<h1>National GRIP and Singapore's deep-tech venture creation pipeline</h1> <p>The National Graduate Research Innovation Programme (National GRIP) is Singapore's national venture-building platform for turning research and technical ideas into deep-tech startups. NRF announced the programme with NUS and NTU on 29 October 2024; it was planned to launch in January 2025 with S$50 million in combined financial and in-kind support over five years (<a href="https://www.nrf.gov.sg/files/Joint_Media_Release___NUS_and_NTU_launch_national_platform_to_nurture_startups_from_all_autonomous_universities_and_research_institutes_in_Singapore.pdf">NRF/NUS/NTU, 29 October 2024</a>). National GRIP integrates NUS's Graduate Research Innovation Programme 2.0 and NTU's Lean Launchpad 2.0, but its intended reach is broader than either university: the launch release describes access for aspiring founders, innovators and researchers from Singapore's autonomous universities and A*STAR research institutes. It is a structured research-to-market platform, not a general startup grant scheme.</p> <h2>What the 12-month programme does</h2> <p>National GRIP helps teams refine an initial idea, validate market needs, design a robust business model, and prepare for investment and market application. The launch description presents it as a 12-month programme with personalised mentorship from industry leaders and access to a network of experts (<a href="https://www.nrf.gov.sg/files/Joint_Media_Release___NUS_and_NTU_launch_national_platform_to_nurture_startups_from_all_autonomous_universities_and_research_institutes_in_Singapore.pdf">NRF/NUS/NTU, 29 October 2024</a>). Participants can form cross-institutional teams and draw on research, design, business and engineering strengths, as well as relevant intellectual property across the participating institutions. The programme therefore addresses a specific gap between scientific research and commercialisation: a strong laboratory result still needs customer validation, a workable business model, a founding team, intellectual-property arrangements and a route to capital before it becomes a scalable company.</p> <h2>Partners and participant reach</h2> <p>National GRIP is a collaboration involving NRF, NUS and NTU, with the programme designed to draw participants from autonomous universities and A*STAR research institutes rather than from only one campus (<a href="https://www.nrf.gov.sg/files/Joint_Media_Release___NUS_and_NTU_launch_national_platform_to_nurture_startups_from_all_autonomous_universities_and_research_institutes_in_Singapore.pdf">NRF/NUS/NTU, 29 October 2024</a>). The launch target was up to 300 startup teams trained by 2028 and more than 150 spin-offs nurtured by 2030. These are programme goals, not realised outcomes; later cohorts and institutional notices should be used for current selection numbers, run dates and eligibility. NTU's current venture-building page describes programme routes, team formation, mentorship, technology access and potential early-stage funding pathways, while also stating that eligibility criteria apply (<a href="https://www.ntu.edu.sg/innovates/venture-building-programme">NTU National GRIP, accessed Aug 2026</a>). A professional with relevant industry experience may be able to join a team under a particular route, but participation should not be inferred from general Singapore residency or company incorporation alone.</p> <h2>Funding and what the S$50 million means</h2> <p>The launch commitment is S$50 million in financial and in-kind support over five years from the January 2025 start, recorded here for the 2025–2029 programme period (<a href="https://www.nrf.gov.sg/files/Joint_Media_Release___NUS_and_NTU_launch_national_platform_to_nurture_startups_from_all_autonomous_universities_and_research_institutes_in_Singapore.pdf">NRF/NUS/NTU, 29 October 2024</a>). That figure is support for the National GRIP platform and its venture-building ecosystem; it is not a cash payment automatically divided among every team, nor a promise that every participating company receives investment. The programme may connect teams with investors, venture builders, intellectual property and institution-specific proof-of-concept or seed mechanisms, but each instrument has its own assessment and eligibility rules (<a href="https://www.ntu.edu.sg/innovates/venture-building-programme">NTU National GRIP, accessed Aug 2026</a>). Current applicants should use the live programme notice rather than assume that launch-period dates or support terms remain unchanged.</p> <h2>Relationship to Singapore's wider startup and research system</h2> <p>National GRIP sits at the intersection of the research and enterprise systems. Universities and A*STAR research institutes supply researchers, intellectual property and technical capabilities; NRF provides national RIE policy and support context; mentors, venture builders and investors help teams test commercial pathways. This is narrower than the overall <a href="/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.business-industry.startup-ecosystem">startup ecosystem</a>, which covers venture capital, Startup SG, incubators and major company examples, and narrower than <a href="/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.science-research.research-policy-and-funding">research policy and funding</a>, which explains national RIE planning and grant instruments. National GRIP should therefore be used when the question is specifically about research-derived deep-tech venture creation, cohort participation or lab-to-market translation—not as a synonym for all startup support in Singapore (<a href="https://www.nrf.gov.sg/files/Joint_Media_Release___NUS_and_NTU_launch_national_platform_to_nurture_startups_from_all_autonomous_universities_and_research_institutes_in_Singapore.pdf">NRF/NUS/NTU, 29 October 2024</a>; <a href="https://www.ntu.edu.sg/innovates/venture-building-programme">NTU National GRIP, accessed August 2026</a>).</p>