Enterprise Singapore and Lenovo Back Deeptech Start-ups’ Journey From R&D to Revenue

Enterprise Singapore and Lenovo have launched a 24-month accelerator to help Singapore-based deeptech start-ups develop commercially viable products and reach global customers, as the city-state steps up efforts to turn technological innovation into scalable businesses.

The Lenovo–Enterprise Singapore Global Accelerator Programme, announced this week at the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) 2026, will support selected start-ups working in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and advanced materials. The initiative will connect participating companies with Lenovo’s global research and development teams, technology services and enterprise customer network. It is designed to help start-ups validate their technologies in operational environments, integrate their products into enterprise systems and ensure progress from proof-of-concept to customer pilots.

The programme addresses a persistent challenge for deeptech companies: translating technically promising innovations into products businesses will adopt and pay for. Unlike conventional software start-ups, developers of industrial AI, robotics and advanced materials often require specialised testing facilities, technical integration and lengthy customer validation before generating meaningful commercial revenue.

Venture capital inflow also points to this pressure. Singapore’s VC funding stood at $4.6 Bn in 2025, down 34% from the previous year, although deeptech investment rose 16% to $1.13 Bn from $980 Mn, according to Enterprise Singapore and EY-Parthenon data. Meanwhile, deeptech deals fell from 125 to 91, a 27% decline, suggesting more capital is flowing into fewer companies.

Singapore’s Deeptech Funding: 2024 vs 2025

Funding Metric	2024	2025
Total VC Deal Value	$7 Bn	$4.6 Bn
Total VC Deals	725	472
Deeptech Deal Value	$980 Mn	$1.13 Bn
No. of Deeptech Deals	125	91
Deeptech Share of VC Deal Value	14.1%	24.7%
AI Deal Value	$1.1 Bn	$1.4 Bn
AI Share of VC Deal Value	15.8%	30.8%

Sources: Enterprise Singapore and EY-Parthenon, Singapore Venture Funding Landscape 2025

Note: All values in US$. AI and deeptech categories can overlap and should not be added together. Figures are rounded; deal counts include transactions with undisclosed values.

“For many start-ups, developing a breakthrough technology is only the first step,” Singapore’s minister for energy, trade and industry (energy and industry) Tan See Leng said at SWITCH. He identified real-world validation, early customer acquisition and commercial viability as the larger challenges facing technology companies.

Under the partnership, selected start-ups can work with Lenovo’s research laboratories, product development teams and supply chain ecosystem to co-develop solutions and explore commercial applications. They will also have access to Lenovo’s investor network and international business relationships.

Lenovo operates in 180 markets, giving the initiative a potentially significant international dimension. For start-ups, the opportunity lies not simply in accessing technology infrastructure but in testing whether their solutions can meet the reliability, integration and operational requirements of large corporate customers.

The collaboration also builds on Lenovo’s existing enterprise technology operations in Singapore. The company has worked with logistics provider ST Logistics to deploy warehouse automation and AI solutions, including a warehouse execution system that helps manage robots and other automated equipment. The relationship highlights the industrial environments where startup technologies could eventually find their customers.

Fan Ho, Lenovo’s vice-president and general manager of its Asia-Pacific Solutions and Services Group, told The Business Times that the company needed exposure to new ideas and approaches to enterprise technology. She did not rule out commercial partnerships with participating start-ups, although Lenovo has not announced such arrangements.

The accelerator also has a commercial dimension for Lenovo. Revenue at its global Solutions and Services Group rose 28% YoY to $2.9 Bn in the quarter ended June 30, with a record operating margin of 24.2%. The high-margin services business is expanding into AI and enterprise solutions, areas where partnerships with technology start-ups could provide access to new capabilities.

Enterprise Singapore and Lenovo have not disclosed the programme’s financial terms, the number of start-ups to be selected, the timetable for the first cohort or any participants. Access to enterprise customers and pilots does not by itself guarantee procurement contracts.

The programme forms part of Singapore’s bigger effort to strengthen commercialisation pathways for technology companies. Under its Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2030 (RIE2030) plan, the government has committed S$37 Bn over five years from April 2026, equivalent to about 1% of GDP a year. The plan aims to strengthen the pipeline of commercially viable technologies from research institutions and improve access to capital and entrepreneurial expertise.

At SWITCH, Enterprise Singapore also announced an expansion of its Global Innovation Alliance through a partnership with Bakar Labs at the University of California, Berkeley. The separate initiative will give eligible Singapore-based start-ups access to specialised laboratories, equipment, technical expertise and industry networks in the US.

Under the expanded alliance, eligible start-ups working with Bakar Labs can receive support covering up to 70% of qualifying costs, including laboratory facilities, technical assistance and relevant business-matching activities. That financial support applies to the overseas research collaboration and is not part of the Lenovo accelerator’s benefits.

The two initiatives reflect different aspects of Singapore’s commercialisation strategy: providing start-ups with access to specialised research infrastructure while creating opportunities to test their technologies with established businesses and reach overseas customers.

“Singapore start-ups must be able to turn strong innovations into businesses that compete globally,” said Emily Liew, Enterprise Singapore’s assistant managing director of innovation, in the agency’s announcement.

For the Lenovo accelerator, success will be measured by whether access to a multinational technology company’s research and customer networks results in validated products, paying enterprise customers and repeatable commercial opportunities beyond Singapore.