Visiting this year’s Singapore Week of Innovation & Technology (SWITCH) recently, I was, once again, reminded that the country is a thriving regional hub for innovation – and an ideal jumping off point for western companies looking to expand into Asia.
Showcasing global deeptech talent
Under the theme ‘Powering Innovation, Creating Our Future’, the expo featured more than 400 exhibitors from as far afield as Japan, Korea, Spain and Brazil, grouped into four rapidly growing deeptech sectors: health & biomedical; quantum technologies; AI & robotics; and AI for materials discovery.
The event also featured more than 30 international pavilions – a clear demonstration of the level of interest from countries around the world in doing business in Singapore.
Taking a lead from the Singaporean government’s Research, Innovation & Enterprise (RIE2025) Plan, the conference programme also highlighted the importance of international collaboration. Through the Plan, Singapore is positioning itself as what its government calls ‘a Global-Asia node’ – in other words, a bridge between Asia and the rest of world for innovation, research and enterprise.
New initiatives to accelerate deeptech growth
Reinforcing this theme, in his opening address, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister, Gan Kim Yong, announced several initiatives to provide end-to-end support – from research through to commercialisation – for deeptech ventures. These included government support for 150 AI startups over the next three years, the creation of an environment for Singaporean healthtech firms to run pilot projects in India and the continuation of support across Southeast Asis for climatetech applications.
Collectively, these announcements showed a coordinated approach between the government, academia and major companies to advance the deployment of frontier technologies in Singapore.
SLINGSHOT 2025: celebrating startup success
A highlight of SWITCH 2025 was the final of SLINGSHOT, one of Asia’s largest startup pitch competitions, which had attracted more than 6,800 applicants from 150 countries.
The top 60 finalists pitched live at the event – with European businesses taking first and second place.
Goldilock (UK/Netherlands), with its innovative approach to physical network-isolation cybersecurity, won. In second place was Spanish firm Loop Diagnostics, whose technology supports the early detection of sepsis. And Singaporean innovator NalaGenetics, which offers personalised healthcare using genomic data, came third.
The combined prize and support package exceeded US$1.5 million, including workspace in JTC LaunchPad – a dedicated ecosystem for startups, incubators and investors in Singapore’s one-north innovation district, together with IP support and visa facilitation.
Strengthening global collaboration
Beyond the exhibition itself, SWITCH featured a rich slate of side events. These included the High Commission of Canada and the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada hosting a series of panel discussions and networking sessions exploring Canada–Asia innovation links and collaboration opportunities. Japanese organisations such as the Japan External Trade Organization and the Japan Southeast Asia Innovation Platform also hosted multiple networking sessions.
In its tenth anniversary year, SWITCH 2025 confirmed Singapore’s strategic shift from a financial centre to a deeptech hub. And the country is further cementing its reputation as a business-friendly gateway to the rest of Asia for ambitious international innovators.
If you’re looking to Asia for innovation and expansion in 2026, Singapore could well be the place to start!
To discuss how we could help your business expand into Singapore, contact Musashi Hosoi at musashi.hosoi@intralinkgroup.com
