January, February, March 2020
The links below lead to the original Singapore-focused startup news article for that headline, gathered from online Singapore tech news coverage across the first quarter of 2020 – the months of January, February and March, 2020.
Our quarterly Singapore startup news listings provide a one-page at-a-glance listing of the startup headlines for Singapore as a quick reference on the country’s startup scene and, where applicable, looking at Singapore’s startups making waves overseas.
Startup News Asia’s quarterly summaries can also be ordered online in hardcopy, printed, bound and delivered. Our hardcopy publications feature scan-able links to connect you from print to each headline’s online news article using the Startup News Asia mobile app, or any similar app you already have on your device.
January 2020 | February 2020 | March 2020
Singapore: January 2020
- Singapore: Razer Fintech applies for digital banking license, aiming to launch consortium-led digital bank for the underserved youth and millennials segment
- Singapore: A look at how GrabPay Mastercard compares to other credit and debit cards
- Singapore’s Accelerating Asia VC firm unveils 10 startups from accelerator program’s second cohort
- Singapore: Digital banking license race heats up, with 21 applicants – 7 applying for retail bank licences, 14 for wholesale banks – for 5 licenses available
- Singapore: Antler venture builder invests US$1.4M into new portfolio companies from third program
- Money20/20 Asia Startup Pitch competition applications close January 29th, with shortlisted startups presenting at main event in Singapore in March
- Singapore: Homage startup raises double-digit millions with platform connecting qualified care professionals with individuals, families and organisations
- Singapore: Singapura Finance believed to have partnered with MatchMove Pay digital payments startup to pursue digital bank license
- Singapore: Klub fintech startup raises $2M pre-seed to provide growth financing to high-affinity brands across sectors including F&B and direct-to-consumer
- Singapore: Lumitics food waste-tracking startup raises S$750K with sensor and image-recognition tech to weigh and identify restaurant waste
- Singapore’s iSTOX gains $5M from Korea’s Hanwha Asset Mgmt with regulated platform for issuance, settlement, custody and secondary trading of digitised securities
- Singapore: Punggol town set to become tech-enabled, sustainable town showcasing Singapore’s Smart Nation ambitions
- Singapore: TurtleTree Labs raises pre-seed funding with cell culture biotech that creates the full nutritional content of milk
- Korea Start-up Centre to open in Singapore in May, allowing South Korean firms to plug into the city state’s start-up ecosystem
- Singapore: Southeast Asia Newsroom Data Bootcamp applications are open, to help newsrooms integrate data analytics into editorial operations
- Singapore: China’s Zall Smart Commerce joins digital bank license race, partnering Japan’s Marubeni trading company and Singapore-based Global eTrade Services
- An intro to 5 startups selected for the People Matters TechHR Startup Program 2020, working on aspects of employment
- Singapore: A look at the Payment Services Act, new payments legislation offering global cryptocurrency firms a chance to expand their business in the city-state
- Singapore: SGInnovate’s founding CEO to depart, moving on to lead Singularity University
- Singapore: Contour blockchain-based trade finance platform launches, backed by eight banks including ING, HSBC, BNP Paribas and Standard Chartered
- Anyplace, online marketplace offering extended stays without long-term commitment, expanding to APAC, partnering Singapore’s lyf and Indonesia’s Outpost
- Singapore: foodpanda launches pandamart, on-demand delivery service for groceries, flowers and household essentials, available 24/7
- Singapore’s Digicro lending startup expands to Cambodia, providing the unbanked population with access to mobile app-driven microloans
- An intro to Sri Lanka’s nCinga tech startup, acquired by Singapore’s Zilingo e-commerce major for $15.5M
- ICYMI: e27’s Echelon Roadshow runs from February 18th to April 2nd, visiting 11 cities across APAC
Singapore: February 2020
- Singapore: Anchanto ecommerce logistics startup aiming to raise $35M to aid broad business base manage end-to-end ecommerce operations
- Singapore: Founders of Sea and Grab join the city-state’s Economic Development Board in leadership re-organisation
- Singapore: Deloitte SheXO Program launch set for February 17, to support development of established, emerging and aspiring women leaders
- Singapore: BetterSG collective launches, hoping to use technology to address inequality, racism, classism, injustice and other social issues
- An intro to Singapore-based Jenfi, aiming to expand access to small and medium business loans for owners in Southeast Asia
- Singapore: Gmedes launches G-MEDS medication delivery app, providing clinics with access to on-demand locally-approved meds, OTC drugs and supplements
- Singapore: 548-unit condo to offer residents virtual medical consultations via HiDoc kiosk with webcam, and sensors capturing temperature, heart rate and blood pressure
- Singapore: Lumitics tech startup raises $557K with ‘smart waste tracker’, using sensors and image recognition to identify what restaurants and kitchens discard
- Singapore: Clear secures $13M with smart B2B contracts built on cryptographic methods, allowing ease of execution while retaining data control
