SMU’s 13th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition Launches

Singapore Management University’s Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (SMU IIE) announced that the 13th edition of the Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC) is now open for applications. The competition targets university founders and recent graduates (within five years of graduation) who are developing deep‑tech solutions for urban and sustainability challenges.

Prize Pool and Post‑Competition Pathway

The competition offers a total prize pool exceeding S$2.5 million (approximately US$2 million). In addition to cash awards, finalists gain access to SMU’s Urban SustaInnovator (USI) accelerator and the US$10 million USI Fund, which was launched in May 2026 to support promising ventures as they pilot and scale across Asia.

Competition Timeline and Format

Fifty finalists will be selected and flown to Singapore for an intensive three‑day event from 28 September to 1 October 2027. The event will include an Innovation Festival that provides investor engagement, mentorship, and connections with corporate and ecosystem partners.

SMU’s Support Infrastructure

SMU’s USI programme, launched in 2025, offers market‑access support, pilot‑project facilitation, and strategic introductions throughout Asia. The university’s network of overseas centres in Bangkok, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, and Shenzhen, together with International Advisory Councils in eight countries, is positioned to help startups validate and deploy technologies at scale.

Key Quotes

  • Rony Palathinkal, Head of the LKYGBPC and Urban SustaInnovator at SMU IIE, stated that the competition “provides a platform to connect founders with partners, markets and opportunities needed to turn innovation into real‑world impact.”
  • Professor Sun Sun Lim, SMU Vice President of Partnerships and Engagement and Lee Kong Chian Professor of Communication & Technology, highlighted SMU’s “expansive network of industry, government and community partners across Asia” that enables cross‑border scaling.
  • Shirley Wong, Entrepreneur‑in‑Residence at SMU IIE, Chairperson of the 13th LKYGBPC Advisory Committee and Managing Partner of TNF Ventures, noted that “as Asia continues to urbanise, LKYGBPC brings together founders worldwide and connects them with Singapore’s ecosystem to accelerate solutions with regional and global impact.”

Illustrative Success Story

Standard Physics (formerly Inviscid AI), founded by Qiu Ziming and Kabir Jain, was a finalist in the 12th edition. The startup, which uses physics‑informed AI and IoT‑powered digital twins to optimise energy efficiency in buildings and data centres, subsequently joined Y Combinator’s Winter 2026 cohort and entered SMU’s inaugural USI accelerator. Through USI, Standard Physics secured a pilot with The GEAR by Japanese construction giant Kajima and is discussing three additional opportunities. The company has raised US$2.3 million in seed funding led by Square Peg Capital and is preparing to launch an AI‑powered agentic engineering platform. Founder Kabir Jain remarked that “YC helped us go from zero to one, and USI has been very helpful in getting us from one to ten.”

Government Backing and Historical Context

Singapore’s ambition to become a global sustainability‑innovation hub is underpinned by the S$37 billion RIE 2030 plan, which allocates S$10.8 billion for mission‑oriented research, and a S$40 million USS Translation Fund to support development and commercialisation of urban and sustainability solutions.

The competition, established in 2002 and held biennially, requires at least one founder to be currently enrolled in a university programme or to have graduated within the past five years. The 12th edition in October 2025 attracted over 1,500 entries from founders representing 1,200 universities across 91 countries. Collectively, finalists from the 9th to 12th editions have raised over S$1 billion.

Application Details

Applications are accepted via https://iie.smu.edu.sg/lkygbpc and close on 31 March 2027.

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