Meta announced the successful completion of its inaugural Llama Incubator Program Demo Day, underscoring its commitment to driving open-source AI innovation in Singapore. After a rigorous evaluation process, three winning teams — CREX, MyRepublic Broadband, and Straits Interactive — were selected, along with three runners-up: AgriG8, IntentAI, and i-Sprint Innovations. Public sector teams from the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), Land Transport Authority (LTA), and Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) also showcased their innovations.

“At Meta, we see ourselves as an ecosystem partner, working to advance AI capabilities and make their benefits widely accessible. The Llama Incubator Program exemplifies this drive, and we appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with the Singapore government on this initiative. We are proud to support the Smart Nation 2.0 vision—empowering local small businesses and attracting startups to build and innovate in Singapore,” said Sandhya Devanathan, Vice President – India & Southeast Asia at Meta.

Partnerships power Singapore’s next wave of AI innovation

Meta’s Llama Incubator Program provided startups, SMEs, and public sector teams in Singapore with mentoring, technical resources, and funding to help them develop practical AI solutions. The program was delivered in close partnership with the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI), Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech Singapore), Digital Industry Singapore (DISG), Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), AI Singapore, SGInnovate, e27, and Deloitte.

Josephine Teo, Minister for Digital Development and Information, delivered opening remarks at Meta Singapore’s Llama Incubator Demo Day. She noted Singapore’s AI activities have progressed from fringe to mainstream and stressed the need to build long-term capability and trust through continued experimentation. She said that incubators like Llama Incubator Program are key enablers of purposeful AI use across planning, prediction, personalization, automation, and anomaly detection, and that partnerships and community will remain vital for Singapore to remain competitive and drive continued digital and economic growth.

Also read: Singapore’s CREX named among top 3 teams at world’s first Meta Llama Incubator Demo Day

Turning AI innovation into real-world impact

More than 100 organizations participated in the foundational workshop held in March 2025. 40 organizations were selected for six months of dedicated business and technical mentoring, as well as training on responsible AI practices including Llama’s protection tools and the IMDA Starter kit for Safety Testing of LLM-based applications, Project Moonshot and AI Verify Testing Framework, empowering them to advance responsible AI innovation. 

Collectively, participants developed over 30 innovative Llama-powered solutions spanning the finance, healthcare, education, and public sectors. Winning teams receive US$30,000 each from Meta, with runners-up receiving US$10,000. 

“We are excited by the participation of global AI leaders like Meta in Singapore. The Llama Incubator Program is an example of how collaboration can rapidly translate cutting-edge technology into real-world solutions. By giving startups, SMEs and public agencies hands-on technical guidance, this opportunity will spur innovation, and provide hands-on experience, strengthening Singapore’s role as an AI hub in the region,” said Philbert Gomez, Senior Vice President & Executive Director, Digital Industry Singapore.

Also read: The mentors behind the magic: Meet the experts guiding Singapore’s next AI breakthroughs

Partnering to accelerate AI adoption in enterprises

Meta has also partnered with AWS Singapore to offer eligible companies AWS credits. This empowers them to accelerate their solutions to market. As part of this collaboration, AWS hosted an enablement session for startups on utilizing Llama models with Amazon SageMaker AI and Amazon Bedrock. It will continue to provide tailored technical advisory and support.

“The digital economy is driving Singapore’s growth, and at the heart of it is the digital transformation of our local enterprises. IMDA is committed to helping our enterprises build digital capabilities, particularly in AI, to address business needs. Through the GenAI x Digital Leaders initiative, IMDA partners with global tech leaders like Meta to give our enterprises access to expertise and tools to harness AI for productivity and growth. Programs like Meta’s Llama Incubator provide hands-on experience to help companies navigate AI’s complexities, empowering them to innovate and sharpen their competitiveness,” said Johnson Poh, Assistant Chief Executive, Sectoral Transformation Group, IMDA.

Meta has most recently expanded its multi-year Upskill with Meta program focused on helping SMEs modernize and reach  new audiences with the latest AI tools and solutions to accelerate growth, streamline operations, and drive success.

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The global financial landscape entered a period of pronounced fragility this week as a confluence of macroeconomic shocks, technical breakdowns, and institutional retrenchment converged to pressure risk assets across the board.

