Singapore to launch $76m IP commercialization vehicle

The National Research Foundation (NRF), which already plays a prominent role in venture capital funding, will contribute the remainder. The vehicle will focus on "start-ups with commercially viable business models that are underpinned by cutting-edge science and technology generated from publicly-funded research in Singapore," according to the country's 2018 budget statement.

The initiative is part of a wider program intended to foster local innovation. Singapore has announced various tax breaks and other incentives for companies that invest in the R&D, people and processes required to develop new technologies. The emphasis on IP is driven by a desire to leverage the work carried out by universities and institutes under the Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR) agenda into new business ideas.

IP became a policy priority for Singapore in its own right in 2013, when the government announced a 10-year master plan to turn the country into a global IP hub within Asia. The idea was to become the location of choice for IP transactions and management, IP filings, and IP dispute resolution.

More recently, the Ministry of Law and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has issued development proposals and several concrete goals concerning IP commercialization. These include increasing the number of IP-related jobs from 500 to 1,000 within five years, helping 1,500 companies understand the value of their IP by 2019, and providing IP audits and assistance to 150 local businesses, also by 2019.

Private sector involvement in this initiative comes from the S$1 billion Makara Innovation Fund, launched by IP Value Lab, the enterprise engagement arm of IPOS, and local GP Makara Capital. The vehicle is expected to back 10-15 companies, investing $30-150 million in each one. It has already invested in internet services provider MyRepublic and financial technology platform Tryb Group.

While the Makara Innovation Fund sees its sweet spot as Series C rounds, the NRF-Temasek IP Commercialisation Vehicle focuses on earlier stages. It follows the introduction of an enhanced IP framework last year designed to give public agencies the flexibility to grant exclusive and non-exclusive licenses, and even assign IP rights to an industry, with a view to facilitating commercialization.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Early-stage
• Venture
• Technology
• Singapore
• Temasek Holdings