Singapore’s NRF to inject $95m into funds

Singapore’s National Research Foundation, set up in 2006 as a department within the prime minister’s office, is to make S$120m available to six venture capital firms in its second round of funding under the Early Stage Venture Fund. The scheme was launched in 2008.

The NRF will co-invest S$10m ($7.9m) on a one-to-one basis with each of the funds, as part of its goal to create an active technology start-up scene in the Asian city-state. It has selected SBI Ven Capital, Jungle Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures, Monk’s Hill Venture, Walden International and New Asia Investments.

With the NRF’s mission being to help set the national direction for research and development by developing policies, plans and strategies for research, innovation and enterprise, this initiative comes at an exciting time for the technology landscape. Indeed, the nation has been attracting an increasing number of international investors. In early April 2014, the messaging company Zopim was acquired by San Francisco-based customer support firm Zendesk for $29.8m and in March 2014 cloud developer Nitrous.io received $6.65m from global investors that included Facebook’s co-founder Eduardo Saverin.

Low Teck Seng, chief executive officer of the NRF, said: “We recognise that it is very competitive for high-tech start-ups to secure follow-on financing as they have to fight with the best in the region to get venture capitalists’ attention. Through this investment, the government is addressing the gap in Series A funding, which is critical in sustaining the rapid growth of start-ups beyond the seed stage. With their expertise and savvy investments, venture capitalists will help commercialise promising technologies into innovative products.”