Singapore venture capital firm to launch blockchain accelerator for startups

SINGAPORE venture capital firm Trive Ventures, formerly known as Tri5 Ventures, has unveiled a blockchain accelerator aimed at later-stage startups, with the backing of a government agency here.

Its six-month Tribe Accelerator programme will emphasise product development and the mass adoption of blockchain, with decentralised applications or back-end digital solutions that tap distributed ledger technology, said the South-east Asia-focused investor on Tuesday.

Eight startups will be picked for the initial cohort, with the incubation programme to kick off in the first quarter of 2019. Partners include government body Enterprise Singapore, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Singapore's Venture Hub and South Korean blockchain network Icon Foundation.

Trive Ventures, which typically invests in technology startups in the seed to Series A funding rounds, has previously worked with the Singapore government as an accredited mentor to early-stage startups.

Jonathan Lim, director of startup and global innovation alliance at Enterprise Singapore, said in a statement provided by Trive Ventures that the agency welcomes more deep-tech accelerators.

"By working with Tribe Accelerator, we hope to create more innovative and disruptive blockchain startups to capture growth opportunities locally and overseas," said Mr Lim.