Annual Report April 2024 - March 2025

Message from the Chairman and CEO

Science is transforming our world, and at A*STAR, we believe that innovation is most powerful when excellent science is matched with and driven by purpose. In an era shaped by geopolitics, industrial strategy, and technologies like AI, we are working to both address the challenges and to leverage the opportunities presented.

Our research seeks to fuel economic growth, advance health, drive sustainability, and strengthen Singapore’s scientific capabilities. Beyond individual breakthroughs, we build an ecosystem of talent, platforms, and partnerships that connects discovery to delivery and turns long-term investment into real-world impact.

The growing momentum of our work was a key feature of this past year.

In semiconductors, A*STAR and our ecosystem partners integrated strengths in silicon photonics, MEMS, advanced packaging, and materials to launch the National Semiconductor Translation and Innovation Centre (NSTIC). This reinforces Singapore’s role as an indispensable node in the global semiconductor value chain—advancing critical technologies, creating high-value jobs, and growing talent.

The same approach is supporting industry transformation. Coca-Cola’s Singapore plant—now recognised by the World Economic Forum as a Global Lighthouse—implemented advanced automation with A*STAR’s support, achieving world-class productivity. In aerospace, Rolls-Royce’s advanced manufacturing facility in Seletar produces high-performance fan blades for widebody aircraft worldwide, supported by our joint lab with Rolls-Royce and SAESL. These partnerships strengthen Singapore’s position as a hub for high-value aerospace engineering and MRO innovation.

We continue to push frontiers in human health. With Wellcome Leap, we launched Asia’s first non-GMP mRNA BioFoundry to accelerate next-generation vaccines and therapeutics. This platform is part of a broader ecosystem where A*STAR-trained scientists are translating science into enterprise in partnership with biotechs and pharma companies like Engine Biosciences and Chugai Pharmabody Research, and progressing therapies from discovery into global trials.

A*STAR made significant contributions to national initiatives which have informed policy and shaped lives. Insights from the GUSTO cohort study underpin Singapore’s national screentime guidelines for children, promoting healthier developmental outcomes. Genome mapping of 100,000 Singaporeans under the National Precision Medicine programme supports data-driven healthcare and a more predictive, preventive health system.

We are also investing in the future with a $500 million commitment to refresh A*STAR’s biomedical research infrastructure, including cutting-edge labs and shared spaces that connect scientists, clinicians, entrepreneurs, and venture builders. In parallel, we are advancing national sustainability efforts through the Low-Carbon Technology Translational Testbed (LCT³) and Centre for Energy and Emissions Modelling 2.0 (CE2M 2.0), which support national decarbonisation and planning for Singapore’s 2050 net-zero goals.

A*STAR’s impact is driven by its people. Since 2001, our scholarships have nurtured over 1,800 talents, many now leading innovation in research, translation, and enterprise. Our researchers are recognised globally, with honours including the Genome Valley Excellence Award and MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35 Asia Pacific (TR35). This is how public R&D serves as a national catalyst— empowering people, enabling enterprise, and opening new frontiers for growth—and how A*STAR continues to be a strategic driver of innovation.

A very big thank you to our colleagues for embracing bold ideas, working across disciplines and institutions, and delivering impact that matters. We also extend our appreciation to Mr Frederick Chew, who stepped down as CEO in November 2024, for his leadership.

With science as our compass and people as our force, together with our partners, we are building a future defined by innovation for Singapore.

Past Annual Reports

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Get inspired by our #WomeninSTEM