The story of Singapore’s newest unicorn

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Hello readers,

PatSnap has a real “started from the bottom, now we’re here” story to it.

Before becoming Singapore’s newest unicorn, the patent insights provider had it rough in the early days, when – being strapped for cash and struggling to attract investors – the team had to switch its heater off in the cold winter.

That moment stands in stark contrast to how it recently inked a deal with SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son in “less than half an hour.”

I’ve spent more time achieving so much less.

Now, the company has regional offices in the US, Europe, and China, and its customer base and employee headcount have also grown 60% to 70% annually over the last five years.

Today, we look at:

• PatSnap’s journey to becoming a unicorn
• The departure of two Delhivery co-founders before the company’s upcoming public listing
• Other newsy highlights such as Facebook and Google’s plans for undersea cables to connect Southeast Asia and America, and Tencent-backed WeChat’s bid to take on Douyin

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PREMIUM SUMMARY

The road to a billion-dollar valuation

Taking a startup to unicorn status is a huge feat in itself, but the founders of Singapore-headquartered patent insights provider PatSnap did it right out of college. However, despite what that summary might lead you to believe, the achievement did not come easy.

• Early hurdles: In 2008, a year after PatSnap’s launch, a decision was made to relocate the company to China. However, the move was more difficult than anticipated, and the team had to resort to switching the heater off in winter to stretch their limited finances.
• Attracting the big guns: Though the crew struggled in the early days, the startup was able to sign a deal with SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son in “less than half an hour” because its value proposition was solid.
• The future of innovation intelligence: PatSnap continues to think up new products, including a tool that will help financial institutions analyze the technological strengths of high-tech businesses. According to Vertex CEO Kee Lock Chua, “The sky’s the limit” for the company.

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Two co-founders leave pre-IPO

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We test, we sell, and then we deploy

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