Taipei-based Okay Search Inc's (
This year's winner was decided through a vote by more than 500 venture capital companies and 100 international media. Okay Search, whose innovative map-based social network allows users to connect with those around them, was the first foreign company to win the award in 18 years.
BIANNUAL
DEMO is held twice a year, in February and September.
"My initial idea was to use an online map as a platform to facilitate interaction between users," 32-year-old Jerry Kuo (
Kuo said Taiwan would serve as the company's primary research and development (R&D) center, while the US was the target market.
Atlaspost has three main features, dubbed Atlas Village, Atlas Albums and Atlas Posts. Atlas Village users can buy a virtual house that becomes a base from which to browse other "villages" and make friends online.
Users can upload and share photos taken with GPS-capable mobile phones to Atlas Albums, while blog-like entries are available on Atlas Posts.
capital
Founded in April last year, Okay Search's capital has grown from NT$500,000 to NT$12 million. Atlaspost, which has approximately 30,000 users nationwide, expects membership to grow to 200,000 in Taiwan and 500,000 in the US by the end of the year, Kuo said.
Ten venture capital companies had expressed interest since Atlaspost won the People's Choice Award, Kuo said. Okay Search aims to raise US$3 million by the end of the second quarter and set up a branch office in Silicon Valley in the US, he said.
"We hope to headquarter our research and development center in Taiwan, but are looking to the US market for the future," co-founder Andy Kuo (郭家齊), Jerry Kuo's 28-year-old brother, said.
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