Companies news
Eurazeo and Seeds Capital Collaborate to Invest S$150 Million in Deep Tech Startups
SEEDS Capital has set aside S$150 million over the next three years to invest in innovative Singapore-based deep-tech startups alongside other local and global investors.
The investment arm of Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), Seeds Capital also said on Tuesday (Feb 4) that it intends to co-invest in the sustainability sector, which includes energy, the circular economy, urban mobility and water.
Under the Startup SG Equity scheme, Seeds Capital plans to generate at least S$300 million of investments in certain areas, including advanced manufacturing, agri-food tech, space tech and quantum tech.
Startup SG is an initiative of EnterpriseSG that provides support for startup development in the country. Its equity scheme speeds up private-sector investment for startups through government equity co-investment.
Remi Choong, principal of early-stage deep-tech venture capital (VC) fund Elev8.vc, said the S$150 million injection is significant as it is “designed to be deployed over two to three years”. Previous injections typically aimed to be deployed over five years.
“Startup SG has consistently received injections around this funding level, and at a very regular cadence. The differences have been refinements to the focus areas down the years,” he added.
“This is a smart move by the government to keep our policies agile and up to date with the latest technological and macro trends.”
Seeds Capital also announced the appointment of 20 new partners to co-invest in the startups, bringing the total number of co-investors to 52.
New partner
The new partners include Global Brain from Japan, Valuence Ventures from the US and South Korea, as well as East Ventures from Indonesia.
They are able to provide resources and global networks, to support startups in exploring and entering new markets for customer acquisition or diversifying supply chains, said Seeds Capital.
Tatsuya Matsumoto, Global Brain’s partner, also noted that startups that want to expand into Japan may face challenges such as cultural differences and communication barriers.
Therefore, he believes that the company’s involvement in co-investing could help startups “localise their strategies” and “refine their value propositions for the Japanese market”.
Some local investors were also part of the new appointments, including Temasek-backed Xora and ST Engineering Ventures.
More support
Deep-tech startups require more support as they face long technology and product development periods, said Seeds Capital.
It also noted that these startups require substantial capital investment, especially during their growth stage, for production lines, industrial scaling or clinical trials.
Seeds Capital therefore believes that hard tech venture capital investors Xora and ST Engineering Ventures, as well as healthcare and sustainability partner funds, can support the development of deep tech with their industry and technical expertise.
Sustainability VC Eurazeo’s operating partner Julien Mialaret and director Ernest Xue expect investment activity to “accelerate further” in 2025, due to the “maturity of key technologies and their increasing economic viability, driving broader adoption”.
“Additionally, concerted efforts in Europe and Asia to support green technologies and low-carbon economies will further fuel investment momentum,” they added.
Cindy Khoo, chairman of Seeds Capital, said: “Seeds is committed to growing Singapore’s startup ecosystem and will double down on efforts to nurture a strong core of deep tech startups.”
As at February, nearly S$3 billion has been invested in more than 330 startups under the Startup SG Equity scheme. Seeds Capital has also raised its co-investment cap from S$8 million to S$12 million for each deep-tech startup.
SOURCE: Business Times