Walden, NTU launch $50m fund to support deep-tech start-ups

Aim is to help them avoid the 'valley of death' and make the jump to market

- Osmond Chia

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and major venture capital firm Walden International have kick-started a $50 million fund to support deep-tech start-ups making the leap from the laboratory to the market.

The Nanyang Frontier Fund will be allocated to NTU projects in the deep-tech space, including those in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and high-end engineering.

Walden International chairman Tan Lip-Bu and his associates have invested $5 million to launch the fund, with NTU allocating another $5 million, said the university in an announcement on Nov 4.

Investors are invited to contribute to the fund. NTU did not give an estimate date for when the $50 million goal would be achieved.

Start-ups often struggle to commercialise due to insufficient funding, especially given the long duration for research and the risk associated with deep-tech projects, said Professor Louis Phee, NTU vice-president of innovation and entrepreneurship, in his opening address at the launch event at NTU on Nov 4.

"Many of the deep-tech innovations developed at NTU require extensive research and development, and long development cycles before they are ready to scale and succeed in the marketplace," he said.