Many tech startups face a double bind. Young companies lack impressive track records or proof of business model sophistication to convince clients. Yet typically, these can only be established through strong branding and reference customers, creating a vicious cycle that hinders startups’ ability to operationalise at scale.

This is the basis of Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) Spark, a Singapore-based programme that supports early-stage, high-potential tech startups facing challenges in scaling up.

IMDA Spark has helped innovators such as digital twin company Virspatial Technologies and cybersecurity firm Attivo Networks fully realise their potential, through tailored engagement plans and support to hone their business strategy and build a customer base.

 

Virspatial Technologies: From Warming Up to Success

Virspatial Technologies (Virspatial) is an international digital twin startup which uses virtual representations of real-world systems such as assembly lines and supply chains to generate data or simulate proposed changes. They offer organisations a full-stack solution that is easy to use without needing to hire a specialised team of digital twin engineers.   

As a globally leading smart city with a well-established digital infrastructure, Singapore offers a rich testbed for companies like Virspatial. In exchange, Virspatial’s technology could help local companies digitise functions such as building resource management and also advance the adoption of green construction under government initiatives such as the Green Building Masterplan (SGBMP).

Virspatial, which originated in Shanghai, joined the IMDA Spark programme and began its international expansion in the summer of 2019. Partner and Managing Director Gavin Gui recalls Virspatial’s acceptance into the programme as “a strong endorsement for a start-up”, given IMDA’s high standards. To help Virspatial overcome the challenge of localising in Singapore, the agency assessed the company’s technical products to determine how its services could meet market needs. IMDA then used its knowledge of the various private sector and government players’ pain points to make strategic referrals.

Since its time with Spark, Virspatial has established a steady pipeline of projects with partners including Schneider Electric, Microsoft, ST Engineering, and Singtel. These relationships have paved the way for expansion into other regional markets.

Virspatial currently has people on the ground in Malaysia and Thailand and is eyeing a Vietnam expansion next. The company will continue to work with IMDA on its overseas ventures, having levelled up to the IMDA Accreditation programme which expands companies’ access to larger government and private sector projects and requires more rigorous evaluation.

Attivo Networks: Lighting a Fire Under Cybersecurity-Hesitant Clients

Founded in Silicon Valley in 2014, Attivo Networks (Attivo) specialises in advanced, deception-based cybersecurity. East Asia Vice President Jeremy Ho compares the current state of cybersecurity to the security features of gated estates, in which security checkpoints are concentrated at entry points such as login menus on web pages. Deception-based cybersecurity, meanwhile, presumes that the intruder is already inside the digital system, and sets traps all over to lure them out of hiding. For a company introducing a new approach to cybersecurity, educating customers who were used to more traditional approaches was a challenge.

Originally a part of JTC’s BLOCK71 startup community in Singapore, Attivo joined IMDA Spark in 2019. Through the programme, Attivo quickly earned recognition for its product and won new clients.

Attivo sees Singapore as a launchpad for APAC, given the Government’s recognition of cybersecurity’s value and regional leadership role. The country is “a model of cybersecurity,” according to Ho, “and operating here instils confidence in clients overseas”. Singapore’s deep pool of global tech talent also made it a logical choice for an APAC headquarters.

 

Having added 30 new customers over the last three years, Attivo now has 450 customers globally, of which many are Fortune 500 companies or key players in the critical infrastructure industry. 

 

Passing the Torch

The first step to expansion is finding the right partner for localisation, says Gui, and Singapore, in his view, is tech companies’ best gateway to the APAC market.

With a vibrant innovation ecosystem, connected business network, and proactive government initiatives, Singapore offers one of the world’s most conducive environments for tech startups to expand internationally. Scaling promising technologies within Asia need no longer be a slow burn.