Singapore’s FVC and South Korea’s S&S Lab collaborate to support biotech and foodtech startups

In an effort to strengthen ties between Korean and international innovative food and biotech startups, Farquhar VC (FVC), a Singaporean innovation ecosystem enabler, and S&S Lab, the private sector-led shared research lab that runs IRIS Lab, have announced their most recent strategic partnership.

In a statement, the two said they had inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the transaction. As part of this collaboration, they will share insights into the innovation ecosystem and support each other’s biopharma and foodtech portfolio companies.

Specifically, S&S Lab will be referred to FVC for growth and expansion needs by South Korean techbio and complementary-protein startups, and FVC will be recommended by S&S Lab as the preferred location for international biotech startups to establish their research and development (R&D) operations in North Asia.

In order to help Korean biotech startups grow internationally, S&S Lab and FVC will collaborate on upcoming joint projects.

“In recent years, we have witnessed many high-quality global biopharma and foodtech ventures head to South Korea in search of new commercial opportunities, while South Korean biotech and novel food scaleups are seeking to expand globally via Singapore,

“We hope that this collaboration will enable these deeptech companies to accelerate their go-to-market timelines and bring forth their impact to society,” FVC Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer Jason Su said.

Offier Kwon, the chief executive of S&S Lab, announced that this collaboration will mark the company’s first international expansion.

S&S Tech Corp, a semiconductor company listed on the Korea Exchange, is the parent company of S&S Lab.

S&S Lab is a biotech accelerator and the first private company in South Korea to provide physical infrastructure (shared lab space and equipment) as well as other services (like proof of concept, tech support for R&D, and investment attracting) to support the expansion of bio-based businesses.

IRIS Lab has brought on 11 startups so far, and it plans to open more domestic locations later this year.

The founding partners of FVC came from NUS Enterprise’s investments division when it was founded in 2020.

With its network of large and mid-sized corporations, FVC has invested in nearly 40 startups to date. The company works closely with startups to support their growth by providing targeted market access.