Mr Michael Yap, Deputy Chief Executive of the Media Development Authority (MDA) and Executive Director of the IDM R&D Programme Office,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

            I am pleased to be here today at the i.JAM networking event which has attracted young start-ups and established companies.

i.JAM’s achievements

2          The IDM R & D Programme Office has seen a steady increase in companies and start-ups which seek funding for their proposals.  The IDMPO today receives about 50 proposals every month.  Under the IDM R&D programmes, the i.JAM microfunding initiative has achieved encouraging results. Targeted at supporting IDM innovation at the grassroots level – that is, individuals or start-ups with bright ideas – i.JAM has since supported 70 projects, of which 10 projects have since been completed. Six of these 10 completed projects have already captured the interest of several investors. These projects have either secured follow-on funding or are in discussions with the investors.  

3          i.JAM is also well supported by a network of passionate incubators or mentors who have been guiding our young IDM entrepreneurs, who in turn are eager to learn and explore new possibilities.  Let me highlight two projects.  Fresbo, a social networking virtual world application, is now the top Friendster application with over 220,000 registered users since it started offering the service only three months ago. Another start-up, iHipo, uses social networking methodology to connect job seekers with international job placements. Although it was only established late last year, iHipo currently has over 23,000 sign-ups from all over the world.  I hope these promising examples will inspire more individuals and start-ups to venture into IDM.

i.MATCH to enhance IDM funding support

4          Today, I am happy to announce that the IDMPO will partner SPRING Singapore to launch a new initiative, i.MATCH. This initiative aims to match IDM companies, especially start-ups that have innovative products at development stage, to potential angel investors or major corporate industry players. This will not just enhance the existing funding support available for the start-ups, but also offer potential angel investors or major corporate industry players the opportunity to invest in new and promising IDM products. IDMPO and SPRING Singapore will also provide seed funding to selected projects. i.MATCH will help catalyse the growth of start-ups and prepare them for the global market.

5          i.MATCH has secured early commitment from some 40 investors, including local flagship companies such as the Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), ST Electronics and Mediacorp Technologies as well as local and international venture capitalists like IDG Ventures and Stream Global. Two key local investor communities, the Business Angels Network South East Asia and Singapore Venture Capital & Private Equity Association have also pledged their support for i.MATCH.

Increasing IDM R&D Collaboration

6          To further the growth of our IDM companies, the IDMPO has been actively forging strategic partnerships with companies such as Apple, Hewlett Packard and Friendster. The worldwide distribution platforms offered by these partners will enable our IDM companies to venture into the global market. These global companies will also commit resources in the areas of development and marketing for new projects that are developed on their platforms.

7          Our local media companies have also been investing heavily in IDM R&D. Just last month, MediaCorp Technologies announced the set-up of an IDM lab to develop cutting-edge technologies to create and deliver interactive rich media content to multiple devices. Today, ST Electronics has also announced that they would be setting up a R&D lab called STE-CIM (Centre for Interactive Media) to research and develop advanced technologies in virtual representation and immersiveness, as well as visual effects and animation. ST Electronics will also be signing an agreement with the China-Singapore Institute of Digital Media (CSIDM) to co-develop human-computer interface technologies. SPH, too, has introduced a new search engine, Rednano.sg, and will be launching Singapore’s first webcast portal, The Straits Times RazorTV.

8          In embracing IDM, our flagship companies have been actively tapping on the R&D efforts by local start-ups and IHLs. SPH’s collaboration with Ufinity and NUS on two separate projects is a case in point. Ufinity, a solution provider in interactive media and convergence services, will help SPH set up RazorTV while NUS will partner with SPH to jointly develop a new search engine applicable to both online and mobile platforms. These intertwining efforts, knowledge sharing and partnerships, both locally and internationally, will generate new opportunities, possibilities and spur more innovative applications and services. We will witness the signing of these collaborations later.

Conclusion

9          Our IDM R&D landscape may still be in its nascent stage, but there have been encouraging results. With sustained efforts, we hope to see a vibrant IDM eco-system flourish.  Finally, I wish everyone a fruitful and rewarding networking session.

10        Thank you.