Joseph Chan

Joseph Chan (詹德弘) is a Partner at AppWorks, the largest startup accelerator and early-stage venture fund in Greater Southeast Asia (Taiwan plus Southeast Asia), founded by Jamie Lin. He was recruited to AppWorks by Lin around 2012–2013 as a founding-era partner. At AppWorks he oversees fund operations, portfolio management, and advises founders on fundraising, finance, and legal matters, and he serves as the firm's principal connector between the Taiwanese and Japanese startup ecosystems. AppWorks has publicly described him as having evaluated more than 200 venture investment cases.

Before AppWorks, Chan spent roughly a decade (about 11 years) at the CID Group (華威國際 / CID Group), one of Taiwan's most established and successful venture capital firms and one of Asia's larger investment vehicles (managing over US$1 billion). As a Vice President there he headed portfolio management, helped raise approximately US$575 million across multiple funds, and led the team that built CID's proprietary fund-management system, primarily evaluating hardware ventures. His first job out of university was as a Manager of the Backbone Network at GigaMedia, a NASDAQ-listed broadband ISP — an experience he credits with sparking his interest in internet ventures.

Chan holds a Master's degree in Agricultural Machinery Engineering from National Taiwan University and is a native speaker of both Mandarin and Japanese. The "CIVC" (civc.com.tw) domain in his email appears to be a personal/angel investment identity; it could not be independently verified beyond the address itself, so its scope should be confirmed directly with him. His long institutional VC track record combined with angel-style seed activity is likely why some investor databases classify him under "Angel Investors / Managing Director," while his primary affiliation is Partner at AppWorks.

• Invests primarily at seed to Series A through AppWorks' funds, with checks roughly in the US$200K–US$10M range.
• Sector emphasis on AI, Web3/blockchain and fintech, and IoT/internet software — themes AppWorks has prioritized in its more recent funds.
• Believes Taiwan must shift from hardware to software; he has warned that "30 percent of all hardware-related companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange will likely evaporate in the next 10 years," and argues Taiwan should build software-based "blue-chip" companies rather than perpetually paying a "Google tax" or "Facebook tax" to foreign platforms.
• Prizes founder drive above all — specifically "the insight or experience to see the broader picture…particularly one that expands beyond the borders of Taiwan," i.e., teams willing to scale regionally across Greater Southeast Asia.
• Brings an operator/ex-investor lens: "We're all ex-founders and operators, giving us experienced insight into what exactly founders need."