merchandise value by 2025, supported by robust 15% year-on-year growth in key sectors like e-commerce, fintech, and AI. Despite funding headwinds, private tech investments have risen steadily, demonstrating resilience and execution readiness among startups.

This rising operator depth can be seen in ventures like Maibel (Singapore), a story-driven AI wellness companion designed specifically for women in Asia. Founder Mabel Loh previously built AMFIT Academy, a holistic women’s strength-training business with a 1.6K-strong community. 7 months in, Maibel’s early beta tests proved strong user stickiness. Across 100 users, the early MVP retention was triple the industry’s average. Maibel is currently in stealth mode, scaling into SEA post seed raise in June 2026.

Trainge (Taiwan) offers another case of mature operator execution. With 170+ paying gyms (including Anytime Fitness), 150K+ users, and 2,000+ verified trainers, Trainge has already achieved USD 2.5M in annual revenue in Taiwan and is now preparing for regional expansion into Singapore and Malaysia, where hybrid fitness adoption continues to grow.

This type of founder depth, operational experience, cross-industry pivoting, and cultural insight, reflects the rising calibre of founders in Southeast Asia’s next wave of tech innovation.

3. Southeast Asia as the Primary Market

As Southeast Asia’s digital adoption accelerates, 12 startups in this cohort are building specifically for the region’s most urgent gaps, financial access, mobility, travel infrastructure, authentication, and digital services, while showing clear signals of revenue quality, regulatory understanding and cross-border scalability.”

Among them is Hata (Malaysia), founded in Malaysia by David Low, KK Chong and Darien Ng, a regulated digital asset exchange enabling fiat-to-crypto trading in both MYR and USD. With 200,000 registered users and USD 26 million in assets under custody, Hata is emerging as one of Malaysia’s most trusted compliant on-ramps for Web3 adoption.

Parkit (Malaysia), founded by Kyan Liew, is a high-growth SEA mobility operator tackling Malaysia’s persistent parking infrastructure inefficiencies. Beyond parking, Parkit now offers mobility solutions including insurance services, serving over 40,000 registered users with access to 300,000 daily MRT commuters using their infrastructure. With over 30,000 paying customers, and B2B clients like Samsung and Malaysia Mass Rapid Transit, Parkit has grown to generate USD 4M in annual revenue through a mix of enterprise and consumer channels.

Founded by KaKit Chen, LegitApp (Canada) is another start up gaining momentum with its AI-powered luxury authentication engine, which combines expert verification with automated precision. Now expanding into Southeast Asia, LegitApp processes 3,000 daily authentication checks for over 2 million users across platforms such as TikTok Shop and Carousell, generating USD 3M in annual revenue.

Also noteworthy is HeyMax (Singapore), founded by Joe Lu, is a traveller rewards aggregator tackling the region’s fragmented loyalty landscape. With over 150,000 users, and over 800 merchant partnerships with the likes of Japan Railways East, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Trip.com, KKDay, Amazon.sg, Octopus HK and Klook, HeyMax has achieved USD 6M ARR and 45,000 MAU, consolidating a fragmented rewards landscape for everyday travellers.

4. A New Frontier for Web3 & DePin

Demo Day #31 also highlights a dynamic wave of Web3 and decentralised physical infrastructure (DePin) projects that move beyond speculation toward tangible real-world applications. These startups are pioneering next-gen infrastructure solutions that leverage blockchain and AI to unlock new efficiencies and accessibility in traditionally siloed industries.

Juic3 Labs (Taiwan), founded by Ramos Chang and RD Yu, is building self-balancing distributed battery networks designed to stabilise and decentralise future energy grids. The company has already secured three key energy partners across Battery, EPC, and EMS sectors, supporting 2.8MWh of battery capacity deployments across Taiwan. 

Meanwhile, Singular (Hong Kong), founded by Terrence Hooi, is democratising access to top-tier private equity through fractionalised on-chain investment infrastructure. With 55,000+ registered users, over USD 2 million processed, and a USD 200 million deal pipeline, Singular is opening institutional-grade opportunities, such as SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anduril, to a new generation of global investors through compliant Hong Kong structures.

Auki Labs (Hong Kong), founded by Nils Pihl and Santeri Aramo, is building the real world web, making physical spaces browsable, searchable and navigable to AI and robots. With over 1000 locations signed up, Auki is already making millions in ARR providing AI copilots for physical labor running on phones, smart glasses and robots, and is projecting 100,000 locations connected by the end of 2028.

These ventures underscore Southeast Asia’s growing role as a regional hub for pragmatic Web3 and DePin innovation, fueled by increasing regulatory clarity, investor interest, and the region’s innate suitability for decentralised infrastructure, given its young population, mobile penetration, and infrastructure gaps. 

According to McKinsey, Southeast Asia is attracting significant investments in digital infrastructure and blockchain technology, reflecting its leadership in Asia’s emerging tech economy. Backed by strong capital inflows and active startup ecosystems, the region has become a recognised hub for early-stage Web3 innovation and infrastructure investment.

Alyssa Chen, Principal of the Accelerator Arm, AppWorks said, “Founders in Southeast Asia are entering a more grounded, experience-driven phase, and this cohort reflects that shift. Many have built before, they understand customer pain points, cross-border realities, and what it takes to operationalise AI, IoT, and on-chain systems in the real world. Demo Day #31 is an opportunity for investors to meet operators already demonstrating real traction across the region.

“As we look toward AW#32, we’re especially supporting founders in three verticals shaping Asia’s next decade: Manufacturing AI, where Taiwan’s supply chain gives builders a real advantage; Defence Tech, where dual-use innovation is rapidly expanding; and On-Chain Banking, as financial infrastructure becomes increasingly programmable. No matter the specific product you’re building, AppWorks is a strategic partner for entering Taiwan and scaling across Asia.”

Across all cohorts, the AppWorks community now includes 653 active startups, founded by 2,086 entrepreneurs across markets such as Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and beyond. These companies have collectively raised US$7.3 billion, achieved a combined valuation of US$37.7 billion, and generated US$17.4 billion in annual revenues, while employing 28,256 people worldwide.

This continued expansion underscores the strength of AppWorks’ regional network and the growing maturity of Southeast Asia’s digital ecosystem. With new ties formed this year, including investment partnerships with KVIC (Korea Venture Investment Corp) and Jelawang in Malaysia, the community is deepening its cross-border capabilities and accelerating connectivity across Greater Southeast Asia.

Below is the full list of pitching teams showcased at AppWorks Demo Day #31 Singapore, representing some of the most driven and forward-looking builders in the region.

The post AppWorks Demo Day #31 Unveils Region’s Most Scalable AI, IoT & Web3 Startups as SEA Tech Enters New Growth Cycle appeared first on AppWorks 之初加速器.