Four Singapore-based companies – real estate company CapitaLand, data centre provider DeClout, agribusiness Wilmar and logistics provider YCH Group – have been awarded S$40m ($29.2m) to back local startups, Tech in Asia reported yesterday.
The money came from National Research Foundation (NRF), a Singaporean government department that supports domestic R&D activities, and is split equally across the four corporates, meaning NRF will match up to $7.3m of their investments in local technology startups.
The deal marks the first time that NRF has allocated capital to stimulate corporate venturing efforts, rather than supporting venture capital firms.
CapitaLand will invest from an $18m fund that includes the money awarded by NRF. It will focus on sectors including design and construction, operations and maintenance, sales and leasing, customer loyalty, office productivity and smart living.
YCH has dubbed its corporate venturing arm Supply Chain Angels and will seek out opportunities in internet-of-things technologies related to the supply chain, as well as on-demand manufacturing through 3D printing, big data, robotics, fintech and Uber-like technologies for logistics.
YCH’s investees will be able to relocate to the corporate’s headquarters and will also be given access to industry experts. Wilmar and DeClout have not yet revealed details of their corporate venturing plans.