Nowhere was this more evident than in the cryptocurrency market, which shed 2.39 per cent over the past 24 hours and extended its weekly decline to 10.83 per cent. The sell-off did not occur in a vacuum. Instead, it unfolded against a backdrop of escalating geopolitical friction, banking sector stress, and shifting central bank narratives that collectively amplified risk-off sentiment and triggered a cascade of forced liquidations.

The immediate catalyst for the latest leg down came from former US President Donald Trump, who on October 10 announced a sweeping proposal to impose 100 per cent tariffs on all Chinese imports, effective November 1, alongside new export controls on critical software technologies.

The announcement rattled global markets. Within hours, Bitcoin tumbled 3.5 per cent to US$107,500, while altcoins suffered even steeper losses ranging from 15 per cent to 60 per cent. The move reignited fears of a full-blown trade war between the world’s two largest economies, prompting investors to flee speculative assets in favour of traditional safe havens.

Gold responded accordingly, climbing to a record US$4,361 per ounce, a 2.1 per cent gain, while the US Dollar Index softened by 0.46 per cent to 98.34. The Russell 2000 Index, a barometer of domestic risk appetite, fell 1.2 per cent, underscoring the breadth of the risk aversion.

What made this episode particularly significant for crypto was the reestablishment of a near-perfect correlation with traditional equities. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin’s price movement tracked the S&P 500 with a correlation coefficient of 0.948, the highest since 2023. This tight linkage signalled a return to the risk-on, risk-off regime that dominated markets during the post-pandemic monetary tightening cycle.

Also Read: From Tokyo to crypto: How political shifts and policy bets are reshaping global markets

In such an environment, crypto loses its identity as an uncorrelated asset and instead trades as a high-beta extension of the tech sector. With US equities already under pressure, Dow Jones down 0.65 per cent, S&P 500 down 0.63 per cent, Nasdaq down 0.47 per cent, the path of least resistance for Bitcoin became unmistakably lower.

Compounding the macro headwinds was a decisive technical breakdown in Bitcoin’s price structure. After consolidating for weeks within the US$115,000 to US$123,000 range, the flagship cryptocurrency finally breached the lower bound of that zone, closing decisively below US$115,000. This move invalidated a key support level that had held through multiple tests and opened the door to deeper downside. Technical analysts noted the emergence of a potential double-top pattern, with bearish confirmation hinging on a weekly close below US$110,000.

Adding to the negative momentum, both the 20-day and 50-day moving averages turned downward, while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) plunged to 31.67, deep into oversold territory but not yet signalling a reversal. Futures market data revealed that open interest had actually risen by 2.3 per cent in the days leading up to the crash, suggesting that short sellers had positioned aggressively ahead of the breakdown, anticipating exactly this kind of macro-driven selloff.

Perhaps the most destabilising element of this week’s decline was the scale and speed of the leverage unwind. On October 16 alone, over US$724 million in crypto positions were liquidated across major exchanges, with long positions accounting for a staggering 74 per cent of that total.

This lopsided distribution pointed to excessive bullish positioning among retail traders, who had been riding the coattails of recent institutional inflows. The average funding rate across perpetual futures markets stood at +0.0052 per cent, reflecting persistent long-side pressure that left the market vulnerable to a sharp reversal.

When the macro shock hit, the resulting price drop triggered a domino effect. Margin calls forced leveraged longs to sell, which pushed prices lower, which triggered more liquidations. This feedback loop accelerated the decline and created a vacuum of buyers precisely when support was most needed.

Institutional participation, which had provided a crucial floor for prices in prior months, also pulled back sharply. Bitcoin ETF inflows, which surged to US$2.7 billion the previous week, collapsed to just US$571 million this week, a drop of US$2.129 billion. Grayscale’s GBTC alone saw US$22.5 million in outflows on October 16, marking a notable shift in sentiment among large players.

This cooling of institutional demand removed a key source of structural buying just as retail leverage was imploding. The result was a market caught between two stools: no longer buoyed by ETF-driven accumulation, and simultaneously crushed by retail deleveraging.

Also Read: The Fed at the crossroads: Rate cuts, political pressure, and the fragile balance of global markets

Meanwhile, central bank commentary added another layer of uncertainty. Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran, a voting member of the FOMC, signalled his intent to advocate for a half-percentage-point rate cut at the upcoming meeting, a dovish stance that initially supported risk assets but now appears at odds with persistent inflation concerns.

