Agency for Science, Technology and Research

A*STAR's deal flow originates inside its own 18 research institutes, where principal investigators develop intellectual property that feeds into the agency's pipeline. This internal sourcing model — the agency holds the patents, funds the labs, and co-founds the companies — gives A*STAR first look at Singapore's publicly funded deep-tech innovations. External partners like Flagship Pioneering gain access to vetted technology and local talent pools in exchange for company-creation expertise.

A*STAR targets biomedical sciences, artificial intelligence and machine learning, advanced manufacturing, robotics, semiconductors, and sustainable energy technologies — all aligned with Singapore's national industrial strategy. It avoids consumer internet, financial services, and real estate development, preferring sectors where its lab-based R&D model can generate proprietary intellectual property before commercial transfer.

Yes. The A*STAR Graduate Academy manages PhD and postdoctoral programs that are functionally separate from corporate collaborations, ensuring academic independence. Spin-off companies are formed through a technology transfer office that keeps licensing and equity terms distinct from joint-venture budgets. This separation prevents corporate partners from gaining preferential access to foundational research before it enters the public domain.

A*STAR is the primary vehicle for executing Singapore's national Research, Innovation and Enterprise plan, which committed approximately SGD 12 billion to public-sector research between 2021 and 2025. While the agency does not disclose its own balance sheet, its budget reflects allocations from that national plan, plus co-funding from partner corporations and licensing revenue from its intellectual property portfolio.