# Agency for Science, Technology and Research

> Agency for Science, Technology and Research is a VC fund backing Biotechnology. See 4 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Singapore, Singapore
- Total investments: 4
- Last investment: Feb 2024
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/a-star
- X (Twitter): http://twitter.com/AstarHQ
- Website: http://www.a-star.edu.sg/
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HQastar

Agency for Science, Technology and Research is a VC fund in Singapore focused on Biotechnology and Coffee. The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is the lead agency for fostering world-class scientific research and talent for a vibrant knowledge-based and innovation-driven Singapore. A*STAR oversees 18 biomedical sciences and physical sciences and engineering research entities, located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis as well as theirimmediate vicinity.A*STAR supports Singapore's key economic clusters by providing intellectual, human and industrial capital to its partners in industry. It also supports extramural research in the universities, hospitals, research centres, and with other local and international partners.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Agency for Science, Technology and Research. Shizune tracks 6 team members at Agency for Science, Technology and Research. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/the-agency-for-science--technology-and-research?utm_source=investor_profile

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Series A | $13M–$27M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Biotechnology | 2 | 50% |
| Coffee | 1 | 25% |
| Google | 1 | 25% |
| Medical | 1 | 25% |
| Big Data | 1 | 25% |

14 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series A | 2 | 50% |
| Seed | 1 | 25% |
| Series B | 1 | 25% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Anbanandam Parthiban | Scientist | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/anbanandam-parthiban |
| Jia Cheong | Scientist | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/jia-cheong |
| Joshua Au | Head, Data Centre | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/joshua-au |
| Wieslaw Nowinski | Director/Principal Scientist | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/wieslaw-nowinski |
| Frederick Chew | Chief Executive Officer | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/frederick-chew |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Prefer | Prefer is a coffee manufacturing company that is bean-free. The company uses fermentation to create coffee from waste. The fermentation process converts upcycled food by-products, from beer, bread, and tofu manufacturing, into these same aroma molecules. | $2M | Seed | Feb 22, 2024 |  |
| Nalagenetics | Nalagenetics is a health-tech company that provides genetic testing. In 2016, the company collaborated with the Indonesian health ministry to distribute 1,000 genetic test kits in five villages in Papua and West Papua. The company's tests revealed that 20% of leprosy patients in the area carry the gene responsible for potentially fatalreactions to Dapsone, an anti-leprosy medication; this discovery assisted doctors in determining which patients could be safely treated with the antibiotic. | $12.6M | Series A | Mar 25, 2022 |  |
| Sentient.io | Sentient.io AI models, microservices, and datasets are readily available through APIs on the Sentient AI & Data Cloud Platform for easy discovery. They utilize curated public and private datasets and pre-trained and industry-proven models. The company provides unique benefits to software developers looking to create AI-enabled applications orAI-driven services by embedding AI capabilities into their applications and for enterprises by making scalability a core and enabling easy extension to existing applications. |  | Series B | Oct 27, 2021 |  |
| AUM Biosciences | AUM Biosciences is an oncology-focused biotechnology company that aims to accelerate the development of innovative, affordable medicines for patients in Asia and around the world. AUM Biosciences focuses on early-stage development of innovative medicines for the treatment of Asian-prevalent cancers. | $27M | Series A | Oct 12, 2021 |  |

4 of 4 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [500 Global](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/500-startups) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [ABC Dream Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/abc-dreamventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Accelerate Technologies](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/accelerate-technologies) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [BEENEXT](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bee-next) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Better Bite Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/better-bite-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Brama One Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/brama-one-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

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## FAQ

### What does Agency for Science, Technology and Research invest in?

Agency for Science, Technology and Research invests primarily in Biotechnology, Coffee and Google startups, most often at Series A and Seed stage. Most of the 4 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Singapore. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What is Agency for Science, Technology and Research's check size?

Agency for Science, Technology and Research typically joins rounds of $13M–$27M at Series A. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Agency for Science, Technology and Research participates in.

### How do I contact Agency for Science, Technology and Research?

Public channels for Agency for Science, Technology and Research include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at Agency for Science, Technology and Research?

The team at Agency for Science, Technology and Research includes Anbanandam Parthiban (Scientist), Jia Cheong (Scientist) and Joshua Au (Head, Data Centre), among 6 team members tracked by Shizune. The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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