Marvelstone Group, a private investment consortium headquartered in Singapore, has announced it has opened the Smart City Innovation Lab in the Singapore CBD – billed as the city’s premier incubation centre for ‘smart city’ innovations.
 

The Innovation Lab aims to facilitate joint venture projects with banks, corporate entities and governments, focusing on three key areas of development: fintech, blockchain and artificial Intelligence (AI).

‘Smart cities’ are loosely defined as urban municipalities that actively collect and utilise data insights to enhance the quality, delivery, and interactivity of local services, as well as reducing overall costs to citizens and their resource consumption.

“The Smart Nation initiative is Singapore’s vision to be an economically competitive global city and a modern, liveable home for its citizens,” said Joe Seunghyun Cho, co-founder and chairman of Marvelstone Group.

Being at the heart of the diverse APAC region, Cho said he is confident Singapore offers the “right hub to connect emerging and developed markets.” 

“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, [the] Singapore government is currently providing one of the best platforms globally to develop and test Smart City solutions,” he said.

The Smart City Innovation Lab will also partner with LATTICE80, Singapore’s largest fintech hub and fellow Marvelstone investment, and AI Hub, an artificial intelligence (AI) development centre, “to connect 20,000 global start-ups and institutions,” according to a release by the Lab.

“Marvelstone Group will actively invest in start-ups and venture-build businesses in collaboration with corporates and governments, the Lab added. “The Innovation Lab will showcase designs of cities of the future and how latest innovations in technology are impacting our overall daily life.”