Nathaniel Fetalvero · · 2 min readDeep Dive: How PatSnap joined the unicorn club
Last month, innovation intelligence startup PatSnap raised US$300 million from big-name backers like SoftBank Vision Fund II and Tencent Investment, which the Singapore-based firm says brings its valuation over US$1 billion.
(From L to R:) PatSnap CEO Jeffrey Tiong, SVP Asia Pacific Guan Dian, and CTO Markus Haense. Photo credit: PatSnap.
But PatSnap’s bid to join the unicorn club wasn’t an easy one. In its early days, potential backers weren’t convinced it could make money, making it hard for the startup to raise funds. To reduce living and hiring expenses, the team moved to China. But even there, they still had to keep costs down, so they switched off the heater to save on electricity and had to huddle together during the cold winter months.
On this episode of Deep Dive, Tech in Asia journalist Tay Tian Wen talks about PatSnap’s arduous journey, the milestones it has achieved over the years, and what the future holds for one of Singapore’s newest unicorns.
Timecodes:
00:00 – Intro music
00:48 – Today’s topic: How PatSnap became a billion-dollar startup
01:18 – Starting up straight out of college
02:38 – What is innovation intelligence?
05:24 – The advantage of being an early mover
06:34 – Weathering the cold China winters
09:24 – Getting noticed by Vertex Ventures
11:44 – The funding starts rolling in
12:07 – PatSnap today vs. PatSnap 2007
15:03 – Exploring new markets and creating new products
19:18 – What the future will bring
Download the full transcript here.
Featured reporter:
- Tay Tian Wen, a Tech in Asia journalist based in Singapore
Essential reading:
- How PatSnap grew to become a billion-dollar company
- Tokopedia, PatSnap among 8 fastest-growing firms by revenue in Southeast Asia
- PatSnap raises $300m in a round co-led by SoftBank, Tencent, joins the unicorn club
- They turned off the heater in winter to save money. Now they’re a leader in patent search
- For more stories on PatSnap, click here
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Editing by Eileen C. Ang
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