The JTC LaunchPad @ one-north, the official name for a well-known Singapore startup complex, will be expanding again. Affectionately called Block 71 by tenants, it will house about 750 startups by 2017, up from 500 now and 250 when it first began in 2011. The project is a collaboration between JTC Corporation and SPRING Singapore, government agencies in charge of industrial development and economic growth respectively.
The new developments were announced today at the official opening of LaunchPad, attended by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Already a vibrant place housing entrepreneurs, startup incubators, and investors, the hub has gotten many upgrades. Beyond just fresh coats of paint, there are new meeting rooms and event spaces, an enlarged eating space, recreational sports facilities, and two new blocks with offices.
There’s the red Block 73, which houses younger startups, and the lime-green Block 79, which has tenants like biotech incubator The BioFactory and Exploit Technologies, the technology commercialization arm of government research agency A*STAR. Block 79 also houses a business concierge run by the recently privatized ACE, an organization promoting entrepreneurship. The concierge acts as a guide for visitors seeking introductions or setting up a company in Singapore.
Three more buildings are planned: Block 77 will debut in 2016, while Block 75 and Block 81 will launch in 2017, in anticipation of demand from startups. The current LaunchPad is already 90 percent filled.
Beyond that, the next LaunchPad – focusing on cleantech – is already in the planning stages and will be located in JTC’s CleanTech Park, right next to the Nanyang Technological University (NTU). This gives startups access to research experts from NTU and neighboring industrial parks and businesses. More of such facilities might be popping up in different parts of Singapore in the near future, courtesy of JTC.
Graffiti wall at Block 71
Grandiose plans
These announcements are the latest in a series of startup-related government initiatives announced recently. Block 71 San Francisco was unveiled earlier this year, while government-linked venture capital firm Infocomm Investments opened up its US$200 million fund to US startups.
All this is in line with its strategy of acting like an aircraft carrier – by setting up links in different countries and startup ecosystems, it can bring local startups abroad and improve their chances of becoming a global company. Meanwhile, it can tap on the expertise of the world’s top tech companies to help local founders.
There’s also the Smart Nation initiative, which aspires to use technology and data to improve economic productivity and the lives of residents. Startups and their expertise have a role to play here. For instance, they could partner with the government through calls-for-collaboration on big data, analytics, energy efficiency projects, and more.
By aligning with the state, these companies won’t just be restricting themselves to Singapore. The government is known for leading city-building projects abroad – and that could mean lucrative projects for local tech companies.
Essentially, the LaunchPad project is the heart of Singapore’s grand ambitions of staying relevant well into the 21st century. Block 71 is situated at the nexus of government, academia, and the private sector, a curious petri dish echoing Silicon Valley’s early days when government contracts were vital to the success of its pioneer firms.
“In recent months I’ve been speaking several times to express my concerns that Singaporeans feel less confident than they should about our future. IN fact we have every reason to be confident and optimistic about our future because we are in a good position with more resources, more opportunities, more ideas than ever before,” said Prime Minister Lee in his speech at the event.
See more: Singapore’s startup scene is overrated. But that’s the only way it can succeed
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Singapore’s Block 71 to expand again, house 750 startups by 2017
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