Singapore’s tech news round-up for the second quarter of 2023 looks at technology developments in, and affecting, the city-state including; a proposed 5-country electric vehicles highway; Singapore Monetary Authority’s proposed standards for crypto and digital assets; Singapore’s growing ransomware and cybersecurity headaches; and more.
The month links below – April, May & June 2023 – will take you to each month’s Singapore tech news round-ups, with each headline linked to the Singapore news article behind it.
in June 2023 | in May 2023 | in April 2023
• Plus: Asia’s tech news today / weekly newsletters >
SGInnovate: Singapore early-stage emerging tech startups 2022
Singapore Tech News
quarterly – June 2023
- Singapore: Circle Internet Financial, issuer of USDC stablecoin, gains Major Payment Institution license from Monetary Authority of Singapore
- An intro to the 10 startups selected for cohort 8 of the Accelerating Asia accelerator program, working in online learning, electric vehicles tech, insurance-tech and more
“Sparklehaze (Singapore): Provides enterprise-grade In-Room voice AI assistant for the luxury hospitality industry.”
“Singapore-based early-stage VC fund Accelerating Asia announced today that it has invested in ten new companies joining Cohort 8 of its flagship accelerator program.”
- Singapore: WhatsApp launches Channels, allowing users to receive messaging from selected individuals and organizations
- Monetary Authority of Singapore issues White Paper proposing standards for use of digital assets including CBDCs, tokenised bank deposits and, potentially, stablecoins
“The digital monies covered under the White Paper include central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), tokenised bank deposits and potentially well-regulated stablecoins.”
“Unlike cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which are more volatile, such digital monies are usually pegged to a real-world currency, commodity or financial institution, and are thus generally considered more stable.”
“The MAS White Paper lays out a set of requirements to protect the use of such assets as a medium of exchange, and provides a technical overview of Purpose Bound Money (PBM).“
“This comes as financial institutions and fintech companies in Singapore take steps towards the use of digital assets.”
- Singapore’s Smart Fintech For You gains Indonesia central bank service provider licence, building on presence in Hong Kong, UAE, Thailand and Philippines and 70-currency options
- Monetary Authority of Singapore issues Major Payment Institution licence for Digital Payment Token services to Crypto.com
- Vietnam: Singapore’s UOB bank launches UOB FinLab innovation accelerator in Vietnam, focusing on digital technologies to boost SME business growth
CSIS: Mapping semiconductor supply chains – Critical role of Indo-Pacific
Singapore Tech news
quarterly – May 2023
- Singapore: Network for Electronic Transfers payments group partners China’s Alipay+, integrating payment option into SGQR system available to 11000 merchants
- Singapore: Dyson tech major to construct next-generation batteries plant in Singapore to focus on new products, part of an ongoing Sg$1.5BN investment in the city-state
- The Singapore Early-Stage Emerging Tech Startups 2022 landscape report is now available from SGInnovate, looking at physical sciences-, life sciences- and engineering-focused solutions
- Singapore: Integra Partners Fund II LP closes at $90M, looking to back pre-A to Series B startups in fintech, insurance-tech, and digital health in SE and South Asia
CSET: Mapping emerging technologies and their supply chains
- Singapore: SquareX raises $6M seed funding with cybersecurity focusing on browser-based cloud SaaS tools, providing ‘disposable’ headless browsers
- Singapore: WhatsApp and Stripe partner to allow Singapore businesses to accept payments directly within WhatsApp chats
- Singapore: Charge+ EV charging provider unveils plans or 5000km EV charging highway spanning 5 countries – Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam
“The EV charging highway will span the countries of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, with a total of 45 direct current (DC) fast charging locations to ensure a quick turnaround time for EV drivers.”
“They will be able to conveniently access these charging stations using the Charge+ app. Currently, Charge+ operates approximately 1,000 charging points.”
“In the first phase of the project, Charge+ has confirmed 18 charging locations, including urban charging hubs in key cities such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hanoi.”
- Singapore: TikTok launches free 3-week intensive technical bootcamp for tertiary students, aiming to train 5000 students over 5 years
- Singapore: LocofyAI raises $4.25M with front-end development acceleration platform using AI to convert web and app designs to functional code
World Economic Forum: Quantum Readiness Toolkit
- Singapore: An intro to Insectta, ‘mining’ soldier fly larvae not for cattle feed but for higher-value functional ingredients, melanin and chitosan
- Sophos State of Ransomware 2023 report: “Singapore reported the highest rate of ransomware attacks in this year’s study, with 84% of organizations being hit in the previous year…”
- Singapore: Crypto Asia Expo 2023 set for June 7-8, looking at all things crypto, blockchain, web3 and beyond
- Singapore’s Circles partners E& International for digital telco JV in Abu Dhabi
- Singapore’s Lazada unveils LazzieChat, an eCommerce-focused AI chatbot powered by OpenAI ChatGPT tech
- Japan: Sumitomo trading house preps to begin sales of insect-based feed for farmed fish in Japan later this year, with sights on generating 30,000 tonnes of insect feed by 2030
KPMG Venture Pulse Q2 2023 – Asia: An overview of key findings
Singapore tech news
quarterly – April 2023
- Singapore: An intro to Little Wallet, a Tech in Asia Startup Arena 2022 winner providing an all-in-one money management platform designed for families
- Singapore: SMRT Strides, arm of the largest public transport operator, inks MOU with China’s WeRide to test autonomous driving solutions in Singapore
- Monetary Authority of Singapore and Bank Negara Malaysia link QR systems, enabling payments to merchants via QR codes, with person-to-person transfers and remittances to come
- A brief intro to the 5 Singaporean startups selected for cohort 5 of the Global Innovation Alliance Program from Anthill Ventures
- Singapore: An intro to Singrow, agriculture, genomics and farming startup managing each step from seed breeding to harvesting
World Economic Forum: Green hydrogen in China – A roadmap
- Singapore: TablePointer raises $3M with plug-and-play energy efficiency tech for the food & beverage industry
- Singapore: Circle, global fintech firm, partners with Tribe, SG government-backed blockchain ecosystem builder, for Circle Hacker House, aiming to boost Web3 dev pool in Singapore and Asia Pacific
‘Should crypto be recognised as money under Singapore law? If it is, does it mean that any obscure form of currency – even seashells – would have to be recognised?’
- Singapore: Volopay gains in-principle approval for major payment institution licence from Monetary Authority of Singapore, allowing the firm to widen and strengthen payment services
- Singapore: ZEBOX int’l accelerator network launches APAC HQ backed by Enterprise Singapore, aiming to incubate and develop tech innovations in supply chains and management
- Better Bite Ventures’ First Bite fund unveils 4 alternative-protein startups backed, from Singapore, New Zealand and India, and opens applications for the next cohort
PwC Global Crypto Regulation Report 2023
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