March 4, 2022
Singapore’s startup scene is booming. The city-state is host to a number of tech startups that are doing well, particularly in fintech.
Tech startups in Singapore raised $8.3 billion in the first nine months of 2021, more than double the amount raised during the same period in 2020, according to Enterprise Singapore. This is more than half of total funding for startups in Southeast Asia; Singapore leads Southeast Asia in venture capital investment. There are 15 unicorns in Singapore, or private companies worth more than $1 billion, according to a Credit Suisse report cited by the Straits Times.
Grab, a delivery, mobility, and financial services platform based in Singapore, went public in December. It was the largest US market debut ever by a Southeast Asian company.
There is a growing number of unicorns in Singapore and Southeast Asia due to a growing middle class, demographics, an increase in smartphone usage, and growth in venture capital, according to the Credit Suisse report cited by the Straits Times. Singapore’s government is active in nurturing its startup ecosystem.
Singapore’s fintech ecosystem is particularly strong. There are now more than 1,000 fintech companies based in Singapore, and those companies have more than 10,000 employees, according to Oliver Wyman. Total fintech funding in Singapore reached $3.9 billion in 2021, according to a KPMG report cited by the Business Times. Crypto, blockchain, and payments startups in particular have drawn a lot of investment in Singapore.
The startup scene in Singapore is so promising that Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners have offices in Singapore.
Unicorn startups based in Singapore include Lazada Group, an online shopping destination with a controlling stake owned by Alibaba; PatSnap, an intelligence platform; Ninja Van, a delivery company; Moglix, an e-commerce platform for business supplies and industrial equipment; Carro, a used car marketplace; and Nium, a B2B payments platform.
At Alariss Global, we help international tech companies expand into the US by matching top US sales and business development talent to them and acting as the Employer of Record (EOR) to take care of payroll and legal compliance. Alariss works with companies based in Singapore, including XinFin, a blockchain platform. If you’re building a company in Singapore that’s made for the world, you can book a call with us today.
