The Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH Singapore 2025) concluded on a historic note, marking its 10th edition and Singapore’s 60th year of independence.
Held from October 29 to 31 at Marina Bay Sands, the event brought together over 20,000 innovators, 400 exhibitors, and delegations from 30 international markets, positioning the city-state once again as Asia’s most connected innovation hub.
Organized by Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) and supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) under the Prime Minister’s Office, SWITCH 2025 reinforced Singapore’s national strategy to translate deep-tech excellence into real-world economic and social impact.
SWITCH Singapore 2025: A Global Stage for Deep-Tech, AI, and Quantum Innovation
Across the three intensive days, SWITCH 2025 delivered keynotes and panels exploring the frontiers of AI, quantum computing, sustainability, health tech, and embodied robotics.
With Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong officiating the opening remarks and announcing new international partnerships as well as upgraded programmes, SWITCH 2025 highlighted Singapore’s vision of turning research excellence into commercial impact, signaling a new era of cross-border collaboration in science-driven innovation.
Tao Zhang, Co-Founder of Manus AI, opened with a message that set the tone for the week:
“We are moving from AI that answers to AI that acts.”
His keynote on agentic AI demonstrated how autonomous systems capable of multi-step reasoning are reshaping decision-making, logistics, and manufacturing.
On Day 2, Razer CEO Tan Min-Liang described how AI is redefining gaming and digital creativity, citing Singapore’s rise as an AI talent hub, where Razer alone employs 150 AI scientists:
“AI is a tool to amplify human creativity. The industry must learn to use it responsibly.”
Day 3 featured Chris Yeh, Co-author of Blitzscaling, who reframed startup growth in the AI era:
“Mediocrity is now free. What matters is understanding what you’re really trying to build.”
Complementing the main stage, Ebba Busch, Sweden’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Business and Industry, emphasized Nordic–ASEAN collaboration in green innovation — underscoring SWITCH’s expanding diplomatic dimension.
Enterprise Singapore Anchors the Next Phase of Deep-Tech Growth
Beyond individual keynotes, the 2025 edition demonstrated Enterprise Singapore’s evolving role as a national orchestrator of innovation.
Two major announcements at SWITCH 2025 advanced this mission:
1. NTU Singapore × Activate Global Fellowship
First, a new fellowship program was formed between Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and US-based non-profit Activate.
The fellowship is a new SGD 12 million program announced by DPM Gan Kim Yong to support up to 40 science entrepreneurs over three years. The initiative bridges academic R&D with commercialization through structured fellowships for scientists transitioning into entrepreneurship.
2. JAPFA’s AI & Quantum Computing Centre of Excellence
Secondly, Singapore-headquartered agri-food company with Indonesian roots JAPFA has launched a new AI & Quantum Computing Center of Excellence, with support from Enterprise Singapore and the EDB, as well as partnership with Singapore Institute of Technology, Nanyang Polytechnic, and quantum startup AngelQ.
This center focuses on AI-powered food quality inspection, sensor prototyping, and quantum optimization for production systems — a practical demonstration of deep tech for agrifood sustainability.
3. Enterprise Singapore–Medanta MoU: Strengthening Singapore–India Biomedical Collaboration
Another milestone announced during SWITCH 2025 was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Enterprise Singapore and Medanta, one of India’s leading multi-specialty hospital groups.
The partnership strengthens biomedical collaboration between both countries and opens new pathways for Singapore startups to expand into India through Medanta’s healthcare network and clinical expertise.
Together, these initiatives position Enterprise Singapore at the center of Asia’s science-to-market transformation, strengthening pathways between research institutions, investors, and corporates.
SWITCH Singapore 2025 Panels: Sustainability, Quantum, and Cross-Border Intelligence
Panels across SWITCH Beyond and the Global Stage emphasized that innovation must serve long-term global challenges.
In “Fueling the Energy Transition” panel at the SWITCH 2025 Main Stage, experts from Aether Fuels, CRecTech, and Octayne Green Fuels examined sustainable aviation fuels and the conversion of agricultural waste into exportable energy feedstocks — areas where Southeast Asia is emerging as a living testbed.
Meanwhile, the “Harnessing the Quantum Horizon” panel featuring Quantinuum, Quantonation, Main Sequence, and Mitsui & Co. outlined hybrid quantum-classical solutions for finance, logistics, and materials science, signaling the region’s growing role in quantum commercialization.
SLINGSHOT 2025: Global Startups Compete for Deep-Tech Recognition
One of SWITCH’s most anticipated events, SLINGSHOT 2025, attracted 6,800 startups from 150 markets.
After rounds of domain finals and live pitching, the Grand Finals were held on October 31 on the Main Stage. And at this finals, UK-based Goldilock Secure was named the 2025 SLINGSHOT Grand Winner, recognized for its remote-controlled hardware that physically disconnects networks to prevent cyber intrusions.
