JTC start-up hub LaunchPad gets fresh spaces and new partnerships

JTC is currently building Kampong AI, an AI-focused integrated start-up community, at LaunchPad @ One-North (Picture: JTC)

LaunchPad @ One-North, a start-up campus managed by JTC in the One-North business park, has unveiled refreshed spaces, new partnerships and other initiatives as part of a move to position it as Asia’s flagship start-up destination.

On March 25, The Meeting Place, LaunchPad @ One-North’s co-working and event space, was reopened following refurbishments – the first of several infrastructural projects earmarked for the campus as part of a refreshed LaunchPlan masterplan that was announced earlier this month.

Attendees at the LaunchPad Reimagined event on March 25, held at the refurbished The Meeting Point at LaunchPad @ One-North (Picture: JTC).

These include Kampong AI, an AI-focused start-up hub that JTC is building at LaunchPad @ One-North. Billed as the first integrated start-up community in Singapore with both work and living spaces, it is expected to accommodate up to 70 companies, along with over 200 dwelling units.

Pilot workspaces at Kampong AI are now available, with the full completion of the facility targeted in 2028. Meanwhile, other ongoing improvements at LaunchPad @ One-North include new sports facilities, upgraded toilets, enhanced sheltered connectivity across the estate, and more F&B options.

Elsewhere, a new LaunchPad facility in Punggol Digital District, LaunchPad @ PDD, is scheduled to open in phases from late 2026. The facility is purpose-built to testbed innovation in the areas of fintech, robotics and cybersecurity.

The new campus, along with the upgrades at LaunchPad @ One-North, come in tandem with the rollout of friendlier leasing policies for incoming start-ups. These include up to two months’ rent-free for space fit-outs, alongside more flexible lease terms and shorter notice periods. In addition, LaunchPad is expanding its entry criteria beyond early-stage start-ups to also include scale-ups.

During the opening of the new The Meeting Point at LaunchPad @ One-North, JTC also unveiled several new partnerships aimed at bolstering the reach of Singapore’s start-up communities.

Among these are MOUs signed by JTC with NUS Enterprise and Insead, which will give LaunchPad start-ups access to co-working spaces at overseas hubs that can serve as a base to test products. NUS Enterprise will also provide additional support, such as pre-trip preparation and introductions to local investors and customer networks.

JTC has also announced a partnership with Enterprise Singapore to strengthen support for LaunchPad start-ups expanding into new markets. Additionally, a separate partnership with co-working space operator One&Co will provide LaunchPad start-ups access to the latter’s co-working spaces in the Singapore CBD.

Meanwhile, four new organisations – CapitaLand Development, City Developments, Esri Singapore and SoftBank Robotics – have joined JTC’s LaunchPad Innovation Network, which connects LaunchPad start-ups with corporates, investors and strategic partners to unlock market opportunities and commercialisation support.