AppWorks Showcases 8 Malaysia–Singapore Startups Driving Urban, SME & Capital Innovation at MVCA 2025

KUALA LUMPUR, 4 December 2025 — As private capital in ASEAN enters a new phase of discipline and cross-border growth, AppWorks Demo Day #31 touched down in Kuala Lumpur today as part of the Malaysian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (MVCA) Conference 2025, themed Beyond Borders: Positioning ASEAN in the Global Private Capital Renaissance.

Held at the Auditorium, Menara Affin Bank, TRX, the one-hour Demo Day slot brought together 8 startups from Malaysia and Singapore working at the intersection of AI, Web3, robotics and urban infrastructure. The session combined rapid-fire pitches with an alumni fireside chat, giving investors, corporates and ecosystem builders a concise view of the region’s next generation of scalable ventures.

“Malaysia is an essential part of Greater Southeast Asia’s innovation fabric,” said Alyssa Chen, Principal of the Accelerator Arm, AppWorks. “By bringing Demo Day #31 into the MVCA Conference, we’re putting Malaysian founders, and their Singapore peers expanding here, in front of exactly the people who can help them scale: investors, corporates and decision-makers who understand private capital and are hungry for resilient, cross-border growth stories.”

“Malaysia is becoming a natural bridge for capital, talent and technology flows across ASEAN,” said Dr. Chris Daniel Wong, Secretary General, MVCA. “Partnering with AppWorks allows us to give local stakeholders direct access to founders who are already building regionally, while signalling Malaysia’s readiness to support high-growth companies scaling beyond their home markets.”

Malaysian Founders Rewiring Parking, Advertising, Travel & Private Markets

Four Malaysia-based teams took the spotlight, each tackling a real, on-the-ground challenge Malaysians face daily, from urban congestion to accessible investment opportunities. Their stories reveal founders building for Malaysia first, but engineering solutions ready for ASEAN scale.

Parkit (Malaysia)

Founded by Kyan Liew, Parkit has grown from a simple parking-tech idea into a high-growth mobility operator addressing Malaysia’s persistent parking inefficiencies. Today, Parkit supports a community of 40,000 registered users, 30,000 paying customers, and provides access to 300,000 daily MRT commuters across its integrated infrastructure. Its enterprise footprint includes Samsung and Malaysia Mass Rapid Transit, with revenues reaching USD 4 million annually through a hybrid B2B + B2C model.

Carching (Malaysia)

Created by Jeshua Choong, Carching turns everyday cars into measurable mobile media. By linking brands with thousands of Malaysian drivers, Carching enables hyper-targeted, trackable out-of-home advertising, a refreshing alternative to traditional static billboards. The company is already operating across three different countries, has worked with 40 brands, and serves a growing base of 5,000 users. They generated USD 400,000 in revenue this year and is already profitable, signalling strong commercial demand for its data-driven approach to outdoor advertising.

Plandora (Malaysia)

Founded by Kit Neoh, Plandora is redefining travel planning through “AI real creator twins”, digital models that replicate the expertise and taste of real travel creators. Instead of generic itineraries, users receive curated, creator-authenticated plans that preserve authenticity while scaling across multiple destinations. With 867 users and rising, Plandora is gaining early traction in a rapidly expanding ASEAN travel market where trust and personalisation are becoming key differentiators.

Singula r(Malaysia)

Led by Terrence Hooi, Singular is democratising private markets by enabling on-chain access to fractionalised shares in top-tier private equity. With 55,000+ registered users, USD 2 million processed, and a USD 200 million deal pipeline, Singular is opening doors to opportunities previously limited to institutions, from SpaceX and OpenAI to tier-one global funds. In Malaysia, where investor appetite for alternative assets is rising, Singular brings transparency, compliant structures and institutional-grade access.

“These founders are solving Malaysian problems with globally competitive solutions,” said Chen.

“They’re grounded operators building in messy, real-world environments, exactly the kind of ambition long-term capital is now rewarding.” Chen continued.

Singapore Startups Using Malaysia as Their First ASEAN Landing Pad

Aligned with MVCA Conference 2025’s theme “Beyond Borders”, four Singapore-based teams pitched not just products, but clear Malaysia expansion strategies, from piloting with local property developers to partnering with SMEs and agriculture networks.

