Mainboard-listed Excelpoint Technology’s entrepreneurial and strategic investment arm, Planetspark, has launched a hardware accelerator platform, PlanetSpark Innovation Centre at Changi Business Park.

The centre was officially opened by Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing on Jan 12.

The centre is dedicated to help Singapore tech startups speed up market deployment of their innovations in Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT).

It will bring together innovators, hardware and software providers, venture capitalists, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), manufacturers and potential customers, and provide a one-stop ecosystem to help startups develop their AIoT solutions.

SEE: Father-daughter duo at Excelpoint rides out cycles; bets on start-ups for longer-term growth

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The centre is backed by Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and Excelpoint, and it will invest an initial $5 million for its research and development (R&D) expansion and development of technology platforms. The latter will allow technopreneurs are able to integrate their hardware innovation to develop solutions based on real-world problem statements.

Phuay Li Ying, Managing Director of PlanetSpark, says, “Through my work at Excelpoint, I see many Singapore hardware startups face challenges in accessing technologies from industry leaders, gaining market knowledge and finding channels to enter the regional market.”

Albert Phuay Yong Hen, chairman and group CEO of Excelpoint adds, “In the fast‐evolving electronics industry, speed to market is key and Excelpoint has always placed our focus on value‐adding to our partners. We have built strong relationships with our partners and invested in strengthening our technical capabilities for over 30 years. With PlanetSpark, we are taking our value‐add to the next level."

Shares in Excelpoint closed 1.5 cents higher or 3.1% up at 49.5 cents on Jan 12.