These Asian American and Pacific Islander developers are reimagining how we learn, connect, shop, and play.

Brilliant’s interactive STEM courses dive into the fundamentals of coding, Einstein’s theory of relativity, and beyond. CEO and cofounder Sue Khim designed Brilliant to be a place where it’s OK to fail. “No matter what you do, you’re going to be given choices where there’s no obvious right answer, and you just have to figure it out,” she says.

Bunpo, Chineasy, and Eggbun teach Japanese, Chinese, and Korean (respectively) while shining a light on the cultures behind the languages.

This app serves up curated suggestions from friends and locals—but with a twist: Every coffee shop, museum, and record store was added to corner by someone who loves it. Eliza Wu and Jake Xia founded the app in 2022 because of their belief in the power of personal connections to places. “One recommendation from a trusted friend is worth 1,000 reviews,” Wu says.

Part invite tool, part social media app, this party-planning platform gets the fun started the moment invitations are sent out. Cofounders Shreya Murthy and Joy Tao launched Partiful in 2020 to help people build and grow their real-world relationships.

Letterloop makes it easy to create email newsletters with friends and family. Each member contributes by asking (and answering) intentional questions and sharing fun updates. Founded in 2020 by Bharat Kilaru, Jonathan Weinstein, and Candace Wu, Letterloop was built to make space for meaningful connections.

Tiffany Zhong founded noplace to help people make interest-based friendships. Her stripped-back social network harkens back to the days of the early internet. No images to upload. No algorithm. Just a chronological feed driven by your genuine interests.

Keep track of your favorite restaurants with Postcard—or follow tastemakers to see where they’re eating. Founder David Cho created the app to be a one-stop shop for restaurant discovery.

Get inspiration from like-minded shoppers with Selleb, which scours your receipts to create a social feed. Sisters and cofounders Chloe and Claire Lee founded the app as a way to help people connect over their actual purchases. “Every purchase has a story behind it, and no purchase is too small,” they shared.

Organize your closet with Indyx, an app that helps you see every shirt, pair of pants, bag, and belt you own. Cofounders Yidi Campbell and Devon Rule met while working in fashion, and they created the app to “help you shop less, wear more, and build a closet you truly love,” Rule says.

Shop for all things Asian cuisine—produce, snacks, sweets, and more—with Weee! and Yami.

With the help of AI and the camera on your iPhone, virtual tennis coach SwingVision evaluates your form, pinpoints areas for improvement, and helps you hone your training routine. Cofounder and CEO Swupnil Sahai is a data science lecturer at UC Berkeley.

With the robust travel app Wanderlog, organize your flights, hotels, attractions, and restaurants in one place. It was founded by twin brothers Harry Yu and Peter Xu.

Dive into the largest library of anime titles and see the best of the genre with Crunchyroll. Many episodes are available one hour after they air in Japan.

Relive poignant life moments in Hindsight, a heartfelt interactive story that explores life and loss. While crafting the game, writer Emma Kidwell drew on her own experiences as a Japanese American with one foot in each culture—and not feeling fully part of either.

Don’t just walk...Monster Walk! No matter how you stroll, taking steps in the real world powers up your collection of creatures in this RPG built by Jenny Xu and her team at Talofa Games.

A massive meteor has destroyed Ballbylon—and strange beasts lurk in the pit where the city once stood. The work of ace indie developer Kenny Sun, Ball x Pit plunges you into an RPG roguelite bursting with frantic, ricochet-fueled combat.