Singapore is a premier innovation hub strategically positioned in Southeast Asia. Its Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) plans, refreshed every five years, are a cornerstone in Singapore’s innovation-driven, knowledge-based economy. Key focuses include enriching Singapore’s scientific base, scaling up platforms to drive technology translation, and strengthening enterprises’ innovation capabilities.
Singapore committed $18.9B from 2021 - 2025, comprising 1% of its GDP, to R&D via the RIE plan. The plan received an injection of $2.27B last year to deepen capabilities in advanced manufacturing, sustainability, and digital economy. To further stimulate private investments in Deep Tech startups, the government allocated $330M to an equity co-investment scheme, bringing the fund total to $757M+.
Partnerships with global and local venture builders were forged to catalyse new Deep Tech ventures. For instance, Enterprise Singapore formed strategic partnerships with Founders Factory, Kreo Venture, and Xora Innovation.
The Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) is the national platform that bridges tech startups to and from key innovation markets globally. Through GIA’s dynamic network, this has empowered market access for more than 600 startups across 24 cities, and catalysed cross-border research with over 40 countries.
Collaboration between startups and corporates is also enabled through Singapore’s Open Innovation Network. They include the AI and Sustainability Open Innovation Challenges.
To foster collaborations in innovation, Singapore hosts global conferences such as the Singapore Week for Innovation and Technology (SWITCH), Asia’s leading startup and innovation event, drawing a record of 20,000+ attendees, including corporates, investors, startups, and innovation partners in 2024. SLINGSHOT, a premier Deep Tech startup competition, attracted 5,500+ startups from 150+ countries in 2024, a hallmark of Singapore’s attractiveness as a startup hub.
