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eChai in

Singapore

Next: eChai Singapore Startup Mixer, Thu 15 Oct

Singapore is the gateway hub of Southeast Asian tech: the place where capital, talent and cross-border ambition from India, China and the rest of SEA converge. It is Asia's fintech and web3 capital (Nium, Thunes, Aspire and a dense crypto cluster around Matrixport, Coinhako and StraitsX), and the home of the region's super-app lineage, Sea, Grab and Carousell, plus commerce and logistics names like Carro, Ninja Van and ShopBack. For many founders, a Singapore holding company is the natural regional base for a business that operates across the whole of Southeast Asia.

The ecosystem is unusual in being government-catalysed. Sovereign and state-linked capital sets the tempo (Temasek and Vertex, GIC, EDBI, SGInnovate), the MAS fintech sandbox opened the door for the payments and web3 wave, and the BLOCK71 and LaunchPad cluster at one-north anchors the early-stage scene alongside the EnterpriseSG, EDB and A*STAR stack. Singapore also runs two niches it leads globally: carbon markets (Climate Impact X, GenZero) and agri-food-tech under the 30-by-30 push (Umami Bioworks, Archisen), plus a real maritime and trade-tech cluster around PIER71.

For eChai, Singapore is one of the most important diaspora stories anywhere. Indian founders run some of the city's most valuable companies, from Nium and Syfe in fintech to Multiplier and CYFIRMA in B2B software, and India to SEA funds like Leo Capital, Jungle Ventures and Peak XV are woven through the cap tables. India-linked networks (TiE Singapore, SICCI, IITAAS) sit alongside anchor events like Singapore FinTech Festival and TOKEN2049. The pages below map who is building, who is funding it, where founders actually meet, and that cross-border bridge, which is exactly what an eChai Singapore page is for.

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What is on in Singapore.

Every gathering in Singapore

Singapore's startups, on one map.

The Startup Grid puts Singapore's startups on the map where they work, with the city's investors, incubators and coworking spaces beside them, and walks you round them part of town by part of town.

Open the map of Singapore

Where founders in Singapore build.

Startups

  • Singlife CBD
  • Amber Group CBD
  • Crypto.com CBD
  • Matrixport one-north
  • Sygnum CBD
  • Thunes CBD
All of them

