Investment Update: Expanding Our Portfolio with Nine Deep Tech Startups

As we approach the halfway mark of 2019, we’re happy to share that we’ve added nine deep tech startups to our portfolio. Working on various transformational technologies such as AI, machine learning, quantum communication and blockchain, these startups span across a variety of different industries, showcasing the vast, wide-ranging applications of deep tech.

Here’s a quick look on our new portfolio companies.

Technology does not need to be at odds with creativity. In fact, thoughtful use of deep tech solutions can help to take away the mundane routines and enhance the work of creatives. This gives them the space and time to let their imagination roam free and do what they do best – understanding and invoking emotions in their work.

Pencil is building the world’s first creative AI that enables agencies and brands to craft massive personalised ad campaigns that originate in culture, multiplying the effectiveness of online advertising. When creatives are stuck writing countless ad slogans into a spreadsheet to be packaged together with product imagery, personalisation suffers as creative time is limited. Pencil seeks to solve this issue with a creative sustainable AI that works with people, rather than to replace them. They hope for a future where ads play a more meaningful role in society and are not only relevant and useful for people, but also effective for businesses as well as fun and fulfilling to make for creatives.

Another startup, Musiio, seeks to alleviate the headaches that music curators face daily. Imagine having to sift through more than 1,000 tracks in order to select the best music – it’ll take days to finish listening to all of them. Using AI, Musiio can ‘listen’ to thousands of music tracks and pick out a smaller selection that these music curators can then focus their energy and time on.

Meanwhile, BlockPunk is on a mission to drive power back to anime content creators and help them to connect directly with fans. With a decentralised marketplace powered by blockchain, the company aims to empower creators with a new way to fund their projects, and monetise their digital merchandise. Fans also receive a digital certificate of authenticity that is secured by blockchain and cryptography, so they are assured that the unique digital or physical collectibles that they purchase on the platform are authentic, made in fair support of their favourite creators.

According to the Global Risks Report 2019 by the World Economic Forum, cyber attacks and data breaches are ranked as the fourth and fifth most serious risks facing the world today, and can have catastrophic repercussions to the global economy.

Cyber Intelligence House (formerly Kinkayo) specialises in the detection and monitoring of cyber exposure from the dark web, deep web and data breaches. With its AI-powered solutions, it aims to arm organisations and individuals with capabilities to detect and respond to digital data exposure threats in today’s rapidly evolving cyberthreat landscape.

The high (while volatile) value of cryptocurrency has also made it a point target for malicious hackers. In 2018, criminals stole and scammed a massive $1.7 billion worth of cryptocurrency. As a full-service custodian for blockchain-based digital assets, Propine Capital aims to make cryptocurrency thefts a thing of the past. By developing a dual layer multi-signature custody solution, the company provides institutional investors with an encrypted and insured platform for better governance and management of their digital assets.

To fight against financial crimes, especially with the rise of cryptocurrency, regulators worldwide are looking closely into KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) compliance. Blockchain investigations startup Merkle Science, works with law enforcement agencies and blockchain companies to provide a risk-monitoring solution to detect and prevent the illegal use of digital assets. One of the first players to apply fraud sciences to analyse blockchain data, the company combines both off-chain and on-chain data for better analysis.

This seed investment into Merkle Science, led by LuneX Ventures (the dedicated blockchain fund of Golden Gate Ventures), also marks the first deal to be completed with one of our newly-appointed co-investors under the Startup SG Equity scheme.

In today’s digital world, data is the new currency and driver for all businesses. But what is the use of having vast amount of data, without the ability to make sense of it?

While large companies have the resources to allocate teams dedicated to data analysation, small businesses do not enjoy the same luxury. Using natural language processing (NLP) technology, Konigle aims to provide an affordable solution and be the layer of intelligence that helps small business owners make better operating decisions based on data.

Catering to the manufacturing industry, FireVisor provides cognitive automation in factories. The company has built an analytics platform, enabled by machine learning, that connects to data sources in the manufacturing line and automatically performs engineering failure analysis in real-time. The efficiencies achieved through the platform translate into greater profits and productivity. Firevisor says it can help customers increase their profit by up to 30 percent and reduce man hours by half.

Quantum technology is an emerging field that has the potential to bring about the next big deep tech revolution. However, much of the work done resides in academic research on the vast applications and impact across industries and society.

Now taking the leap from lab to market is SpeQtral (formerly S15 Space Systems). The team is building space-based quantum communication systems rooted in the advanced technologies developed at the Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT), hosted by the National University of Singapore. The cutting-edge technology by SpeQtral harnesses properties from quantum physics to enable encryption methods that offers unprecedented security from eavesdropping – enabling the next generation of secure communication networks.

At SGInnovate, we work with scientist-entrepreneurs to build deep tech companies that tackles the world’s most difficult challenges. Learn more about our other portfolio companies here.