NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of Singapore (NUS), has committed S$150 million ($116 million) for the NUS VC Programme that aims to support early-stage tech innovation.
NUS will commit S$50 million ($39 million) over the next three years in select venture capital firms with strong track records in early-stage deep tech investments. The first two VC partners for the programme are multi-asset investment platform Granite Asia and 4BIO Capital, a specialist life sciences investor focused on advanced therapeutics.
Additionally, NUS will set aside S$100 million (US$78 million) for co-investments alongside these VC partners. These co-investments will be targeted at NUS-affiliated startups.
The initiative seeks to focus on high-potential ventures within the NUS ecosystem, including startups from the National Graduate Research Innovation Programme (National GRIP). The idea is to transform lab-based research discoveries into globally competitive, market-ready ventures.
“As the region faces a sharp pullback in venture capital activity, we see the new NUS VC Programme—the first of its kind initiative by a university in Asia — as a critical enabler. Research-based startups face distinct challenges, including R&D cycles that are much longer than traditional start-ups, making them especially vulnerable in today’s cautious investment environment. This programme brings together capital, strategic partnerships, and specialised venture expertise to create a more resilient path from lab to market,” said Professor Tan Eng Chye, NUS President.
Many National GRIP startups are still in the early stages of technological readiness and require continued, strategic support to advance from lab to market.
While GRIP currently provides up to S$250,000 (US$194,000) in seed funding per startup, the VC Programme focuses on accelerating post-seed growth and preparing ventures for external capital.
“National GRIP is an important first step in helping deep tech startups take root,” said Dr Tan Sian Wee, NUS Senior Vice President (Innovation & Enterprise). “The VC Programme builds on this by pairing promising ventures with globally connected investors, enabling a more complete pathway to scale and commercial success. This is essential given that most startups struggle to move beyond early-stage innovation toward impactful, real-world deployment.”
