Success is not just about making money; it’s about making a difference.

This was on Rudder Wu’s mind when he founded Thermalytica Inc., a Japan-based clean-tech startup that aims to combat climate change with their innovative and cutting-edge insulation material.

Combining his strong interest in materials engineering with his strong belief that advanced thermal management technology is essential in tackling today’s environmental issues, Wu dedicated years conducting R&D on insulation materials.

The result – TIISA® (Thermal Insulation Inflatable-Solid-Air), an advanced thermal insultation material developed by Wu.

Thermalytica’s proprietary material – TIISA®

Unlike standard aerogel materials, TIISA’s® high porosity and liquid-like fluidity provides superior thermal insultation and heat shielding. Super-insulation materials are critical in reducing power consumption and carbon emissions as they create a thermal barrier that prevents heat from entering or leaking.

This solution’s insulation capabilities have brought about transformative change across multiple industries, with applications ranging from liquid hydrogen logistics (transportation and storage), building insulation to EV battery thermal runaway mitigation.

2023 was a year of significant milestones for Thermalytica. These include successfully closing a Series-A fundraising round that raised JPY112.5 million (SGD $983,000), and being recognised as a J-Startup, a title given to Japanese startups that are making positive societal impacts.

More recently, Thermalytica clinched the position of grand winner at SLINGSHOT 2023, Asia’s most exciting deep tech competition held at the annual Singapore Week of Innovation and Tech (SWITCH). Through SLINGSHOT, Thermalytica accessed valuable networking opportunities, forged meaningful and strategic partnerships, and gained connections to new funding avenues.

Things are just heating up for the rising startup, who are currently in fundraising discussions with Singapore and Japanese investors they connected with at the competition. “We have future goals to further scale our operations, expand our market reach, and continue innovating in the field of sustainable solutions”, says Wu.

A nation built on innovation

Jae Yong Kin, co-founder and co-CEO of Bering Lab pitching at SLINGSHOT 2023

SLINGSHOT is one of Singapore’s many avenues for innovation.

Home to over 4,000 tech startups, with a diverse pool of 400 VC firms and 220 accelerators and incubators, Singapore’s startup ecosystem is thriving.

Today, more focus is placed on growing deep tech startups, who are “able to disrupt entire industries and create massively outsized social and economic impacts”, says Cindy Ngiam, Director for SWITCH.

“SLINGSHOT serves as a platform for talented startup founders to network and form partnerships with Singapore-based founders, VCs, researchers, corporates and ecosystem partners”, adds Ngiam. “Participating deep tech startups can leverage EnterpriseSG’s global innovation network as well as the connections made through SLINGSHOT, to base themselves in Singapore and then scale into the region and beyond”.

In 2023, 4,700 startups from 150 countries took part in the deep tech competition, with the shortlisted Top 50 Global Startups participating in an Immersion Programme in Singapore to explore business matching opportunities and attend networking sessions.

Part of the shortlisted top-50 startups is Bering Lab, a Korean-based startup that provides AI-powered translation tools for legal and patent industries.

Bering Lab’s AI-powered translation engine and tool

The idea for a domain-specific translator occurred during co-founder and co-CEO Seong Moon’s time as a practising lawyer, when he noticed that associates and interns were spending a lot of time translating legal documents.

Compared to general language translators like Google Translate, Bering Lab’s AI models can produce higher quality legal translations. They also offer maximum data security for confidential information, an important feature for the legal industry.

Members from the Bering Lab team

After winning the Huawei Cloud Startup Ignite Competition, a partner competition of SLINGSHOT, Bering Lab was fast-tracked to the top 50 round.

With the goal of expanding beyond Korea to become a global player, Bering Lab seized on the opportunity to join SLINGSHOT, where they managed to connect with potential new clients and meet other founders.

“We met several partners and venture capitalists who showed interest in our product and company”, said co-founder and co-CEO Jae Yoon Kim. “These connections will fuel our expansion into Singapore and Southeast Asia”.

SLINGSHOT your startup onto the global map

The Kinexcs team

Another SLINGSHOT winner is Kinexcs, an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital health and wearables company focused on enabling mobility for patients with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.

A global team comprising of individuals from eight different nationalities spanning across three countries, participating in SLINGSHOT 2023 was the natural next step for them, as the competition exposed Kinexcs to a global pool of investors and customers.

Kinexcs’ flagship product – KIMIA Recover

With around 1.71 billion people worldwide suffering from MSK conditions, Kinexcs hopes to empower individuals living with MSK with their flagship product KIMIA Recover, a system designed for post-surgical recovery management.

Unlike most telerehabilitation solutions, KIMIA Recover provides users with a personalised and holistic experience, taking care of patients’ entire recovery journey, from pain to mobility to patient-clinical interactions.

“Since our win, Kinexcs has onboarded many new marquee healthcare customers in the region, and also closed a successful Series Pre-A round of financing,” shares co-founder and CEO Abhishek Agrawal.

Abhishek Agrawal, co-founder and CEO of Kinexcs, receiving the second runner-up award at SLINGSHOT 2023

From fighting climate change with an advanced thermal insulation material to improving the lives of individuals with MSK to transforming the translation landscape for legal and patent industries, all three deep tech startups are changing the world with their innovative solutions.

Inspired to contribute and power change for the future? If you have an innovative solution up your sleeve, join us at SLINGSHOT 2024 to bring your ideas to life.

Applications for SLINGSHOT 2024 are now open. Come immerse in our vibrant startup and innovation ecosystem. We look forward to seeing you here!