Nanyang Frontier Fund: Singapore’s First University-Driven Venture Fund for Deep-Tech Startups

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore, in collaboration with global venture capital firm Walden International, has launched the Nanyang Frontier Fund, a venture capital initiative to support deep-tech spin-offs from the university. 

With an initial target of S$50 million (approximately $37.94 million), the fund is Singapore’s first venture capital initiative dedicated specifically to university-driven projects.

The Nanyang Frontier Fund will focus on commercializing NTU’s deep-tech innovations, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and advanced engineering. This fund will provide vital financial backing to help bridge the gap between research and market deployment, driving the growth of technologies emerging from NTU’s research labs.

Tan Lip-Bu, Chairman of Walden International, and his associates have pledged an initial investment of S$5 million to launch the Nanyang Frontier Fund. NTU matches this amount with a S$5 million contribution. 

The fund’s primary objective is to bridge the gap between research and commercialization, providing crucial support to deep-tech start-ups from the university.

Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Heng Swee Keat, who is also Chairman of the National Research Foundation, officiated the launch of the fund. Speaking at the event, NTU President Professor Ho Teck Hua emphasized the long-standing relationship between NTU and Tan Lip-Bu, who has been closely involved with the university since his days as a student in the 1970s. 

Professor Ho noted that Tan’s extensive global experience and strategic guidance would be invaluable to both NTU’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and Singapore’s growing innovation landscape.

Tan Lip-Bu, often called the “pioneer of Asian VC” by Forbes, has nearly four decades of experience in the tech industry and has played a key role in supporting several global tech start-ups. 

He is also deeply engaged with venture funds that support academic research at institutions like Stanford and UC Berkeley and has mentored numerous start-ups in deep tech, GenAI, and AI-driven drug discovery. 

Tan strongly believed that the Nanyang Frontier Fund could identify and scale disruptive technologies from NTU, ultimately positioning them as a global company based in Singapore.

Professor Louis Phee, NTU’s Vice-President of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, noted the challenges deep-tech start-ups face, including long development cycles and high research costs. He highlighted that the Nanyang Frontier Fund would provide essential financial backing to help these start-ups bring their innovations to market and achieve long-term success.

Through his leadership at Walden International and other ventures, Tan Lip-Bu has played a key role in investing in and scaling innovative tech companies across multiple sectors, including semiconductors, AI, and cloud infrastructure. 

His efforts have helped these companies raise billions in capital and expand globally. In addition to his venture activities, Tan further demonstrated his commitment to NTU’s growth by donating S$3 million earlier this year to establish a new Artificial Intelligence professorship at the university’s College of Computing and Data Science, aimed at supporting cutting-edge research and education in AI.

Despite the potential of deep-tech innovations, start-ups in this sector often struggle to commercialize due to insufficient funding and lengthy development cycles, which can delay market readiness.