Huawei Cloud launched the inaugural Spark Incubator programme as part of its partnership with the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s (IMDA) PIXEL Innovation Hub.
It targets early-stage Singapore-based start-ups in the pre-seed and seed space from sectors including FinTech, Web3, Metaverse and Software as a Service (SaaS) focused enterprises. The programme aims to support their growth to Series A and expansion in Singapore and Asean region.
The programme aims to incubate up to 12 start-ups per cohort for a period of five months and will be run twice over the span of a year. It will provide access to valuable resources and expertise from Huawei and IMDA to further accelerate and grow their business.
Throughout this incubator programme, participants can look to receive Huawei Cloud credits up to US$60,000, up to $75,000 fee-free processing on Stripe, office space at PIXEL, as well as additional mentorship from Huawei and its like-minded industry partners.
Startups are expected to receive third party financing over $250,000 or increase their valuation by at least 20%, or cross $250,000 at its annual revenue in the post-programme.
After four months of selection from over 80 applications, Leo Jiang, Chief Digital Officer of Huawei Cloud APAC and the director of the Spark Programme announced the names of the nine start-ups as the first cohort from November 2022 to March 2023:
See also: Singapore-headquartered Purpose Venture Capital co-invests US$17.3 mil into biotech startup
Web 3
Nervotec: Healthcare analytics as a service to monitor medical grade vital signs
NFT Circle: Digitalisation of physical asset, real estate, and arts as a service
Heros: Enable athletes to monetise their careers through fan engagements and rewards
Fintech
D-Risk: Assists companies to manage credit risk efficiently, accurately, and affordably with
AI
Corgi.AI: A fraud prevention AI plug-in helping businesses better understand and prevent fraud
See also: Silicon Valley start-ups had their worst funding year since 2019
Enterprise SaaS
Linh.AI: Solution for higher quality and cost-effective data annotation
Better Data: AI synthetic data provider
Zapkad: A smart digital business card with comprehensive features worldwide
Xrator: Forges cyber resilience for all organisations
“Working alongside these most promising start-ups provides co-creation and innovative opportunities where together we can bring greater value to our customers, and upscale Singapore’s economic competitiveness in the long-term. We pledge to continue driving innovation with our start-up’s alumni from Singapore to Asia Pacific and even further, providing a global platform for the most ground-breaking and transformational companies to thrive.” says Foo Fang Yong, CEO of Huawei International.
“Start-ups participating in the Spark Incubator Programme can look forward to dedicated mentorship and access to facilities. The programme brings together Huawei’s expertise and IMDA PIXEL’s facilities in Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, as well as the network of 12,000 solutions providers under IMDA’s Open Innovation Platform (OIP). These help Singapore start-ups build world-class products and scale across the region,” says Lew Chuen Hong, chief executive, IMDA.
Since its inception from Singapore as a start-up accelerator in 2020, Huawei Cloud’s Spark programme has received over 3,000 applications over the past two years across the globe, with US$50 million raised by Spark alumni from investors.
Applications to join the May 2023 cohort of Huawei Spark Incubator programme are open now. Eligible applicants should be Singapore-located, must ensure that teams already have at least a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), possess a strong product-market fit and moat, paid proof-of-concepts, and have previous entrepreneurial or corporate experience, coupled with strong ambition to scale their business regionally and globally by leveraging Huawei Cloud. Interested start-ups may apply here.
