Run by two students, Project6 hosts 48-hour house hacks in S’pore and beyond
Singapore’s original scene is problematic.
It’s organized, well-funded, and growing, but it’s missing something important: “bad culture,” a sense of urgency, and places where builders can just… Project 6.
So they did something unusual: they rented a mansion and filled it with founders.
For 48 hours, participants are expected to do one thing – build. Sleeping is optional. Shipping (turning an idea into a viable product, for those not in the startup world) is not.
Not only have they held their mansions in the region, but also in Montreal, with plans to expand to many countries, attracting hundreds of founders from all over the world. And it all started because Kanani and Xander were frustrated with how Singapore’s startup ecosystem really works.
Bringing the spirit of Silicon Valley to Singapore
Kanan and Xander are both students at the moment, but they are deeply interested in the startup process.
Kenani studies at NTU and runs the lytheimplementation of AI infrastructure. Meanwhile, Xander studies at the University of Queensland in Australia and directs one of the largest university-focused startup conferences in the country.
The two met at a student networking event organized by Canaan Startup in Singapore while Xander was on exchange at SMU—and that’s when things started to take shape.
After the ceremony, Xander left feeling that the negotiations did not go far enough. Most of the room was devoted to presentations, LinkedIn trading, and discussions about fundraising and investor updates. When communication was made, it felt like there was less emphasis on what people were actually building day to day.
He went out to Canaan after that. And Canaan got it right away—he’d heard the same thing before.
Compared to Silicon Valley in San Francisco, the culture felt different. There, high school dropouts raise millions and college students build billion-dollar companies. Validation was less important, and execution was more important.
The question was obvious: Why can’t Singapore be like that?
They started by hosting founder dinners
These two started out small.
They started by hosting dinner parties at Kanani’s apartment, inviting founders they knew to hackathons and their network.
Each circle brought together about 10 people, without spaces or formal networking—just a deliberate effort to get the right people in the room and let the conversations develop naturally.
They later expanded beyond Canaan’s home, hosting dinners at restaurants and cafes. As interest grew, major editors began to take notice. Organizations like SCAPE, as well as other public spaces, eventually stepped in to hold these gatherings together.
But the dinner ended so far. They create an environment for discussion, but not just to build. Ideas were discussed, contacts were made, but most people still went back to their daily work unchanged.
If the goal was to shift creators from talking to building, the format itself had to change. So they started thinking more.
Inspired by the hacker houses in Silicon Valley, they began experimenting with a new model: bringing founders together under one roof for short, high-intensity residencies.
In Jan 2026, they tested the idea for the first time. The two rented a mansion in Johor Bahru and invited 10 founders from the Singapore ecosystem to run for 48 hours.
When the founders arrived, the structure was simple. After a short introduction phase, they quickly got into building. Teams are formed based on shared ideas and complementary skills, then spend the weekend developing products, coding, and iterating.
At the end of 48 hours, each team presented what they were able to build, from initial prototypes to working demos.
Operating hacker houses has never been easier
That first house went viral on LinkedIn. VCs and tech giants are wanted. More founders were willing to attend.
By April 2026, they had worked a total of four 48-hour stays. Applications for each collection are numbered in the hundreds.
But using these hacker houses was not straightforward, especially in Singapore.
“The biggest challenge has been to design something sustainable and compatible with the environment of the residential area,” said Khanani.
As a result, their first founding meeting took place in Johor Bahru, where temporary employment was possible, followed by a second one in Kuala Lumpur.
Finally they were able to organize a third residence in Singapore, in collaboration with AI.SEA, the first initiative of the architect focused on Southeast Asia, with the support of OpenAI developers.
However, the two said that they are still working closely with government agencies to see how these settlements can be run successfully under local constraints. They are currently planning to launch a dedicated house in Singapore, although the details are still being wrapped up.
The mansion hacker house in Singapore ran at the same time as the Montreal program. While the founders were based in Singapore in a local residence, the Montreal house was run in partnership with two people embedded in the Canadian startup.
15 projects submitted and over S$500K raised
Results from Project6’s 48-hour residency have been seen.
“We have many initiatives launched, and some have already raised angel rounds of over S$500,000,” said Xander.
According to its website, 15 projects have been submitted to all houses.
This includes traveling by cara tool that takes a static design, such as an app screenshot or UI layout, and automatically turns it into animation instructions and developer-friendly code. Another is TACK,
Another project TACKa real-time AI meeting moderator designed to keep conversations on track. It helps teams stay focused, capture key points as they arise, and ensure discussions move forward productively rather than drifting off topic.
For Canaan and Xander, the products sent and the money raised serve as validation of their method, proof that a short, solid stay can always translate into real first results.
They describe the move as a “third space for founders”—a place outside of traditional home offices where creators can live, work, and collaborate in a more immersive, high-quality environment.
Looking ahead, Project6 is focused on scaling that model.
“In the next one to two years, we see Project6 developing to operate in more than 50 countries,” said Canaan, adding that cities such as Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and California are among potential destinations.
The long-term goal, he explained, is to establish flagship hacker houses in Singapore and San Francisco, effectively creating a bridge between the two ecosystems-giving Singapore-based founders greater access to global capital and networks, while also providing a place to stay for international founders who want to build in Singapore.
We agree that hacker houses will be a new layer of sourcing instead of a traditional model to accelerate the next wave of innovators and talent builders, and ultimately, we will grow to support these innovators on their journey.
- Find out more about Project6 here.
- Read other articles we’ve written about Singapore businesses here.
Featured Image Credit: Canaan Poh/ Xander Minzenmay
