Singapore's JTC expands LaunchPad startups' access to 19 cities

JTC, a Singapore government agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, today announced the opening of The Meeting Point – a co-working and event space at LaunchPad @ One-North in the city-state. The launch is the first in a series of infrastructure upgrades to better support its growing community of startups.

JTC also signed two MOUs – one with NUS Enterprise and another with Action Community for Entrepreneurship and INSEAD, to extend LaunchPad’s network to 19 startup hubs worldwide. These include Paris, San Francisco, Shenzhen, and Jakarta.

“We want our startups to start strong, to connect to the ecosystems – and that’s Singapore’s strength,” Alvin Tan, Singapore’s Minister of State for Trade and Industry and National Development, said at the event.

“To help our startups goal and start strong, we need to give them the space to do so where they action is, so that they can be supported and be surrounded by fellow founders, investors, and partners who understand the startup journey,” he added.

Under a new partnership with One&Co, LaunchPad startups can utilize the co-working space operator’s facility in Singapore’s central business district.

JTC is offering up to two months’ rent-free for fit-outs, more flexible leases, and wider entry criteria that now include scale-ups. Meanwhile, its LaunchPad Innovation Network welcomed the addition of CapitaLand Development, City Developments Limited, Esri Singapore, and SoftBank Robotics as partners.

Since its launch in 2022, JTC’s LaunchPad Innovation Network program has connected over 60 startups with six partners, including one between loyalty and travel rewards platform HeyMax and JRE Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Japan railway operator JR East.

🔗 Source: JTC

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Global nodes are a footnote to a larger infrastructure overhaul

The new partnerships sit within a “refreshed masterplan” tied to LaunchPad’s 10th anniversary, with the goal of positioning the hub as Asia’s flagship startup destination 1.
The plan’s main project is Kampong AI, an integrated hub for up to 70 AI companies with over 200 residential units, due for completion in 2028 2.
The project started after ecosystem stakeholders flagged AI as a disruptive technology 3.
JTC is also setting up LaunchPad @ Punggol Digital District, a new site aimed at piloting work in smart city solutions, fintech, robotics, and cybersecurity 1.

Singapore is building a broader AI ecosystem beyond a startup hub

Startup support is one part of a national plan that goes beyond offering space 2.
The government is also building local demand through the “Champions of AI” program, which selects Singapore-based companies to make AI a driver of productivity, innovation, and growth 4.
More than S$1 billion backs the National AI Research and Development Plan 5, alongside new data centers designed for high-density AI workloads 6.
Singapore is working to align talent, company demand, and computing capacity to speed up AI development and commercialization.