Deeptech gathers under a single terminological umbrella the technologies that are based on scientific breakthroughs and have the potential to be commercialised.

It covers the applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning, materials, advanced manufacturing, nanotechnology, drones and robotics, photonics and electronics, clean tech, and med tech. At their core, deeptech ventures are R&D intensive and multidisciplinary.

Deeptech is becoming global

Over the last decade, the volume of related financing with cross-border participation has increased sevenfold. But don’t make any mistakes.

It is only a fine-tuned and balanced mixture of scientific innovation, high talent density, and fast-growing industry that creates an ecosystem and an attractive location to scale deeptech startups and transform them into successful and sustainable businesses. The Bay Area, Boston, and Israel built their reputation of leading deeptech nodes by reuniting those three key pillars.

In this competitive paradigm, high talent density and diversity are paramount. The rhetoric of a global war for talent and the emergence of a new type of global meritocracy has mobilised many governments to change social and economic policies to attract and retain top talents.

Also Read: The reality of renewing your rent in Singapore

Singapore is no exception. In a small country without natural resources, human resources are the competitive advantage in the global marketplace, as the city-state jostles with the rest of the world for a slice of the lucrative pie in high-tech and high-value-adding service industries.

But instead of being overwhelmed by the tides of globalisation, the Singaporean government has always believed that it can anticipate and turn globalisation to its advantage. The city-state has continuously responded to the challenges of developing local talents, retaining them, and simultaneously welcoming and assimilating foreign professionals.

Early on, the country embraced the philosophy of attracting the best students and professors to craft world-class universities. Leveraging local job opportunities, many top global corporations set up their regional headquarters in Singapore, attracted by the general quality of the infrastructures, the solid foundations of the legal system, the country’s openness to international business as well as the cosmopolitan flavour of the city.

The Singaporean financial and technology ecosystem is now globally recognised. Foreign talent is not only an economic capital but also a symbolic capital that signifies that the pace of Singapore’s economic engine is a notch above others.

When it comes to deeptech, however, many of the best talents have contributed to others’ economies over the last decades instead of choosing Singapore first-hand. It is a facet of globalisation, enhanced regionalisation and industrial attractiveness that the city-state reflects and addresses.

While consumer tech, fintech and software-driven startups still largely dominate the local entrepreneurial landscape, deeptech has recently gained prominence, boosted by elite universities, a robust public stimulus, and the efficient ecosystem support of Singaporean governmental agencies.

Singapore is redefining the deeptech scene

Singapore is keen on refining a new taxonomy of roles, skills and aptitudes dedicated to deeptech. This valuable approach connects industrial strategy and operating model to people and skill requirements, which can be used to source and develop talent within and outside the country.

Thriving ecosystems do rely on future-proof approaches to workforce planning for talents. In the case of deeptech, far more than financial investments, knowledge, data, skills, expertise, contacts, and market access are all currencies that link ecosystem players.

Today, deeptech entrepreneurs in Singapore often find themselves in unfamiliar territory, while carving out CXO roles is complex. More high-level C-level executives and seasoned entrepreneurs will be key to having the ecosystem thrive.

Also Read: Unlocking deeptech for sustainable development: SDTA launches revamped venture building programme

Bringing a solid experience in deep science prototyping, pre-industrialisation and early industrialisation, those will be responsible for steering new ventures in the right direction, connecting projects with global B2B networks.

Obviously, the construction of business ecosystems is not new, but deeptech ecosystems are nascent and operating in emerging technologies and industries. Deep technologies can affect entire value and supply chains, requiring a different playbook to analyse the stakeholders’ interdependencies and value creation models.

Hard tech startups’ development cycles are rooted in the multi-stakeholder process of transitioning technology from a research lab to the market, differentiating them from digital ventures. As new commercialisation models emerge, Singaporean research institutions are reinventing their approaches to technology transfer and existing processes, creating new entry points for entrepreneurs and investors.

Final thoughts

The rise of these inspiring deeptech entrepreneurs and the ecosystem around them is one of the more exciting business developments of our time — and like other such developments, its impact will be felt far beyond the business itself. Obviously, not every society and city will succeed in this global competition for deeptech talents.

But the ecosystems that do will be those that look forward and look for ways of creating opportunities, new opportunities, for their populations. Regularly recognised as one of the top global nations regarding innovation capabilities, Singapore is well equipped to become one of these leading scenes in the years to come.

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This article was first published on June 9, 2023

The post Unleashing the power: The fierce talent battle in deeptech innovations appeared first on e27.