Investors

  • TiE Singapore (The Indus Entrepreneurs) **type:** community **subtype:** diaspora entrepreneur network **venue:** Singapore (various) **day:** year-round; TiE Angels ~4 sessions/yr **la:** 1.2900 **ln:** 103.8500 **desc:** The Singapore chapter of TiE, the global Indus-diaspora entrepreneurship org (founded 1992/94). The single most important South-Asian founder network in Singapore. Runs TiE Angels (four investor–founder matchmaking sessions a year), TiE Elevate (cohort-based scaling program with masterclasses and mentorship), and TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) for high-schoolers. Hosted the TiE Global Summit 2023 in Singapore; flagship global events are TiEcon and the TiE Global Summit. **link:** https://singapore.tie.org/ - Singapore (various) **day:** year-round; TiE Angels ~4 sessions/yr **la:** 1.2900 **ln:** 103.8500 **desc:** The Singapore chapter of TiE, the global Indus-diaspora entrepreneurship org (founded 1992/94). The single most important South-Asian founder network in Singapore. Runs TiE Angels (four investor–founder matchmaking sessions a year), TiE Elevate (cohort-based scaling program with masterclasses and mentorship), and TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) for high-schoolers. Hosted the TiE Global Summit 2023 in Singapore; flagship global events are TiEcon and the TiE Global Summit. **link:** https://singapore.tie.org/ -
  • Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SICCI) **type:** community **subtype:** diaspora chamber / trade body **venue:** Singapore **day:** year-round **la:** 1.2789 **ln:** 103.8536 **desc:** Established 1924, the premier business association for Indian businesses in Singapore, with 600+ members. Acts as advocator, connector and enabler Singapore **day:** year-round **la:** 1.2789 **ln:** 103.8536 **desc:** Established 1924, the premier business association for Indian businesses in Singapore, with 600+ members. Acts as advocator, connector and enabler — trade documentation, business advisory, networking sessions, seminars, and access to Startup SG Tech funding. Regularly hosts Indian government, institutional and university delegations, making it a key India–Singapore corridor node. **link:** https://sicci.com/ -
  • IIT Alumni Association Singapore (IITAAS) **type:** community **subtype:** alumni network (diaspora) **venue:** Singapore **day:** year-round **la:** 1.2900 **ln:** 103.8500 **desc:** Founded 1993/94, the second-largest overseas IIT community Singapore **day:** year-round **la:** 1.2900 **ln:** 103.8500 **desc:** Founded 1993/94, the second-largest overseas IIT community — 3,500+ IIT alumni in Singapore with roughly 100 entrepreneurs among them. A non-profit that builds the IIT network locally and is a natural feeder of technical founders and angels into the Indian-diaspora startup scene. **link:** https://www.iit.org/page/iit-alumni-association-singapore-iitaas -
  • Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) × SWITCH **type:** event **subtype:** flagship conference (FinTech) **venue:** Singapore EXPO **day:** annual, November (2025: 12–14 Nov; Insights Forum 10–11 Nov) **la:** 1.3346 **ln:** 103.9615 **desc:** THE flagship Singapore EXPO **day:** annual, November (2025: 12–14 Nov; Insights Forum 10–11 Nov) **la:** 1.3346 **ln:** 103.9615 **desc:** THE flagship — the world's largest FinTech festival, organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) with the Global Finance & Technology Network and Constellar. 2025 marked its 10th anniversary (12–14 Nov), preceded by the Insights Forum and Innovation Lab Crawl (10–11 Nov). Historically bundled with SWITCH (Singapore Week of Innovation & Technology) for a deep-tech week. Anchors the calendar for anyone touching fintech, payments or Web3 in the region. **link:** https://www.fintechfestival.sg/ -
  • TOKEN2049 Singapore **type:** event **subtype:** flagship conference (crypto/Web3) **venue:** Marina Bay Sands **day:** annual, autumn (2025: 1–2 Oct; TOKEN2049 Week 29 Sep–5 Oct) **la:** 1.2838 **ln:** 103.8591 **desc:** The world's largest crypto conference Marina Bay Sands **day:** annual, autumn (2025: 1–2 Oct; TOKEN2049 Week 29 Sep–5 Oct) **la:** 1.2838 **ln:** 103.8591 **desc:** The world's largest crypto conference — 2025 drew a record ~25,000 attendees from 160+ countries with 500+ exhibitors at Marina Bay Sands. Two days of five simultaneous forums, and it anchors a citywide "TOKEN2049 Week" with 1,000+ side events (investor forums, hackathons, nightlife). 2025 speakers included Vlad Tenev, Tom Lee, Paolo Ardoino, Arthur Hayes and Balaji Srinivasan. Next Singapore edition: 7–8 Oct 2026. **link:** https://www.token2049.com/singapore -
  • Echelon Asia Summit (by e27) **type:** event **subtype:** flagship conference (startup/SEA) **venue:** Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre **day:** annual, June (2025: 10–11 Jun) **la:** 1.2949 **ln:** 103.8590 **desc:** e27's flagship two-day SEA startup summit Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre **day:** annual, June (2025: 10–11 Jun) **la:** 1.2949 **ln:** 103.8590 **desc:** e27's flagship two-day SEA startup summit — in 2025 (11th edition) it drew 8,000+ founders, investors, corporates and government stakeholders across three themed stages (Future, Forge, Growth) with 150+ speakers. Its TOP100 program showcases 100+ early-stage companies from 10+ Asian markets, with the top 10 pitching live. The most founder/investor-matchmaking-focused of the big SG conferences. **link:** https://echelon.e27.co/ -
All of them

Incubators and accelerators

  • LaunchPad @ one-north (JTC) Ayer Rajah Crescent, one-north
  • Antler one-north / Singapore (global HQ)
  • Iterative Singapore
  • Techstars Singapore Singapore
  • 500 Global (Southeast Asia) Singapore
  • ICE71 (Innovation Cybersecurity Ecosystem at Block71) BLOCK71, 71 Ayer Rajah Crescent
All of them

Coworking

  • JustCo The Centrepoint, 176 Orchard Road (flagship)
  • The Great Room One George Street & 6 other CBD locations
  • WeWork Singapore 21 Collyer Quay (flagship) + ~12 locations
  • Found8 Prinsep Street / Amoy Street, Singapore
All of them

