Enabling the Future of Design | Goh Yiping - E742

Goh Yiping, co-founder and CEO of Formas.ai, traces her path from startup founder and venture capitalist to McKinsey partner, then to an executive role at immersive entertainment company NEON, and explains how each stage taught her to scale and think at an institutional level. She then explains the family decision to found Formas.ai with her husband Carlos: an AI-native design workspace, billed as the “Figma of architecture,” that aims to cut seven weeks of rendering work to two days. She closes on risk, courage, and why she chose to drive AI rather than consume it.

Yiping Goh is the Co-Founder & CEO of FORMAS.AI, an AI Design and Agentic 3D Modelling Workspace for architecture, interior design, and the built environment. FORMAS.AI helps designers move from sketches, floor plans, references, notes, and spatial intent into visual design iterations, photorealistic renders, and connected design workflows with greater speed and control.

Under her leadership, FORMAS.AI was named the Global Winner of SuperAI Genesis 2026, strengthening its position as one of the emerging AI companies shaping the future of spatial design.

Yiping is an entrepreneur, operator, investor, and business builder with nearly two decades of experience across startups, venture capital, private equity, and corporate innovation in Asia. Prior to FORMAS.AI, she was a Partner at McKinsey & Company, where she worked across new business building, growth strategy, and private capital. She was also a Partner at Quest Ventures, one of Southeast Asia’s leading venture capital firms, backing and advising high-growth technology companies across the region.

Earlier in her career, Yiping co-founded and scaled ventures including All Deals Asia, and contributed to the growth of MatahariMall in Indonesia. She has been recognised as one of Singapore’s notable women in technology and entrepreneurship, named among Singapore’s 100 Women in Tech, awarded the NUS Outstanding Young Alumni Award, and featured in Harper’s Bazaar Singapore, Tatler Asia, and The Peak Singapore.

She also serves on the National University of Singapore Alumni Advisory Board and is an active voice on AI, venture building, and the transformation of design-led industries.

Yiping’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yipinggoh/

FORMAS.AI: https://www.formas.ai/

Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/yiping-goh-formas-ai

BRAVE is Southeast Asia's leading tech podcast, hosted by Jeremy Au. Honest conversations with the region's top founders, investors, and operators on building startups in Southeast Asia.

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00:00 Episode highlights

02:39 From Venture Capital to McKinsey

05:23 Lessons from Joining McKinsey as a Partner

11:37 Scaling Operations at NEON

13:24 Choosing When to Buy or Build

17:10 Returning to Entrepreneurship with FORMAS.AI

22:15 What FORMAS.AI Does

26:39 Rethinking Architecture and Design Workflows

31:58 Building Beyond AI Rendering

35:28 Building FORMAS.AI as Husband-and-Wife Co-founders

44:17 Choosing Entrepreneurship in the AI Era

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