To assist Malaysian founders, Alpha Startups™ Pre-Accelerator back for its 64th Cohort
The 64th cohort of the flagship Alpha StartupsTM Pre-Accelerator has been announced by 1337 Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Malaysia. Applications are currently being accepted for the July 2025 intake.
In a statement released on Thursday, the company stated that startups continue to be important forces behind economic expansion, job creation, and digital transformation as Malaysia solidifies its standing as a global center for innovation. The accelerator’s role is to support this momentum.
The longest-running startup accelerator program in Malaysia was established in 2014 and is designed for early-stage founders, from individuals with an idea to teams developing their first minimum viable product (MVP).
Vircle, Swipey, BloomThis, ParkEasy (purchased by Shell), EatCakeToday (which left the program within a year), MaidEasy, Arus Oil, Cult Creative, Qarbotech, Finory.tech, Dear Kyra, and more are among the more than 3,500 startups that the program has helped grow over the last ten years.
With an in-person onboarding, weekly virtual mentoring, self-paced modules, and a live Demo Day with investors and ecosystem leaders at the end, the 10-week hybrid accelerator blends structured learning with founder flexibility.
In this intake, only 20 startups will be chosen to receive regional exposure and individualized mentorship.
This cohort will highlight innovation in artificial intelligence (AI), DeepTech, small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) business to business (B2B), health tech, fintech, and climate tech, but it is open to all tech-enabled solutions.
“Early-stage founders need structure, speed, and honest feedback—that’s what Alpha Startups™ pre-accelerator delivers,” said Bikesh Lakhmichand, Chief Executive Officer and Founding Partner of 1337 Ventures.
“After running thematic cohorts in FemTech, Tourism, InsurTech, and FinTech, we’re excited to return to a fully agnostic batch,
“This isn’t just about accelerating founders—it’s also a pulse check on early-stage deal flow across Malaysia and Southeast Asia, and where the next wave of innovation is coming from,” he added.
Throughout the program, chosen startups will gain access to go-to-market strategy development, customer validation sprints, and practical mentoring from seasoned venture builders.
The 1337 Ventures Startup Playbook, more than MYR 100,000 ($23,677) in digital credits and partner tools, and lifetime access to 1337 Ventures’ expanding alumni network of investors, mentors, and founders throughout Southeast Asia will also be made available to them.
The top teams present their ideas to a carefully selected group of angel investors, venture capitalists, and corporate innovation leaders during the program’s high-impact Demo Day.
The deadline for applications is July 20, 2025, and they are currently open. The official start date of the program is July 31, 2025.
Investing in pre-seed and seed-stage startups, 1337 Ventures is a prominent venture capital firm in Malaysia.
