Why this investor is all in on deeptech

Antares isn’t just the brightest star in the Scorpius constellation. It is also the name of a Singapore-based venture capital firm focused on deeptech founded in 2024 by Michael Gryseels, a former managing partner of McKinsey and Company and ex-executive at CP Group.

While serving as vice chairman of True Digital Group – CP Group’s digital business – from 2018 to 2023, he started backing startups with his own money, and the ones that excited him the most were those built on “scientific innovation.”

Photo credit: True Digital Group

Gryseels says the internet has been a “massive driver for business model innovation,” but it hasn’t “really solved the big problems in our life,” such as healthcare, climate, and food security.

His time at CP Group, a Thai conglomerate whose revenue hit nearly US$100 billion in 2023, made one thing clear: Big companies want to innovate, but building deeptech in-house is tough. Meanwhile, many deeptech founders have “amazing technology” but struggle to scale.

Antares is stepping in to bridge that gap, backing global deeptech ventures tackling major challenges in emerging markets like Southeast Asia and India.

Why Singapore?

Deeptech generally refers to innovation rooted in cutting-edge science, often born from research by scientists and engineers.

But in Southeast Asia, the sector has struggled to take off. The region’s biggest tech names such as Grab, Sea Group or GoTo Group are largely consumer-facing companies.

See also: Singapore’s deeptech blueprint takes shape, but hurdles dent ambitions

In fact, deeptech funding in Singapore hit a five-year low in 2024, according to data from government agency Enterprise Singapore.

Most deeptech companies are targeting global markets, and Antares also has a global mandate. But its base in Singapore is a strategic bet on Gryseels’ corporate networks, especially across Southeast Asia.

The city-state’s government is also looking to shake things up. In October 2024, it pledged S$440 million (US$324 million) to expand an existing program – the Startup SG Equity scheme – aimed at attracting more VC firms to invest in local deeptech startups.

Earlier this month, Seeds Capital – the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore – announced it had earmarked US$110 million to co-invest in local deeptech startups along with private investors.

Cracking Asia’s growth challenges

Antares mostly targets startups in their late-seed to series B stages, with series A as its “sweet spot,” according to Gryseels. Most of its portfolio companies are still in the early phases of commercialization. This approach allows for a holding period of eight to 10 years, which Gryseels says is crucial for helping these companies go to market.

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