PM Lee plugs into Blk71

PM Lee (right) checking out a demo by Mr Oliver Tan (centre), CEO of ViSenze, an NUS spin-off that provides visual search and image recognition technologies for e-commerce (Photo: JTC)

At the official opening of JTC LaunchPad @ one-north on 23 January, Guest-of-Honour Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong took the opportunity to tour Singapore's most vibrant start-up cluster at the five-hectare site at Ayer Rajah Crescent. This included Plug-In@Blk71, a leading incubation facility established and managed by NUS Enterprise since 2011. The old industrial building has undergone transformation to become a thriving hub for high-growth, innovation-driven technology start-ups in Southeast Asia.

Accompanied by NUS Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost Professor Tan Eng Chye, together with NUS Enterprise's CEO Dr Lily Chan, PM Lee was treated to demonstrations of fascinating products and services by ViSenze and Trakomatic.

ViSenze, an NUS spin-off company, offers visual search and image recognition technologies that are being used by global companies such as Japanese online retail giant Rakuten. Trakomatic, co-founded by NUS computer engineering graduates Mr Allen Lin and Mr Prashanth Ravichandran, provides tracking and analytic solutions for the retail industry. PM Lee later mentioned on his Facebook: "I had fun trying out prototypes and products at several start-ups and incubators.

PM Lee also interacted with the large crowd that turned up for the regular Kopi Chat@Blk71 session. This popular talk series organised for the start-up community features prominent entrepreneurs who share their knowledge on entrepreneurship.        

By NUS Enterprise