The Case for Building Corporate Ventures Using Deep Tech

Deep tech offers a compelling opportunity for corporate investors, but it is one that is often overlooked due to fear of complexity, aversion to risk, and hesitation around appropriate domain knowledge. Investing in deep tech means throwing out the rule book and daring to embrace change—steps critical to unlocking these powerful and potentially lucrative technologies.

Deep tech investments accelerated significantly from 2016 to 2020, with investment quadrupling from USD15 billion to over USD60 billion during this period. This seismic shift is equally apparent in Southeast Asia, with major investment firms such as Singapore-owned Temasek committed to investing a significant SGD1 billion across a range of deep tech domains in 2022. This investment is in addition to Singapore’s Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 plan, which includes pledges to invest SGD25 billion into cutting-edge technology.

Deep tech is notoriously known for being high risk, but it’s also a remarkable opportunity for launching corporate ventures.