Found and Collision8 merge in major co-working consolidation
Called Found8, the company will soon be opening its first space outside of Sinagpore
Two of Singapore’s most prominent co-working spaces, Found and Collision8, announced today a merger that will rebrand the company into Found8.
The merger will combine the two company’s investment warchest and give Found8 US$20 million of financing.
The first major event post-merger will be the impending opening of a new 22,000 square feet space in Kuala Lumpur. The Kuala Lumpur project is part of a drive to build a large startup ecosystem in the heart of Sentral Station, a strategy that is being borrowed from Station F in Paris.
Found8 will pursue further regional expansion.
Its five Singapore locations are at Amoy, Anson, Cuppage, High Street Centre and Prinsep.
“Our philosophy has always been that collaboration is better than competition. As we regionalise, Found8 is set to create meaningful innovation ecosystems everywhere we go. We are creating a new benchmark for the future of co-working in Asia,” said Grace Sai the Co-CEO of Found8.
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The space now has around 1,000 members, including notable startup-focussed companies like Antler, General Assembly and Slush.
Found8 is also Google for Startup’s first Southeast Asia partner, which means co-working members will get access to a suite of perks, philosophies and communities.
The pre-merger space Found was started by Sai and was originally known as ImpactHub. Sai’s space is famous for launching an investment fund to potentially fund companies working within the space. Portfolio companies include anywhr, Nimbus and EngageRocket.
Collision8 was Founded by Michelle Yong, who also leads the corporate venture fund for Arum Investments. Notably, Arum invested in the co-living space Hmlet.
The duo will now be co-CEOs with Sai expected to focus on corporate innovation while Yong will drive regional expansion and customer service.
“Found8 is bringing transformation and growth not only to startups but also traditional family businesses and corporates. Our community is collaborative and dedicated to driving business growth, collectively. The best part of this merger is that my biggest competitor is now my partner,” said Yong.
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The merger provides a fairly unique avenue to two funds for members (Found. Ventures and Arum Investments).
e27 reached out with questions about the the strategic relationship with WeWork and will update accordingly.
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