Dec 13, 2017 12:00:00 AM
The partnership aims to boost innovation in the deep tech industry through investments in early stage startups as part of Singapore’s Research, Innovation & Enterprise 2020 plan
Singapore, 13 December 2017 – Supply Chain Angels (SCAngels), corporate venture arm of YCH Group, Asia Pacific's leading integrated end-to-end supply chain management and logistics partner, announced the launch of a new partnership with SGInnovate, under the Startup SG Equity scheme. Under the new scheme, SCAngels will set aside an initial S$10 million to invest in early stage startups focusing on technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), cyber security and Internet of Things (IoT).
Aligned with Singapore’s Research, Innovation & Enterprise 2020 Plan (RIE2020), the partnership would identify and co-invest in innovative Singapore-based deep tech startups with intellectual property and global market potential in the Services and Digital Economy domain. Appointed through a stringent selection process, SCAngels would be responsible to lead investment negotiations with startups. The new partnership with SGInnovate is a testament to SCAngels’ position as a leading corporate venture fund in Singapore, and YCH’s commitment to innovation and excellence.
“Deep technology startups typically have a longer roadmap for development and commercialisation, and this may discourage some private sector VCs whose LPs expect shorter-term returns,” said Steve Leonard, Founding CEO, SGInnovate. “We have now on board, many highly qualified VCs such as Supply Chain Angels, who have committed to be active investors in early-stage deep tech startups founded in Singapore. We look forward to working with all of them.”
The partnership comes at an opportune time as Singapore takes over the chairmanship of ASEAN in 2018, which would focus on developing the digital economy and cross-border e-commerce. Coupled with Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative, Singapore-based deep tech startups could tap on the expertise and network of Large Local Enterprises such as YCH Group and identify potential commercialisation opportunities in the Asia Pacific region.
“SCAngels is proud to be appointed as a co-investment partner under the Startup SG Equity Scheme.” said James Ong, Partner at Supply Chain Angels. “With this partnership and leveraging on YCH Group’s network, resources and facilities such as in Supply Chain City®, we are confident that we are able to help deep technology companies which are highly differentiated and hard to replicate to be able to scale faster and wider across geographies”
Startups under SCAngels’ portfolio can also leverage on the resources and facilities at Supply Chain City to testbed their solutions. One example is Tookitaki, a start-up offering artificial intelligence-based platform, which earlier in the year closed a USD$3 million Series A round led by Jungle Ventures with funding participation from SCAngels. Founder and CEO of Tookitaki, Mr Abhishek Chatterjee said, “Tookitaki’s vision to bring an innovative approach to compliance and operations workflow would change how organizations think about Artificial Intelligence and its adoption in these workflows. Our approach in easy integration and auditability of Machine Learning techniques would make companies think beyond black-box based machine learning systems. YCH is utilising the AI in the platform for applications in the logistics space.”
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About YCH Group
Founded in 1955 and headquartered in Singapore, YCH Group is the leading end-to-end supply chain solutions partner to some of the world's largest companies and favourite brands across the Asia Pacific region. A strong proponent of innovation, YCH is recognized for its 7PL™ approach in seamlessly integrating supply chain strategy with execution. YCH’s launch of Supply Chain City®, Asia’s nexus of supply chain excellence on 22 September 2017 will create new benchmarks in the logistics and supply chain industry, supporting Singapore’s key growth areas, namely in urban solutions, smart logistics and robotics.
For further information, please visit www.ych.com
About Supply Chain Angels
Supply Chain Angels (SCAngels) is the corporate venture arm of YCH Group. SCAngels invests in startups that are synergistic and complementary to YCH's supply chain and logistic business with the aim of "Creating Unicorns in the Supply Chain". SCAngels’ has an existing SGD$20 million partnership with Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF) under the Prime Minister’s Office. Its portfolio companies include AI-based software platform Tookitaki and on-demand urban storage solution Spaceship. Both startups are housed in SCAngels’ co-working space in Supply Chain City®, among other logistic startups.
For further information, please visit www.scangels.com.sg
About SGInnovate
At SGInnovate, we believe that Singapore has all the resources and capabilities needed to tackle ‘hard problems' that matter to people around the world. As a part of the robust startup ecosystem here, our mission is to enable ambitious and capable individuals and teams to imagine, start, build, and scale globally-relevant technologies. With the support of our partners, SGInnovate’s priority is to work with deeply-technical founders that have research-originated IP at the core of their company. We back these entrepreneurs through equity-based investments, access to talent, and support in building customer traction. With a focus on important areas including Healthcare, Resources, and Transportation, we are prioritising our efforts around Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Blockchain. These technologies represent impactful and scalable answers to global challenges. SGInnovate is a private-limited company wholly owned by the Singapore Government.
For further information, please visit www.sginnovate.com
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For Media Enquiries
Michelle Wong
Executive Chairman Office, YCH Group
DID : (65) 6417 2785
Email: michelle.wong@ych.com