Conversely, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda kept the door open for further rate hikes, stating that the BOJ would continue tightening if confidence in its economic outlook strengthens. These divergent policy paths contributed to volatility in global bond markets, with the 10-year US Treasury yield falling 7 basis points to 3.97 per cent and the two-year yield dropping 8 basis points to 3.42 per cent. While lower yields typically support risk assets, the move this week reflected safe-haven demand rather than genuine monetary easing expectations, offering little comfort to crypto traders.

Even geopolitical developments weighed on sentiment. President Trump’s announcement that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet in Hungary to discuss ending the war in Ukraine introduced new uncertainty into energy markets. Brent crude fell 1.37 per cent to US$61.06 per barrel on fears that a negotiated settlement could ease sanctions and flood the market with Russian oil. While lower energy prices might normally support risk assets by curbing inflation, the opaque nature of the proposed talks raised concerns about broader geopolitical realignments that could destabilise existing alliances and trade flows.

Looking ahead, the critical level to watch remains US$110,000 for Bitcoin. A weekly close below this threshold would likely invite a wave of algorithmic selling and accelerate the move toward US$100,000. A strong bounce could signal that the worst of the deleveraging is over. Traders should closely monitor two key indicators in the coming days: US Treasury yields and Bitcoin ETF flows.

A reversal in ETF inflows, particularly if they return to the US$2 billion-plus levels seen recently, could provide the buying pressure needed to stabilise prices. Similarly, a stabilisation or decline in the 10-year yield would ease financial conditions and potentially reignite risk appetite.

Also Read: The great repricing: How fiscal anxiety is reshaping global markets from bonds to Bitcoin

Despite the current turbulence, Bitcoin’s underlying fundamentals remain robust. Network hash rate continues to hover near all-time highs, reflecting strong miner commitment and infrastructure investment. On-chain activity, while subdued during the selloff, has not shown signs of capitulation among long-term holders. This suggests that the current weakness is driven more by short-term leverage and macro sentiment than by a fundamental erosion of value.

In conclusion, the crypto market now navigates a perfect storm of external pressures and internal fragilities. The triple threat of trade war escalation, technical breakdown, and institutional pullback has exposed the limits of crypto’s decoupling narrative. Until macro conditions stabilise and leverage levels normalise, volatility will remain elevated, and the path to recovery will depend less on crypto-specific developments and more on the broader trajectory of global risk sentiment.

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When e27 met Steven Su, CEO of Ubestream, at the Taiwan Innotech Expo 2025 in Taipei, we encountered an unexpected challenge: language. Our editor’s limited Mandarin and Su’s limited English could have made for a difficult interview. Instead, it became the perfect demonstration of what Ubestream stands for.

As Su spoke into a microphone, the platform seamlessly translated our questions and his responses in real time. There was no setup, calibration, or need for specific hardware. Within seconds, communication barriers vanished. This was not just a demo; it was a moment that proved how AI innovation can make human interaction more effortless and inclusive.

Ubestream’s technology automatically detects and translates a speaker’s language, making multilingual conversations possible for anyone, anywhere. It is a glimpse into how AI can potentially reshape how people connect—and at Taiwan Innotech Expo 2025, it was just the beginning.

Another powerful example of AI innovation came from the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), one of Taiwan’s leading R&D organisations. The team is developing a vest that allows deaf individuals to experience live music through vibration.

Every beat, rhythm, and tone is translated into a series of tactile sensations ripple across the vest, allowing users to “feel” the music. During our conversation, Ko Hui Ching, Deputy Project Manager at ITRI, shared a video of a professional deaf dancer using the vest. Through the vest, the dancer sensed the melody and emotion of a song, translating them into choreography—a moving illustration of technology empowering artistic expression.

Also Read: AI and the human touch: How leadership paves the way

ITRI’s goal is not commercial profit but to promote cultural inclusion. The institute aims to make these vests available at performance venues, enabling cultural institutions to provide them for deaf patrons. It is an example of AI and sensory technology coming together to expand access to the arts for everyone, not only those with hearing impairments.

AI for care safety

Other areas that exhibitors at the event look at are safety and caregiving. From concert halls to the driver’s seat, AI at the expo showed its versatility.

One of the exhibitors, Steadybeat, is enhancing safety in AI cockpits and unmanned vehicles. Its system fuses data from images, sound, and other sensors to reduce low-frequency noise and create a calmer driving environment.

