Like lego blocks, Singapore government to double size of the Block 71 startup experiment

An artist’s impression of JTC LaunchPad.

Block 71, a government experiment to bring the startup community under one roof, will double its capacity by the end of the year from its current 250 startups and 1,000 people to around 500 companies.

The additional tenants, which will consist of startups and other support services like investments and legal, will be housed in two buildings adjacent to the Block 71 facility. The entire area is named the JTC LaunchPad @ one-north, with JTC being a government agency spearheading the initiative.

Startups will get rentals at either S$20 or S$25 (about US$16 and US$20) per square meter per month. The cheaper rate applies to non-air-con offices, which means some startups will have to brave the sweltering Singapore heat.

The cost is roughly equivalent to similar off-central industrial estates in Singapore, although Launchpad tenants would benefit from shared amenities like free wifi access, recreational facilities, meeting rooms, event spaces, and an expanded variety of food options from the current set. Support services, meanwhile, can rent space at undisclosed premium rates. A linkway will connect all three blocks together.

Depending on the success of the project, the state has earmarked room in the area for at least three more office buildings.

“This is a great milestone for us … it’s not about giving just grants; we have plenty of grants and funds already for entrepreneurs. It is about building the environment, building the ecosystem for entrepreneurs to blossom, to succeed,” says Minister-of-State Teo Ser Luck, who has been overseeing the government’s support initiatives for young enterprises.

From sleepy industrial town to startup campus

Once a dying industrial area housing traditional enterprises, the Ayer Rajar industrial estate where Block 71 is located has gradually transformed into a compound for a new breed of enterprises.

Surrounding it are gleaming monolithic buildings with grandiose names like Fusionopolis, Biopolis, and Mediapolis – statements of the government’s ambition to transform Singapore into a modern economy with a foothold in the sciences and media.

These buildings house A*STAR, a government research institute for applied sciences, as well as government agencies like the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) and the Media Development Authority (MDA).

Filmmaking giant Lucasfilm’s regional headquarters is nearby, located within an iconic building resembling a sandcrawler, a slow-moving vehicle in the Star Wars universe.

A short drive away from Block 71 are government educational institutions like the National University of Singapore, business MBA program INSEAD, and the Singapore Polytechnic, which together lend their own research and expertise heft to the area, and are also key suppliers of startup talent.

(See: A tale of two buildings: The rise of Block 71 and the decline of block 67)

Block 71 itself started off as a government experiment, a creation of MDA under then-deputy CEO Michael Yap, who rented five floors of the building and subletted it to startups at affordable rates.

No turning back

Government’s outsized role