Activate Goes Global - Launching its First Fellowship in Singapore
Building on its proven fellowship model, Activate’s Innovation Labs drives global impact for scientists turning hard-tech research into successful ventures
From Left to Right: Mr John Lim, Professor Louis Phee, Dr Cyrus Wadia, Ms Cindy Khoo after the official signing event during SWITCH
Today Activate, in partnership with multiple Singapore entities, announced they are launching the Activate Global - Singapore Fellowship, an international model of Activate’s flagship fellowship program for early-stage science entrepreneurs, to help accelerate hard-tech innovation in Singapore and catalyze support for innovators worldwide.
Announced today by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong at Enterprise Singapore's 10th annual Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH), the new program, hosted by Nanyang Technical University (NTU) and funded by Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF), will support promising early-stage entrepreneurs in Singapore, one of the world’s fastest-growing science and technology hubs. The newest fellowship of its kind in Southeast Asia, the year-long program is designed to accelerate participants’ impact as hard-tech innovators across Activate’s verticals—including advanced robotics, materials, life sciences, and more. The initial agreement between Activate, NTU, and NRF includes support for up to 40 fellows from Singaporean institutions across three cohorts in a three-year period. Read more about our Singapore partners in our official press release.
“Leveraging our ten years of experience leading the most successful hard-tech science entrepreneurship program in the United States, we are ready to scale our impact,” said Cyrus Wadia, CEO of Activate. “Expanding internationally is our next step because the challenges we face are global. Singapore, sitting at the crossroads of scientific research, global trade, and industry, is the ideal place to begin this next chapter.”
Representatives from Singapore's NRF, NTU, Enterprise Singapore and Activate during the launch of Activate Global - Singapore Fellowship at Enterprise Singapore's SWITCH conference
The Activate Global - Singapore Fellowship is Activate’s next step in expanding impact through Innovation Labs, an initiative to pilot new approaches to make entrepreneurship more accessible to scientists and engineers at every stage of their journeys. Through this new effort, Activate has launched a growing global network of programs and support—including tailored resources, mentorship, and vibrant communities of innovators—to lower barriers for potential hard-tech founders to explore entrepreneurship and transform ideas into real-world impact.
“Activate is building bridges between ecosystems—linking world-class researchers, investors, and industry partners across borders,” said Sarah Morrill, Executive Vice President of Activate Innovation Labs, as the program expands to Southeast Asia. “By doing so, we not only broaden opportunities for scientists to succeed as entrepreneurs but also strengthen the global collaboration needed to bring transformative technologies to scale.”
Anuj Jain, Director - Activate Global Fellows SG & National GRIP SG - NTU (right) and Sarah Morrill, Executive Vice President, Innovation Labs - Activate (left) presenting during Enterprise Singapore's SWITCH conference
Singapore offers a uniquely supportive environment for science entrepreneurs, combining strong public investment in R&D, world-class universities, and deep connections to global markets. Activate Fellow alumni are already making valuable connections there, including Garrett Boudinot, founder and CEO of Vycarb, who’s scaling his carbon capture and storage technology internationally.
"I see Singapore as one of the greatest catalysts for leading how the type of technology we've developed can be implemented across sectors in a real, tangible way for a strong policy incentive that can then be mimicked, mirrored, accelerated, and scaled around the world,” Boudinot said.
Applications will open in 2026 for the Activate Global - Singapore Fellowship, which will feature a living stipend and R&D budget, monthly programming and networking opportunities, and two U.S. immersions. Fellows will be supported by a managing director, program manager, and two dedicated NTU staff.
Stay tuned for more announcements coming out of Activate’s Innovation Labs, which recently launched a program to cultivate entrepreneurial talent in new regions (Bolstering Resources for Innovators from Developing and Growing Ecosystems, or “BRIDGE”) and offers opportunities to customize Activate’s entrepreneurial curriculum for a variety of settings and partners seeking to build new pathways to turn hard-tech innovation into impact.
