The new co-investors are Elev8.VC, Golden Gate Ventures, GREE Ventures, ST Engineering Ventures, and Verge Capital Management

SGInnovate has named five new co-investors that will join the company to “further strengthen the ability to assess and invest in exciting deep tech startups at the earliest stage”.

The five names are Elev8.VC, Golden Gate Ventures with its blockchain dedicated fund LuneX Ventures, GREE Ventures, ST Engineering Ventures, and Verge Capital Management. All are said to have been selected through a stringent process based on their investment track record, financial strength, management team capabilities, as well as the adequacy of facilities and resources.

“Coming from the private sector, these new co-investors add breadth and depth to our capabilities in areas such as MedTech, and help us better pursue our mission to work with scientist-entrepreneurs to build and scale high potential, early-stage deep tech startups founded in Singapore,” said Steve Leonard, Founding CEO, SGInnovate.

Aside from selecting new co-investors, SGInnovate also took part in the seed investment round to Merkle Science, led by LuneX Ventures. This would make it the first deal to be completed with
a newly-appointed co-investor.

Combining off-chain and on-chain data for better analysis, Merkle Science works with law enforcement agencies and blockchain companies to provide a risk-monitoring solution to detect and prevent the illegal use of digital currencies.

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This funding round was also joined by Kenetic, Digital Currency Group, and Entrepreneur First.

“With digital assets moving more into the mainstream, KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) compliance are becoming increasingly important. Merkle Science will make it easier for all players in the ecosystem to be regulatory compliant and prevent any fraudulent activity from happening,” said Kenrick Drijkoningen, Managing Partner, LuneX
Ventures.

The five new partners join 17 other SGInnovate co-investors that were first announced in December 2017. Apart from the injection of capital, SGInnovate and its partners also provide strategic and management guidance to help early-stage deep tech startups grow their business and expand into new markets.

Since its inception in November 2016, SGInnovate has invested in more than 50 deep
tech startups, through a mix of direct investments and co-investments under Startup SG Equity.
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