To encourage at least $220 M in investments in deep tech startups, SEEDS Capital appointed 20 new partners
Twenty new local and international partners have been added by SEEDS Capital (SEEDS), the investment division of Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), to co-invest in cutting-edge deep tech startups based in Singapore.
According to a statement from the company, SEEDS will allocate S$150 million ($110 million) under Startup SG Equity scheme 1 over the course of the next three years to stimulate an additional S$300 million ($220 million) through its private sector partners in fields such as advanced manufacturing, pharmbio/medtech, agrifood tech, sustainability (including energy, circular economy, urban mobility, and water), spacetech, and quantumtech.
The 52 co-investors that SEEDS now has thanks to the new hires have strong technical and domain expertise, business acumen, global networks, early-growth investment capabilities, and the capacity to lead funding rounds, all of which will aid startups in their successful scaling.
The statement claims that new partners like Valuence Ventures (United States/South Korea), Paspalis Capital (Australia), Global Brain (Japan), HIVEN (South Korea), and East Ventures (Indonesia) offer resources and international networks to help startups explore and enter new markets, acquire customers, or diversify supply chains.
For example, SEEDS’ Spacetech investees, such as Equatorial Space Systems, have been able to test-bed their solutions thanks to Paspalis’ robust presence in Australia’s Northern Territory.
In addition to helping SEEDS’ investee Mesh Bio land its first Indonesian client, East Ventures’ broad networks in Indonesia have also assisted AMILI in growing its business there.
“Expanding overseas, especially into Japan, presents challenges such as cultural differences, communication barriers, and navigating high-context corporate environments,
“Many Singapore startups find it difficult to adapt to Japan’s intricate decision-making processes and indirect communication styles,” said Tatsuya Matsumoto, Partner, Global Brain.
According to him, the company actively assists the businesses in its portfolio in localizing their strategies and improving their value propositions for the Japanese market.
“Additionally, we guide them in building relationships and fitting their solutions into the larger strategic goals of Japanese corporates,
“This hands-on support ensures smoother market entry and fosters long-term partnerships,” he added.
It should be mentioned that among the new hires are local investors who are acquainted with Singapore’s business environment and who can counsel and guide startups in areas like scaling and regulation.
By increasing their deployment in Singapore, these funds can support the growth of the local capital pool and ecosystem.
iGlobe Partners, K3 Ventures, Antares Ventures, Monk’s Hill Ventures, Tin Men Capital, and Vickers Venture Partners are a few of these.
“Despite the relative nascency of Singapore’s deep tech landscape compared to more mature startup ecosystems, we feel that the deep tech ecosystem here is reaching a critical point, thanks largely to the numerous government initiatives,
“While we have made selective deep tech investments in the past, we are extremely excited about our current pipeline, which includes a significantly higher proportion of deep tech startups, with founders targeting diverse areas such as material science in agri-tech, advanced robotics, artificial intelligence for healthcare diagnostics, and next-generation semiconductor technologies across Southeast Asia.,” said Arun Pai, Principal, Monk’s Hill Ventures.
The statement claims that deep tech startups in particular need more assistance because they frequently deal with lengthy technology and product development cycles and need large sums of money, particularly during the growth stage, for things like production lines, industrial scaling, or clinical trials.
The development of these technologies can be better guided and supported by new partner funds that have industry and technical expertise, such as hard tech VCs Xora, Matter Venture Partners, and ST Engineering Ventures; sustainability VCs Eurazeo and Shift4Good; and healthcare VCs Kurma Partners, 22Health Ventures, and Trinity Innovation Biosciences Singapore.
“In 2025, we expect (investment) activity to accelerate further due to the maturity of key technologies and their increasing economic viability, driving broader adoption,” said Julien Mialaret, Operating Partner, and Ernest Xue, Director, Eurazeo.
“Additionally, concerted efforts in Europe and Asia to support green technologies and low- carbon economies will further fuel investment momentum,
“Our focus will remain on helping founders scale solutions effectively across target markets,” they added.
