Remarks by Minister for Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Dr Tan See Leng at Launch of A*StartCentral 2.0 and Commemoration of A*StartCentral’s 10th Anniversary

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

1. Good afternoon. My heartiest congratulations to A*StartCentral on a decade of supporting our deep tech startups, and the launch of A*StartCentral 2.0 to take this work into the next phase.

2. These milestones are significant not just for A*STAR, but also for Singapore’s deep tech startup ecosystem.

A*StartCentral’s contributions to the deep tech ecosystem

3. Deep tech innovations and their applications will address real-world needs, create new industries and growth opportunities, and strengthen Singapore’s position in an increasingly competitive global economy.

4. A*StartCentral contributes to this effort by helping deep tech startups create transformative products, processes, and technologies, translating promising ideas into commercially viable ventures.

a. To date, more than 100 ventures have leveraged A*StartCentral’s venture programmes and incubation facilities.

b. These ventures have raised more than S$1.6 billion and created over 1,800 jobs.

5. This progress reflects the dedication of the individuals and organisations present here today.

Guiding deep tech startups to commercial success

6. Beyond good science, successful entrepreneurship requires understanding real customer needs and building a credible pathway to scale. These are among the skills and perspectives a founder will pick up through A*StartCentral programmes like Open Mike and Essentials Bootcamp.

7. Earlier, I met Dr Rachel Sim, co-founder of Ocellivision and an A*STAR scientist. Rachel participated in both Open Mike and Essentials Bootcamp, which helped build her entrepreneurial acumen.

a. She engaged potential customers early and explored commercial opportunities even before spinning off the company. This helped Ocellivision develop its technology around real clinical needs from the outset.

b. Ocellivision is now developing an imaging technology that aims to provide real-time pathology-grade information during surgery. If successful, this could reduce the risk of residual cancer and potentially improve patient outcomes while lowering healthcare costs.

A*StartCentral’s expansion will strengthen deep tech startup support

8. A*StartCentral has been providing shared capabilities and resources that deep tech startups often require but find difficult to build on their own, such as purpose-built infrastructure and cross-disciplinary expertise.

9. A*StartCentral 2.0 marks the next phase of this support. By bringing together stronger technology development and commercialisation capabilities under one roof, it will help startups shorten their path to market and derisk the long gestation periods typical of deep tech.

10. The expansion from 10,000 to 18,000 square feet offers:

a. Life sciences and chemistry facilities that have doubled in size, providing more specialised equipment and private laboratory suites; and

b. More advanced engineering and prototyping capabilities, such as the new radio frequency shielding room, for pre-compliance testing to accelerate product development.

11. For sector-specific developments where sophisticated scientific resources outside of A*StartCentral are required, the startups will be connected to ecosystem partners, such as A*STAR’s Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (or ISCE²) for access to decarbonisation equipment.

12. These efforts will enable startups to move more confidently and efficiently towards commercialisation.

Bringing local deep tech startups overseas

13. Promising ventures must also look beyond our shores for growth opportunities. New market access programmes, such as Envision Global, will help founders reach international customers, suppliers, regulatory bodies, and capital.

a. For example, Matwerkz, an A*STAR spin-off by Dr Yew Wei Leong that develops unique thermal management solutions, explored venture opportunities in Japan through Envision Global, and is leveraging the A*STAR Partner Centre in Suzhou for market entry into China.

14. Together with A*StartCentral 2.0’s capabilities, these internationalisation efforts ensure that Singapore startups scale globally to maximise the impact of their locally developed technologies.

Conclusion

15. A*StartCentral’s first decade has laid a strong foundation for deep tech venture creation in Singapore. The task ahead is to help more startups with promising technologies navigate the increasingly complex challenges of building their research into successful businesses.

16. I look forward to seeing many more researchers and founders transform their ideas into impactful technologies and create globally competitive companies through A*StartCentral.

17. Wishing A*StartCentral every success in the next decade and beyond. Thank you.