Communities

  • BITS Alumni Association (BITSAA) Singapore **day:** year-round **la:** 1.2900 **ln:** 103.8500 **desc:** Singapore presence of BITSAA International, the global BITS Pilani alumni network. Another significant South-Asian technical-founder and professional community in Singapore, running alumni networking and referral activity that overlaps heavily with the startup diaspora. **link:** https://www.bitsaa.org/ -
  • 65Labs **type:** community **subtype:** AI/builder collective **venue:** Singapore **day:** recurring since 2023 **la:** 1.2900 **ln:** 103.8500 **desc:** A volunteer-run Singapore community collective (5,000+ people) hosting AI meetups, workshops and hackathons since 2023. Grassroots builder energy Singapore **day:** recurring since 2023 **la:** 1.2900 **ln:** 103.8500 **desc:** A volunteer-run Singapore community collective (5,000+ people) hosting AI meetups, workshops and hackathons since 2023. Grassroots builder energy — a key channel for reaching hands-on AI founders and engineers in the city. **link:** https://www.meetup.com/singapore-startup-community/ -
  • Tech in Asia **type:** community **subtype:** startup media / events **venue:** Singapore **day:** year-round **la:** 1.2900 **ln:** 103.8500 **desc:** The largest English-language tech media company focused on Asia (~1M monthly traffic), spanning news, a jobs marketplace and tech conferences across the region. A dominant voice shaping startup narratives and events in Singapore and SEA. **link:** https://www.techinasia.com/ - Singapore **day:** year-round **la:** 1.2900 **ln:** 103.8500 **desc:** The largest English-language tech media company focused on Asia (~1M monthly traffic), spanning news, a jobs marketplace and tech conferences across the region. A dominant voice shaping startup narratives and events in Singapore and SEA. **link:** https://www.techinasia.com/ -
All of them

Neighbourhoods

  • one-north (deeptech & research)
  • CBD & Central Business District (fintech)
  • Singapore (city-state)
All of them

Questions about Singapore.

What does the startup ecosystem in Singapore look like?
Singapore is the gateway hub of Southeast Asian tech. It is Asia's fintech and web3 capital (Nium, Thunes, Aspire, plus a crypto cluster around Matrixport and StraitsX), home of the super-apps (Sea, Grab, Carousell), and the base for two global niches, carbon markets and agri-food-tech, plus a real maritime and trade-tech cluster. The vertical pages above map who is building what.
Why is Singapore the gateway to Southeast Asia for startups?
It combines rule of law, a deep pool of state and sovereign capital (Temasek, GIC, EDBI), the MAS fintech sandbox, and neutral positioning between India, China and the rest of SEA. Many founders base a regional holding company here to operate across Southeast Asia, which is why so much India to SEA startup flow runs through the city.
Where do founders network in Singapore?
At meetups, demo days and industry weeks more than at closed conferences. eChai runs free, open founder meetups in Singapore with an India to SEA flavour. Beyond eChai there is a thick layer of communities and anchor events, from Singapore FinTech Festival to TOKEN2049, listed in the communities section below. The simplest first step is to show up to an upcoming event.
Who are the Indian founders in Singapore?
A large share of the city's most valuable startups are Indian-founded or Indian-led, from Nium and Syfe in fintech to Multiplier and CYFIRMA in B2B software. The Diaspora tab above maps that cluster company by company, and lists the India-linked networks, TiE Singapore, SICCI and IITAAS, that eChai connects into.
Who are the active VCs and investors in Singapore?
The ecosystem is government-catalysed: state-linked capital (Temasek and Vertex, GIC, EDBI, SGInnovate) sets the tempo, alongside cross-border India to SEA funds like Leo Capital, Jungle Ventures and Peak XV, and Antler, one of the world's most active early-stage investors, is headquartered here. The investors section above lists firms by type.
Which accelerators and incubators are in Singapore?
BLOCK71 and LaunchPad at one-north anchor the early-stage scene, Antler runs its founder residency here, and the government stack (EnterpriseSG, EDB, MAS, A*STAR) provides grants and programmes. The incubators and coworking section above lists them by type.
What are the strongest startup sectors in Singapore?
Fintech and web3 lead, followed by the super-app, commerce and logistics lineage (Sea, Grab, Carousell, Ninja Van). Singapore also leads two global niches, carbon markets and agri-food-tech, and runs a genuine maritime and trade-tech cluster. See the vertical pages above for the full, filterable list.
How do I join the startup community in Singapore as an Indian founder?
eChai is free and open, and the Singapore chapter is built around the India to SEA bridge. Pick an upcoming event above, RSVP and walk in, no application or fee. It is one of the most natural on-ramps for an Indian founder landing in Singapore to meet both diaspora founders and the wider ecosystem.
How do I find a co-founder in Singapore?
Go where founders already gather. Antler runs a structured co-founder residency, but most pairings start informally at meetups, demo days and industry events. Come to a few eChai Singapore events, meet people building adjacent things, and the conversations tend to find their own way to co-founder fit.
What are the best startup events in Singapore this week?
The upcoming events block above is live: RSVP to the next eChai Singapore meetup. Beyond eChai, the city runs Singapore FinTech Festival, TOKEN2049 and a steady stream of sector meetups and demo days, listed in the communities section.

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