Social games analytics and pesonalization engine Sogamo raises funds from IncuVest

Sogamo, a Singapore-based real-time analytics and personalization engine for social games, has recently closed USD 500K in seed funding from Incuvest and NRF under the Technology Incubation Scheme (TIS). The funds will help ZelRealm, the company behind Sogamo, scale and market their product. Read more

Red Dot Ventures invests USD480K in Singapore’s Innova Technology

Singapore-based technology startup incubator Red Dot Ventures announced yesterday that it has invested SGD589k (USD480k) in Innova Technology, a Singapore startup that has developed consumer loss-prevention device Protag.

In the press release, Red Dot Ventures states that it will provide the company not just with funding, but also mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs in the consumer digital space, as well as market access to Asia Pacific, the Americas, and Europe.

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Sprooki gets USD 0.48M in seed funding from Get2Volume and NRF

Sprooki, a Singapore-based company that provides retailers with end-to-end mobile solutions to engage customers, has secured SGD 0.59M (USD 0.48M) in seed funding from startup incubator Get2Volume, in partnership with the National Research Foundation.

Sprooki has received a total of SGD 1M (USD 0.81M) in funds so far. It’s the second time Get2Volume has invested in the company.

Since the startup’s launch in October 2011, where it announced a tie up with Orchard Road mall 313@Somerset, it has partnered with over 60 mall and retailers in Singapore and Asia. Read more

Plunify, which makes chip design cheaper, faster and mobile, raises USD 484k from Get2Volume and NRF

Plunify, a Singapore startup that brings microchip design to the cloud, announced this week that it has raised seed funding of SGD589k (USD484k) from Get2Volume and the National Research Foundation (NRF).

Get2Volume is an early stage technology investor and incubator, while NRF is a government organization that promotes R&D in the country.

Chip design is an inherently complex process requiring sizable computing power. What Plunify does is offload some of the most demanding tasks to the cloud, which can complete these tasks faster than traditional methods due to its parallel computing capabilities and flexibility. Read more

Yinglan Tan, former projects head at NRF, joins Sequoia Capital India as venture partner

Yinglan Tan, head of projects at the National Research Foundation and author of Chinnovation, a book on Chinese innovators, has left the Singapore government organization to tackle a new challenge: Become venture partner at Sequoia Capital India.

He announced his new post, which is effective from July, on LinkedIn. He is still based in Singapore. Read more

Enterprise social network startup Sambaash gets US$1.64M from Exstream and Stream Global

Sambaash, a Singapore-based startup which creates online communities for businesses and organizations through established social media platforms, announced today in a press release that it has raised S$2.1M (US$1.64M) from two Singapore-based investors: Extream Ventures and Stream Global.

The startup’s solutions cover a wide range of industries, including travel, fashion, creative, healthcare, education, research, conferences and events, as well as professional communities. Read more

First Meta secures USD466k from Plug and Play and NRF

First Meta, a Singapore startup that provides a web-based exchange for users to buy, sell, and trade virtual currencies for real money across multiple games and virtual worlds, has received SG$588k (US$466k) in growth capital. Read more

Eight more incubators join Singapore’s Technology Incubation Scheme

The National Research Foundation (NRF), a Singapore government agency, has picked eight more incubators for its Technology Incubation Scheme (TIS).

The eight incubators are: Get2Volume, Golden Gate Venture Investments, Incuvest, Jungle Ventures, Red Dot Ventures, The Biofactory, The Network Fund (TNF), and WaveMaker Labs. Full details in the press release.

Under TIS, the NRF will co-fund up to 85 percent of total investment per company, or up to S$500k (US$400k), with the rest topped up by the venture firm. Only Singapore-based startups need apply.

The incubators can choose to buy out NRF’s equity share within three years of investment, at a price of 1.1 times capital in the first two years, and 1.15 times capital in year three.

Born in 2006, the NRF dictates the country’s direction for R&D by developing national policies and planning strategies for innovation, enterprise, and research. Read more

Singapore-MIT game Dark Dot hits 448k downloads; popular in Asia

Dark Dot, a Singapore-developed top-down shooter that offers a refreshing take on the genre, has achieved success.

Downloaded over 448,000 times, the app became the top action game in 48 countries, including China, US, and Singapore, and also the top free app in Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia, reported TODAY.

All this in just three months after its launch in October.

The game is a product of the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab, a program supported by the National Research Foundation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA).  Read more

New Channel NewsAsia programme on tech entrepreneurship

Growing BiG Ideas, a four-part program that will introduce viewers to the tech entrepreneurship scene in Singapore, is inviting questions on its Facebook Page for Frank Levinson, managing director of the commercial incubator, Small World Group (see interview). Read more