Singapore's NTU launches S$50 M venture capital fund to support deep tech spin-offs

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and leading global venture capital (VC) firm Walden International are launching a new VC fund to support deep tech spin-offs from the University.

Known as the Nanyang Frontier Fund, it has an initial target sum of S$50 million. The Nanyang Frontier Fund is Singapore’s first venture capital fund dedicated to a university.

Tan Lip-Bu, Chairman of Walden International, and his associates are committing an investment of S$5 million to kickstart the fund, with NTU co-investing another S$5 million.

Tan Lip-Bu is a globally renowned venture capitalist with almost four decades of experience in the tech industry. Dubbed the “pioneer of Asian VC” by Forbes for pioneering the US venture capital concept in Asia, he has been instrumental in the success of numerous global tech startups.

The Nanyang Frontier Fund will fuel innovation and enterprise building and increase investor confidence in NTU’s spin-offs, contributing to Singapore’s reputation as a hub for technology-driven entrepreneurship.

With over 120 deep tech spin-offs incubated by NTU over the last decade, this new VC fund will provide essential resources to scale selected spin-offs with promising technologies into commercially viable products and enterprises. Over the next five years, NTU will focus on building a strong ecosystem that integrates academic innovation, venture building, and industry partnerships, fostering a new generation of entrepreneurs and venture builders within the NTU community and across Singapore.