The same technology can even extend beyond the road. SteadyBeat’s team highlighted how the platform can monitor structural health in bridges, tunnels, and pipelines or aid in UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) communication with ground control. Such cross-domain applications underline the flexibility of Taiwan’s AI innovation ecosystem—one that thinks well beyond a single use case.

Meanwhile, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University researchers are turning vehicles into intelligent co-pilots. Their AI-powered platform monitors a driver’s behaviour to detect risky activities such as drowsiness or phone use. The system issues alerts before danger strikes, demonstrating how machine learning can augment human awareness and prevent accidents before they happen.

Also Read: AI for the rest of us: What it really looks like in a scrappy SME

Another standout exhibit, Ant CareSpot, tackled one of society’s most pressing challenges: eldercare. Roughly the size of a small rice cooker, the device uses AI to monitor vital signs such as blood pressure and wellbeing without requiring the elderly to use any form of wearables.

But beyond health tracking, it can also serve as a conversation partner for elderly users, reducing isolation and fostering emotional connection. Each unit is deployed in care homes across Taiwan, assigned individually to residents. The blend of functionality and empathy makes Ant CareSpot a symbol of how AI innovation can address efficiency and humanity’s deeper needs.

A showcase of cross-domain collaboration

Held from October 16-18 at the Taipei World Trade Center Hall 1, the Taiwan Innotech Expo (TIE) is jointly organised by 11 government departments and implemented by TAITRA and ITRI. This year’s theme, “AI-Driven Cross-Domain Innovation: Empowering the Smart Future,” captures the spirit of an event where research institutes, startups, and public agencies come together to redefine what tech can achieve.

With 439 exhibitors from 19 countries and over 1,100 innovations, TIE 2025 offers a panoramic view of how Taiwan aims to lead in science and technology. Nearly 70 of this year’s invention entries integrate AI, from sensory vests and cockpit safety systems to conversational care devices.

 

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Innovation rarely happens in isolation. Some of the most transformative breakthroughs emerge when different ecosystems intersect. This is when they bring together diverse strengths, perspectives, and priorities. This is exactly what we witnessed at the X-Hub Tokyo Singapore Demo Day 2025, an online event co-hosted by Deloitte that showcased the power of collaboration between Japan and Southeast Asia’s innovation communities.

The Demo Day was an ecosystem dialogue, a structured meeting point for startups, corporates, and investors from two dynamic regions. The result was a glimpse into how cross-border innovation is evolving beyond market entry strategies to genuine co-creation.

A convergence of complementary strengths

Japan and Southeast Asia bring distinct but complementary assets to the table. Japan offers deep R&D capabilities, world-class technical expertise, and corporate precision. Southeast Asia, meanwhile, contributes speed, agility, and access to fast-growing markets with a young, tech-savvy population.

This convergence was visible throughout the Demo Day. Japanese corporates are increasingly looking to Southeast Asia to accelerate innovation cycles and tap into emerging sectors, while Southeast Asian startups are looking to Japan for technological depth, global credibility, and structured partnerships.

The event brought together startups working in fields such as deep tech, healthcare, sustainability, and advanced manufacturing—areas where collaboration between these two ecosystems can generate disproportionate impact.

Also read: Scaling smarter: How Hong Kong founders are redefining growth

From pitching to co-creating

One of the most significant shifts on display was in the nature of startup–corporate interactions. Rather than startups simply pitching solutions to corporates, we saw a growing emphasis on co-creation—startups and corporates jointly identifying challenges, designing pilots, and building scalable solutions together.

This change reflects broader market trends. Corporate innovation teams in Japan are no longer just scanning for interesting technologies—they’re actively shaping collaborative programs that integrate startups into their R&D and market expansion strategies. On the other side, Southeast Asian startups are moving beyond transactional partnerships to build long-term, strategic collaborations.

Some clear themes emerged during the event:

1. Cross-border partnerships are shortening innovation cycles. By combining Japanese R&D depth with Southeast Asian speed, pilots and go-to-market strategies are being executed faster than traditional corporate timelines.
2. Deep tech and sustainability are rising as core collaboration themes. Whether in climate tech, healthtech, or manufacturing, startups are finding fertile ground for co-innovation with corporates that bring decades of expertise.
3. CVCs and accelerators play a crucial role as bridges. Corporate venture capital arms and accelerator programs are increasingly acting as translators and facilitators, aligning incentives and helping both sides navigate cultural and operational differences.