- A brief look at the competition between SEA countries for technical talent, in terms of both hiring and retention
- Singapore: EduSpaze accelerator unveils 9 startups for inaugural cohort, selected from 200 applicants and including startups from Singapore, Australia and Malaysia
- Fast-growing US-based cryptocurrency lending startup BlockFi preps for Singapore office opening to focus on Asia Pacific institutional clients
- Singapore: CYFIRMA cybersecurity firm raises Series A funding with cyber threat analytics looking at both dark and surface web spaces
- Singapore: World Blockchain STO Summit set for February 26th, with focus on securitized token offerings
- Singapore: 2020 Budget features additional SG$300M under Startup SG Equity, gov’t and private co-investment scheme, to be set for deep-tech start-up investment
- Singapore: 2020 Budget will see Singapore spend $719M over 3 years on improving government cyber- and data-security systems
- Singapore: WhatsHalal food scanner app startup secures funding on a valuation of S$4.5M
- Singapore: Facebook complies with ‘fake news’ law, but describes it as “contradict(ing) the government’s claim that (the law) would not be used as a censorship tool”
- Singapore: National University to open Centre for Trusted Internet and Community to study internet use and regulations
- Standard Chartered JV’s with Australia’s Assembly Payments to offer payment solutions to the global ecommerce industry from Singapore base
- Cambodia: Singapore’s PLMP Venture Capital awarded Asset and Fund Mgmt licence by SEC of Cambodia as part of wider 10-year aim to incubate 10K SMEs
- Indonesia: An overview of Nongsa D-Town, aiming to be a digital talent and innovation hub for Southeast Asia
- Indonesia’s ride-hailing giant, Grab, acquires Singapore’s Bento Invest robo-advisory startup, aiming for a rebrand as GrabInvest to move into retail wealth managment
- Digital payments between Thailand and Singapore and Cambodia expected to begin mid-2020 using QR code-based service
Singapore: March 2020
- Singapore: FlixStock startup gains $2.5M with fashion imaging, allowing firms to create website-ready model images without the need for elaborate photo shoots
- Future Food Asia 2020 set for June 2-3 in Singapore, including startup competition and awards, and conference
- Singapore: New cybersecurity labelling scheme to help consumers make informed purchasing choices about network-connected smart devices to launch this year
- A snapshot of Singapore’s tech, startup and funding news reported online in February of this year
- Singapore: ESPL esports startup gains backing from 500 Startups with mobile ecosystems for amateur esports leagues
- Singapore: Matrixport startup reportedly aiming to raise $40M with focus on developing financial services for professional cryptocurrency traders and investors
- A CEO interview intro to Singapore’s YouTrip, fintech startup aiming to simplify overseas spending for travelers
- Singapore: Hoolah payments startup gains 8-figure funding with buy now, pay later solution allowing initial 1/3 payment, followed later by 2 interest-free instalments
- Singapore: Sama recruitment startup raises $1.15M with digital platform to match migrant workers to jobs
- SingTel, Thailand’s AIS and South Korea’s SK Telecom partner for regional gaming JV in play to gain presence in the sector and develop gaming-related revenue
- Grab ride-hailing giant partners Germany’s Wirecard, connecting their payment ecosystems with initial roll-out in Singapore, Malaysia and The Philippines
- Singapore: ShopBack gains $75M funding with cashback app, claiming 19M users and 2K merchants
- Singapore: Right-Hand cybersecurity startup gains $1M seed funding with software-as-a-service platform focusing on employee behavior
- Singapore: Changi Airport Group partners Accenture for digital ‘factory’ to leverage emerging technologies in tackling the challenges Changi faces
- Asian Venture Philanthropy Network Conference 2020 set for June 9-12 in Singapore
- Singapore: EngageRocket raises over $2M Series A with ‘people analytics’ product suite to automate employee feedback
- Singapore’s AnyMind Group acquires India’s Pokkt Mobile Ads mobile video advertising platform, aiming for expansion into India and the Middle East
- Singapore: Land Authority unveils 3D Sandbox, aiming to boost use of city models and geospatial data to develop new applications and services
- Singapore: Horangi cybersecurity firm raises $20M to expand cloud security in Southeast Asia
- Singapore’s Expara Ventures early-stage VC firm launches accelerator seeking startups developing solutions to counter challenges presented by Covid-19
- Singapore-Australia Digital Economy Agreement unveiled, focusing on international rules, interoperability between systems and frontier issues from emerging tech
- An intro to Singapore’s ZeusX, one-stop online trading platform for gamers to exchange gaming services and virtual products
- Singapore’s Akadasia partners IndonesiaX to provide free access to education to all learners across Asia via FREEJOO, Akadasia’s learning management platform
- Singapore: UNL raises $2M to create universal addressing system focused on the digital economy, in part looking at 4BN people without formal street address
- Singapore: Clifford Chance law firm launches CompareNow text comparison tool for lawyers in its Singapore-based legal technology lab
- Hong Kong’s AMTD Digital to acquire Singapore’s PolicyPal insurtech startup, aiming to build a SE Asia-focused fintech platform HQ’d in Singapore
