To cultivate the development of more cutting edge technology, Singapore government launched SGInnovate. An overarching entity SGInnovate launched by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. It is expected to consolidate innovation efforts in Singapore.
It was announced during the budget 2016 that startups will be promoted by playing an accelerator-type role. SGInnovate will work with entrepreneurs to build, commercialise and scale technology-based innovation in areas including digital manufacturing, digital health, artificial intelligence, and robotics.
While addressing the media at the launch, Tharman Shanmugaratnam said, “SGInnovate is a curator, selecting and bringing together deep tech-focused players in the same space with the aim of catalysing productive interaction.”
He also mentioned that Singapore hasn’t achieved the full potential that comes with its capabilities among the entrepreneurial, scientific and financing. "To achieve that, we have to bring our capabilities together in a new way. We have to achieve better synergy, better interaction between players and more spark coming out of that interaction. SGInnovate is one of the ways to help us get there," said Tharman.
"I must caveat that SGInnovate is itself a startup, and it would require a different set of capabilities from the usual government agency work," added Tharman.
Based at Shophouse at 32 Carpenter Street – SGInnovate will curate and bring together entrepreneurs to collaboratively develop technology innovations for the world.
SGInnovate has managed to partner with McLaren Applied Technologies and chipmaker Nvidia. It also has plans to connect them with experts from university partners like the National University of Singapore (NuS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).