Farmio (Singapore)

Founded by Paco Chan, Farmio is building Asia’s first AI-led food supply chain operating system, helping growers, distributors and buyers digitise procurement, unify logistics, and reduce wastage in markets where analogue workflows still dominate. Over the past 12 months, Farmio has generated USD 6 million in revenue, automated more than 55,000 orders, and served 1,600+ B2B customers, underscoring both the scale of the regional food supply chain problem and the demand for end-to-end digital infrastructure across Asia.

Fluid (Singapore)

Led by Trasy Walsh, Fluid is an AI-powered B2B payments and embedded credit platform used by 3,000+ suppliers and buyers across Singapore and Malaysia. Its AI Finance Agents automate reconciliation and collections, while embedding underwriting and credit directly into payment flows. For Malaysian SMEs, many navigating late payments and cash flow volatility, Fluid’s model offers a more predictable, data-driven alternative to traditional financing.

Hivebotics (Singapore)

Founded by Rishab Patwari, Hivebotics deploys AI-powered commercial cleaning robots already operating across Singapore, the UAE, the US, Hong Kong and Taiwan. With clients including Changi Airport Group, ISS, Sodexo, Kintsugi Holdings and Chaico Development, Hivebotics is now engaging Malaysian mall operators, Facilities Management companies and transport hubs that face severe labour shortages and rising hygiene requirements.

Alpha Story (Singapore)

Founded by Jeremy Foo, Alpha Story helps startups, funds and corporates forecast and engineer digital narratives, turning complex technologies into clear, investment-ready stories. In just 18 months, the team has partnered with over 300 clients across the region, and recently crossed USD 1 million in annual revenue, underscoring the growing demand for strategic narrative intelligence in Asia’s technology ecosystem.

Together, these Singapore-based teams represent a wave of companies treating Malaysia not as an afterthought, but as a core expansion market, a place to pilot, scale, and form long-term cross-border partnerships.

Beyond the pitches, the session also featured a fireside chat with TK Chuah, Founder & CEO of Bootsorder, and Sophie Chu, Principal of the AppWorks AI Arm, offering investors an inside look at what regional expansion actually requires. TK shared Bootsorder’s journey from Malaysia to Taiwan, why they chose a more mature, higher-income market as their first overseas foothold, how they built trust in a new ecosystem, and the operational realities of adapting B2B software for different regulatory and workflow environments.

Sophie added perspectives from the accelerator side, highlighting how Malaysian founders can leverage AppWorks’ founder community, cross-market playbooks, and North Asia’s rapid enterprise AI adoption to scale faster and more confidently across borders.

“Software is ultimately about productivity,” said TK. “That’s why we expanded into higher-income markets like Taiwan first. Building trust in a new ecosystem isn’t easy, but communities like AppWorks give founders the insight and local support needed to compete, and to realise they shouldn’t underestimate themselves.”

“For Malaysian startups, going overseas isn’t just optional, it’s necessary,” said Sophie.

“The real challenge is finding the leverage points in each market fast. North Asia’s rapid AI adoption and its urgency to solve labor shortages create a window of opportunity that Southeast Asian founders can seize and confidently step into.” Sophie elaborated.

In today’s more disciplined capital environment, AppWorks Demo Day #31 Kuala Lumpur showcased founders who are market-tested and growth-ready. Presenting real traction across sectors like urban mobility, SME finance, AI robotics, and Web3, these startups exemplify Southeast Asia’s shift towards operational resilience and scalable cross-border solutions.

These ventures align with regional growth trends: Southeast Asia’s digital economy is expected to exceed USD 360 billion by 2026, with AI and tech-enabled startups driving productivity gains critical to the region’s USD 120 billion AI-driven GDP uplift projected by 2027. Meanwhile, McKinsey highlights the region’s maturity in cross-border execution and capital efficiency as key to long-term success.

AppWorks and MVCA’s collaboration fosters critical dialogue between founders, investors, and institutions on scaling ASEAN’s innovation ecosystem beyond fundraising, towards sustainable partnerships and market entry strategies. This Demo Day reflects the new reality: success in Southeast Asia demands deep customer insights, regulatory savvy, and agility across multiple markets.

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.