WeWork Launches WeWork Labs in Southeast Asia

WeWork has launched in Singapore its first WeWork Labs in Southeast Asia. Located at WeWork City House, it will be followed by another in Bangkok by Q1 2019.

Earlier this month, Japanese tech giant Softbank committed an additional US$3 billion to WeWork in a deal that values the office sharing company a valuation of around US$42 billion.

Earlier this month, Japanese tech giant Softbank committed an additional US$3 billion to WeWork in a deal that values the office sharing company a valuation of around US$42 billion.

Launched in early 2018 with locations in the U.S., Korea, Brazil, Israel, India and more, WeWork Labs is WeWork’s innovation platform for early-stage startups that takes an innovative and personalised approach to helping entrepreneurs succeed.

Local partners and education institutions discussing the startup economy at the “Humanizing an Innovation Ecosystem” panel at the launch of WeWork Labs. From left: Turochas “T” Fuad, Managing Director, WeWork Southeast Asia; Adrian Tan, Head of Labs, WeWork Southeast Asia; Clarence Ti, Principal, Ngee Ann Polytechnic; Julian Lai-Hung, CEO and Founder, Blockpunk (WeWork Labs Member); Dennis List, Program Manager, Techstars.

Local partners and education institutions discussing the startup economy at the “Humanizing an Innovation Ecosystem” panel at the launch of WeWork Labs. From left: Turochas “T” Fuad, Managing Director, WeWork Southeast Asia; Adrian Tan, Head of Labs, WeWork Southeast Asia; Clarence Ti, Principal, Ngee Ann Polytechnic; Julian Lai-Hung, CEO and Founder, Blockpunk (WeWork Labs Member); Dennis List, Program Manager, Techstars.

Coupled with WeWork’s global community of more than 320,000 members, WeWork Labs will serve as a hub for entrepreneurs and early-stage startups throughout Southeast Asia, providing members with access to custom programming, mentorships, investments, and educational resources to help grow their business.

“With the Southeast Asia region experiencing unprecedented growth in terms of commercial innovation and investments, there are still key dynamics at play that remain a puzzle to outsiders due to its cultural differences, nuances in consumer behaviours and rapid pace of change. With WeWork Labs, we can help to nurture and unlock the potential of early stage startups by giving them key resources to take their businesses and ideas to a global scale. Launching in two key markets in Southeast Asia demonstrates WeWork Labs’ commitment to the region and dedication towards shaping the local ecosystem by connecting entrepreneurs to both the WeWork global community and enterprises seeking greater innovation within their industries,” said Adrian Tan, Head of Labs, WeWork Southeast Asia.

Leading WeWork Labs in both Singapore and Bangkok is Adrian Tan, Head of Labs for WeWork Southeast Asia.

Adrian has dedicated his career to building the startup ecosystem, previously serving as the Program Director of Vietnam Innovative Startup Accelerator (VIISA), an accelerator program aimed at building corporate innovation programs.

Adrian’s leadership and expertise positions WeWork Labs to help aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage startups navigate an evolving local market and growing global community.

WeWork Labs is globally led by Roee Adler, SVP, Global Head of WeWork Labs.

A longtime team member, Roee joined WeWork as Chief Product Officer in 2013, and over the years built WeWork’s product management, software engineering, digital design, and data analysis groups.

Prabhdeep Singh, Global Head of Operations for WeWork Labs, spearheads the global expansion of the program for early-stage startups.

Through curated programming, in-house resources and a robust mentorship program, each WeWork Labs location is curated for entrepreneurs and startups from any industry and founders from a diverse array of backgrounds.

“As we are rapidly expanding to our next phase of growth in Singapore and Southeast Asia, we will continue to add more innovative products and services to our community. With WeWork Labs entering Southeast Asia, we have the incredible opportunity to add and diversify the types of businesses and entrepreneurs that can join the WeWork community. With WeWork Labs as one of our newest offerings, we are confident that our value beyond space alone will strengthen collaboration between entrepreneurs and enterprises to transform industries,” said Turochas “T” Fuad, Managing Director, WeWork Southeast Asia.

Each location is equipped with a dedicated Labs Manager who acts as a collaborator and innovator focused on members’ success, providing a range of educational resources from roundtables and lecture series to one-on-one meetings and more, where members learn everything from accounting and marketing to hiring and pitching future investors.

WeWork Labs also sees this expansion as an opportunity to establish partnerships with local entities and programs in Singapore and throughout Southeast Asia.

Working hand in hand with accelerators such as Techstars (a WeWork 71 Robinson member in Singapore, incubators and venture capitals (VCs), and large corporations, WeWork Labs will open doors to local partners, investors and vendors, powering future corporate innovation in both Southeast Asia and around the globe.

WeWork Labs piloted its first cohort of startups including graduates of accelerator programs and nonprofits in Singapore in September 2018.

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