Loop Dx (Spain), developing rapid immune-based diagnostics for sepsis, and NalaGenetics (Singapore), advancing predictive genomics, were awarded first and second runners-up respectively.
These winners reflected the competition’s deep-tech DNA — solutions that merge scientific rigor with global applicability.
K-Startup Pavilion: Korea’s Innovation Footprint Expands
At the heart of the SWITCH Trade Floor, the K-Startup Pavilion drew steady attention from investors and delegates across ASEAN.
Led by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) and co-organized by KISED, Busan Startup Investment Agency (BSIA), Daejeon Technopark, Pohang Technopark, and Startup KAIST, the pavilion presented over 30 companies spanning AI, manufacturing, biotech, and sustainability.
Highlights included:
- Studio Galilei, developing AI-driven mobility platform RIKAride for tourism.
- CIT Co., Ltd., innovating ultra-flat copper-clad substrates for advanced semiconductor packaging.
- HYBO Inc., producing AI-based solid-state LiDAR.
- CareMinder, integrating voice-based AI nursing support.
- DECOM POSITION, offering solutions to microplastic pollution.
Two Korean startups — Studio Galilei and CIT Co. Ltd. — were also selected among the SLINGSHOT Top 60 Finalists, reflecting Korea’s growing recognition in global deep-tech competitions.
The K-Startup Night networking session on October 29 further connected Korean founders with venture capital firms and ecosystem partners through the K-Startup Center Singapore (KSC Singapore).
Together, these engagements signal Korea’s increasing role as a strategic innovation partner in ASEAN.
KOCCA’s K-Content Pavilion: Showcasing K-Content Tech and Creative Innovation
Meanwhile, the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, operated the Korea Content Pavilion, spotlighting nine tech-convergence content startups aiming to expand across Southeast Asia.
Participating companies included VideoMonster, BrainDeck, ShareBox, WiseOn Media, ERUTY, ConnectBrick, CodeCrayon, Famppy, and HiStranger.
During the event, these companies conducted more than 800 business consultations, achieving export discussions worth approximately USD 36.84 million (KRW 52.3 billion) and signing MoUs with local partners such as ConnectBrick and ShareBox.
KOCCA also hosted KOCCA Night, a networking program featuring Singaporean and ASEAN content-tech leaders including Invade, ChopChopSystems, BeLive, and Gushcloud, sharing collaboration insights and strategies for sustainable market entry.
According to Kim Soo-jin, Team Leader at KOCCA’s Corporate Development Division, Singapore serves as both a key K-content consumer market and “a strategic gateway for expanding Korean content technologies across Southeast Asia.”
SWITCH Singapore 2025: A Decade of Global Collaboration and Policy Convergence
Beyond corporate and startup showcases, SWITCH 2025 symbolized how policy and partnerships now define the innovation landscape.
Events featuring Japan’s METI and Singapore ministries deepened industrial collaboration frameworks. Panels convened by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and TCS Singapore Digital Centre explored Indo-Pacific co-creation between venture, academia, and government.
These exchanges reaffirmed SWITCH’s growing status as a diplomatic platform for technology, where governments use innovation engagement to build economic trust.
A Global Perspective on Research-to-Revenue Strategy for South Korea
With the conclusion of SWITCH Singapore 2025, Korean founders and investors now gain real-time view of how Singapore executes its research-to-revenue strategy, an approach that has been increasingly relevant to Korea’s own deep-tech transition.
Enterprise Singapore’s Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) now connects the city-state with Seoul and Tokyo, providing Korean startups structured access to Southeast Asian markets.
Participation through KISED, KSC Singapore, and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) demonstrated how government-led collaboration can unlock cross-border acceleration opportunities in areas such as AI, health tech, and green manufacturing.
The event also offered policymakers a model of how public funding, corporate partnerships, and international cooperation can reinforce startup scaling and ecosystem resilience — a framework Korea can apply as it strengthens its global innovation agenda.
Deep-Tech Innovations: Asia’s Common Language of Progress
SWITCH Singapore 2025 closed with a unifying message: deep tech is no longer a frontier of the future but the foundation of Asia’s next innovation decade. The success of this year’s edition, spanning around quantum computing, AI applications, sustainable energy, and cross-border partnerships has proved once again that impactful innovation grows through shared purpose and collective investment.
The success of SWITCH Singapore 2025 stands as a clear reminder to South Korea and its ecosystem allies that innovation thrives where collaboration leads. Singapore has now moved beyond its role as Asia’s regular innovation hub, and has firmly established itself as a launchpad for global collaboration — one that delivers both strategic value and tangible results.
As deep tech matures into mainstream industry, SWITCH Singapore continues to show how science, policy, and entrepreneurship intersect to create global value.
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