The power of ecosystem overlap

What’s happening between Japan and Southeast Asia goes beyond bilateral business development—it’s ecosystem overlap. Each side brings something the other needs, and together they create value that neither could achieve alone.

For Japan, Southeast Asia represents not just a market, but a living laboratory for rapid iteration and scaling. For Southeast Asia, Japan provides a gateway to advanced technologies and disciplined innovation processes that can accelerate global competitiveness.

This dynamic is particularly relevant in deep tech sectors, where the path to commercialization is often long and capital-intensive. By partnering with Japanese corporates, Southeast Asian startups can access advanced infrastructure and expertise. Conversely, Japanese firms gain a foothold in agile, high-growth markets that can help validate and scale their innovations.

Also read: Meta accelerates AI innovation in Singapore with Llama Incubator program demo day

A model for future cross-border innovation

The X-Hub Tokyo–Singapore Demo Day 2025 illustrated a powerful model for future cross-border innovation programs. It’s not about startups trying to “fit into” foreign ecosystems—it’s about designing shared innovation journeys. The most successful collaborations are those that combine the strengths of both ecosystems from the start.

As global challenges become increasingly complex, no single ecosystem can tackle them alone. Cross-border co-creation allows us to pool capabilities, accelerate learning cycles, and unlock new market opportunities in ways that siloed innovation simply can’t.

Collaboration is the new engine of growth

As we reflect on the outcomes of the Demo Day, it’s clear that the partnership between Japan and Southeast Asia is entering a more mature, strategic phase. The days of one-way technology transfer are giving way to mutual innovation ecosystems, where both sides contribute, learn, and grow together.

This is a blueprint for how innovation will increasingly happen in a connected world. Ecosystems that collaborate across borders will be better positioned to create transformative impact.

For founders, corporates, and ecosystem builders, the message is clear: the future belongs to those who innovate together.

Interested in creating impact with us? Contact Innovate here.

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A new study by healthcare AI startup Ubie has revealed that Singapore ranks top globally with an AI Hub Score of 95 out of 100.

The research analysed AI job openings on LinkedIn, company density on Crunchbase, average salaries, research institutions, government funding, and cost of living affordability.

These metrics were combined into an AI Hub Score to identify which cities offer the strongest ecosystems for AI development and innovation.

Also Read: Why Dubai’s AI and smart city strategy is attracting Southeast Asian startups

Key stats for Singapore:

• AI jobs listed: 1,100
• AI Hub Score: 95
• AI companies on Crunchbase: 666
• Average AI salary: US$123,000 per year
• AI research institutions: 3

 

According to the data, Singapore leads with 1,100 AI job openings on LinkedIn, the highest among all ranked cities. The city also hosts 666 AI companies listed on Crunchbase and offers an average annual salary of US$123,000 for AI specialists.

Singapore is home to three major AI institutions, including the Centre for Frontier AI Research and the NUS AI Lab. The combination of job availability, company density, and research infrastructure gave Singapore the highest overall score.

Top 10 AI hubs

• Boston, the US, claims second place with an AI Hub Score of 93. The city matches Singapore’s company density, with 626 AI firms listed on Crunchbase, and offers a higher average salary of US$134,000.
• Berlin, Germany, ranks third with a score of 90. The city has nine AI research institutions, the most of any ranked city, more than triple the number of Singapore and Boston combined. Despite having 526 AI companies and 465 job openings, Berlin offers the lowest salaries among top-ranked hubs at US$74,000 annually.
• Austin, the US, secures fourth place with an AI Hub Score of 88. The Texas capital leads in company density, with 892 AI firms listed on Crunchbase, yet has only one dedicated research institution: the University of Texas. Average salaries here reach US$135,000, making it one of the highest-paying markets for AI talent. The city lists 555 active job openings.

Also Read: A brief history of AI: Is winter coming?

• Paris, France, rounds out the top five with a score of 85. The French capital hosts the highest number of AI companies in the ranking at 1,100 firms, nearly double Berlin’s count. AI specialists earn an average of US$80,000 annually, while benefiting from a cost of living that’s three times lower than in Singapore. The city has 339 job openings and three research institutions.

As per a recent Salesforce study, Singapore ranks second globally—and first in Asia Pacific—for overall AI readiness. The recognition reinforces Singapore’s longstanding leadership in AI and underscores its national strategy’s effectiveness in laying the groundwork for the next phase of AI transformation: agentic AI.

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