Can a Singapore Deep-Tech Startup Help Define the AI-RAN Era? Inside SynaXG’s US$20M+ Bet

Supported by Vertex Ventures, Qualgro, and January Capital, SynaXG aims to build the AI-native wireless backbone that will power the global rise of “physical AI.”

SynaXG Technologies, a Singapore-founded deep-tech startup specialising in AI-driven radio access network (AI-RAN) infrastructure, has raised over US$20 million in its first funding round. The round was led by January Capital, Vertex Ventures, and Qualgro, and is being positioned as one of Asia’s largest early-stage bets on AI-RAN—a category that sits at the intersection of 5G/6G networks, AI workloads, and future physical robotics. 

The new fund will go toward ramping up product development, expanding global engineering teams, and deepening partnerships with telecom operators and enterprise customers. In effect, this round moves SynaXG from “promising R&D-heavy startup” into a serious contender in AI-native wireless infrastructure, at a time when telcos and cloud players are scrambling to redesign networks for AI traffic rather than just human traffic. 

Who Is SynaXG and What Is It Building?

Founded by Xin Huang, SynaXG has spent roughly four years building full-stack AI-RAN software and physical infrastructure. The team brings decades of wireless expertise and is one of the few in Asia attempting to build AI-native RAN from the ground up—covering key layers such as L1/L2/L3, virtualised distributed and central units (vDU/vCU), radio unit platforms, and end-to-end systems designed for heterogeneous compute (GPU, CPU, FPGA, ASIC).

That depth matters because AI-RAN isn’t just about sprinkling AI on top of an existing 5G network. It means redesigning how radio networks sense, optimise, allocate and react in real time—to serve not just smartphones, but robots, autonomous vehicles, drones, industrial automation systems and dense IoT deployments. SynaXG’s ambition is to be the company that provides this AI-native RAN software and infrastructure globally.

Why Investors Are Treating This as a Strategic, Not Just Financial, Bet

For the lead investors, this round is less about chasing a hot buzzword and more about getting early exposure to the next layer of AI infrastructure.

January Capital partner Chin Chao called SynaXG “a true deep-tech AI-powered wireless-infrastructure startup”—something he argues is still rare in this part of the world. Qualgro’s managing partner Heang Chhor pointed to the team’s “deep AI capabilities” and linked them directly to the growing global demand for compute and AI capacity, positioning SynaXG as a potential global player emerging out of Singapore. 

In other words, this is not just a 5G infrastructure play. It is a bet that AI-era networks will themselves become programmable, learning systems, and that whoever owns the AI-RAN layer will sit in a strategically important position between chipmakers, telcos, and AI application developers.

AI-RAN and the “Physical AI” Wave

SynaXG frames AI-RAN as the foundation of the next technology wave, similar to how the iPhone catalysed the mobile internet era. In AI-RAN, machine learning models are embedded directly into the radio access network, constantly optimising spectrum usage, latency, power, and routing decisions in real time. 

This becomes critical for what the company calls “physical AI”—AI systems that interact with the real world:

• robotics and autonomous warehouses
• drones and logistics
• smart factories and industrial automation
• connected vehicles and smart-city infrastructure
  

All of these require ultra-low latency, high reliability, and dynamic resource allocation far beyond what static network configurations can deliver. AI-RAN aims to give networks those properties natively, rather than relying on external optimisation layers.

A Global Tailwind: Nvidia, Nokia and a US$1B Validation

SynaXG’s timing is helped by the fact that AI-RAN has just received a major global endorsement. In October 2025, NVIDIA announced a US$1 billion investment in Nokia, taking a 2.9% stake and partnering to build AI-RAN-powered 5G-Advanced and 6G networks on NVIDIA platforms. Analyst firm Omdia estimates that the AI-RAN market could represent a cumulative US$200 billion opportunity by 2030. 

For startups like SynaXG, this matters for two reasons:

1. It validates AI-RAN as a serious infrastructure category, not a speculative niche.
2. It accelerates the ecosystem of hardware, software, and standards that SynaXG can plug into—from Open RAN initiatives to NVIDIA-powered vRAN platforms. 

Global incumbents are clearly moving; SynaXG is positioning itself as a nimble, specialist player that can co-exist with, or supply, those larger ecosystems.

How SynaXG Plans to Use the Capital

According to the company, the new funding will be used to:

• Accelerate the product roadmap across its AI-RAN stack
• Scale global engineering teams, particularly in core R&D and systems integration
• Deepen collaborations with operators, chipmakers and network vendors, including existing AI-RAN chip and equipment partners 

SynaXG is already preparing a Series A round to support commercial rollouts and push AI-native RAN adoption into more markets. That next phase will test whether the company can move from pilots and early deployments to repeatable, scalable deals with Tier-1 and Tier-2 operators—the point where deep-tech infrastructure startups often struggle.

Singapore as a Launchpad for AI Infrastructure

The company’s choice of Singapore as a base is also strategic. The city-state has been positioning itself as a regional hub for deep tech, 5G/6G trials, and AI research, with strong government support, proximity to major Southeast Asian markets, and access to global capital. For investors, SynaXG’s story fits a broader pattern: deep-tech startups using Singapore as a platform to build products for global telcos, cloud providers, and industrial clients.

If SynaXG succeeds, it could serve as a reference case for how Asia-based deep-tech companies can play in highly specialised, capital-intensive infrastructure layers that were previously dominated by US, European, or North Asian incumbents.

Conclusion: A Small Round for Now, but a Potentially Big Shift for Networks

SynaXG’s US$20M+ round may look modest compared with the billion-dollar cheques being written to incumbents like Nokia, but strategically it points to the same conclusion: the next wave of AI will not be limited to data centres; it will be wired into the network itself.

By focusing on AI-RAN and positioning itself as a full-stack provider of AI-native wireless infrastructure, SynaXG is betting that:

• physical AI applications will demand fundamentally smarter networks, and
• telcos and enterprises will increasingly look for specialised partners to build them.

SynaXG’s trajectory is a reminder that deep-tech, infrastructure-heavy startups can raise meaningful early capital if they sit at the convergence of big structural shifts—in this case, AI, connectivity, and compute. 

–Quick Takeaways–

• SynaXG raised over US$20M in one of Asia’s largest early-stage deep-tech rounds focused on AI-RAN infrastructure.
• The round was led by January Capital, Vertex Ventures, and Qualgro, signalling strong institutional conviction in AI-native wireless networks.
• Founded by Xin Huang, SynaXG has spent four years building full-stack AI-RAN software and physical AI infrastructure.
• The funding will accelerate product development, global engineering expansion, and telecom/operator partnerships.
• AI-RAN embeds AI directly into radio networks, enabling ultra-low latency and real-time adaptability needed for robotics, drones, autonomous systems, and industrial automation.