EY chooses AI startups to join SG incubator programme

International professional services firm EY announced today the names of the four startups that will join EY Foundry Singapore, an early stage startup incubator based in the city-state.

Narus Knowledge, Notarum, Regit and Staple AI were shortlisted through an open call for nominations from March to June 2019 and selected by a judging panel of EY executives. Their names were announced during the official launch of EY Foundry Singapore on July 25.

To qualify for the programme, applicants had to be in their early stage, have a working prototype or working towards a prototype that is scalable and can be used internationally, and a cash flow to sustain nine months of operations.

With the exception of Regit, an integrated communication platform for management and exchange of personal information, the other three ventures are working with artificial intelligence (AI).

Narus is a legal startup which offers an AI-powered knowledge management solution for organisations to build, maintain and capitalise on their data.

Notarum is an automation platform for corporate due diligence and Staple AI develops cognitive financial automation for faster and cheaper bookkeeping. 

The winning startups have been offered a six-month rent-free residency at the EY wavespace in Singapore and S$120,000 (US$ 87,700) worth of Microsoft Azure credits.

“Singapore has a vibrant startup ecosystem and is well-connected with other innovation hubs in the region,” said Soh Pui Ming, Singapore Head of Tax, Ernst & Young Solutions LLP, and one of the panel judges.

“In addition, the country is also a regional hub of choice for professional services, which is set to grow as an economic contributor. We are excited by how our experience, scale and resources can help to unleash the potential of emerging technopreneurs in this space, and the difference this can make to Singapore’s overall innovation footprint.”

Singapore is the second location to host the EY Foundry programme, following a successful run in Sydney, Australia, in 2018 that had a cohort of entrepreneurs developing a wide range of technologies covering RegTech, accounting tech, documentation automation and digital employee giving platforms.