SG early-stage startups close 56 deals, raise $371m in 2024

Singapore’s early-stage emerging tech startups closed 56 investment deals in 2024, up from 49 the year before, according to a new report from SGInnovate.

Total funding dropped 8% to US$371 million, while deal activity increased, reflecting investor interest in early-stage opportunities.

Advanced manufacturing and sustainability startups led deal flow, with the sensors and electronics segment accounting for half of advanced manufacturing deals, and decarbonisation startups raising 70% of funding in the sustainability sector.

Startups in health and biomedical sciences saw a 44% rise in new incorporations, while agrifood incorporations fell 83%, with ongoing scaling challenges cited.

SGInnovate also released a separate report on cybersecurity startups, noting 68 new product companies launched between 2020 and 2024, with 10 deals and US$42.5 million in funding raised in 2024.

Seed and series A rounds for local cybersecurity startups remain smaller than global averages, and most investors in the sector are not repeat backers.

🔗 Source: SGInnovate

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Singapore’s startup ecosystem demonstrates resilience through strategic funding adjustments

Despite an 8% decline in total funding to US$371 million, Singapore saw a 14% increase in deal volume from 49 to 56 transactions in 2024, indicating investors are spreading capital across more opportunities while writing smaller checks 1.
The 56% surge in intermediate funding rounds—including seed+, pre-A, and A+ stages—signals that founders are increasingly opting for bridging rounds to extend capital runways during uncertain economic conditions 1.
This pattern reflects broader market caution while maintaining Singapore’s strong global position as the #7 startup ecosystem worldwide, with $144 billion in ecosystem value generated from July 2021 to December 2023 2.
The funding strategy shift suggests both investors and founders are prioritizing sustainability over rapid scaling, focusing on early-stage opportunities that are less exposed to economic volatility 1.

Global technology demands drive sector rotation in Singapore’s startup landscape

Advanced Manufacturing startups reversed a three-year decline with 14 deals in 2024, primarily driven by global demand for computing hardware to support AI advancements, with Sensors and Electronics capturing half of the sector’s deals 1.
Sustainability startups attracted the most deals among all verticals for the second consecutive year, with the Decarbonisation subsector alone raising 70% of the vertical’s total funding value 1.
Agrifood startups faced a decline with a significant drop in incorporations, reflecting persistent scaling challenges including unit economics issues and high production costs that have reduced available capital for new entrants 1.
This sector rotation mirrors global infrastructure needs, where AI computing requirements and climate commitments are driving investment toward hardware-intensive solutions over software-focused agricultural technologies 1.