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40 tech startups taking on the world from Singapore
31 January 11
40 tech startups are taking on the world from Singapore with the help of the Infocomm Development Authority.
They are not giants like IBM or tech superstars like Facebook or Skype. Instead, they are start-ups from different parts of the world, driven by innovation in making their move to Singapore.
According to Andrew Khaw from the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), the government organization is trying to attract start-ups to set up engineering centres in Singapore by providing the platforms necessary for start-ups based here to find success both locally and globally.
Since 2008, IDA, together with its subsidiary, Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd (IIPL), has attracted more than 40 global infocomm start-ups to set up their engineering centres in Singapore. They include startups from the US, China, Finland and Israel, and operating in various sectors like gaming, mobile apps, cloud computing, Web 2.0 and business analytics.
One such firm is US-based ViVOtech, which offers solutions for mobile payments, said that Singapore serves as a key centre which enables the company to be at the heart of where the action is, on top of the advantage of forming a strong multinational team with very good technology backgrounds.
Arnaud Blandin, Apac MD of Intalio, a cloud computing services provider, said that the business framework here is conducive for US companies to settle in. They have found that it was easier to tap into other Asian markets by being based in Singapore and having IDA’s assistance.
IDA has provided pitching platforms for the tech startups at renowned events like last year’s SingTel Accelerate and Echelon 2010. It has recently also helped brought in Seedcamp, a UK-founded event that gathered seed stage tech start-ups and experienced entrepreneurs, investors and developers to Singapore over a one-day comprehensive event.