WeWork wants to ramp up its expansion and growth in Southeast Asia and Korea
New York City’s co-working space chain WeWork is acquiring Singapore-based co-working space Spacemob.
This is part of a new US$500 million investment entity WeWork has set up to fuel its growth and expansion into Southeast Asia and South Korea.
Spacemob’s Founder and CEO, Turochas “T” Fuad, and his team of about 20 staff will come on board WeWork. Fuad will assume the new role of Managing Director of Southeast Asia for WeWork and will oversee the company’s expansion in the region.
“WeWork’s purpose-driven approach to providing businesses of any size with the space, community, and services they need to thrive is without equal. I could not be more proud to lead WeWork’s expansion in Southeast Asia,” said Fuad, in an official press release.
WeWork’s Head of Marketing and Revenue for Asia, Matt Shampine, will head WeWork’s Korean market expansion efforts as General Manager of Korea.
Both Fuad and Shampine will report to Christian Lee, Managing Director of WeWork Asia.
“I’m delighted to welcome T and Matt to the Asia management team. Both are seasoned entrepreneurs with deep roots in Southeast Asia and they will be invaluable as we scale the business across the region,” said Lee.
“With Spacemob, T and his team will accelerate our efforts to establish WeWork in key Southeast Asia markets. The Spacemob business that T has built is a testament to him and his team’s capabilities.”
In November last year, Spacemob raised US$5.5 million in a seed funding round led by Vertex Venture Holdings, with Alpha JWC Ventures from Indonesia and a number of undisclosed angel investors participating.
It currently has two co-working spaces; a 15,000 sq. ft. space in downtown Singapore and a 14,000 sq. ft. space in Ascent, which is located in the Singapore Science Park.
“Our commitment to our members remains the same – we’re still focussed on building foundations for businesses across Southeast Asia — but it is now going to take place at a much faster pace,” said Fuad, in a statement to e27.
“They will now have access to WeWork’s global network of more than 155 locations in nearly 50 cities in 15+ countries. This includes access to WeWork’s 130,000 members via its digital member network.”
By 2019, Spacemob plans to open up to 30 sites in the region.
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Disclaimer: Spacemob is an investor in e27’s parent company, Optimatic Pte Ltd.
Image Credit: Spacemob
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