From local roots to global reach: How A*STAR propelled Us2.ai and Matwerkz to the world stage

Slingshot, EnterpriseSG’s global deep-tech pitching competition, is held annually during the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH). Since its launch in 2017, Slingshot has hit a few bullseyes, with many winning startups going on to scale breakthroughs from Singapore to the world.

Two homegrown players, Us2.ai and Matwerkz Technologies, exemplify this journey. Both bagged the top prize at Slingshot (Us2.ai in 2019 and Matwerkz in 2024) and have turned bold ideas into life-changing technologies. Here is how these A*STAR spinoffs are reshaping heart health and material safety respectively.

Matwerkz’s Challenge

From smartphones and laptops to electric cars and energy storage systems, batteries are essential to our daily lives. But safety remains a pressing concern. In particular, lithium-ion batteries are prone to overheating. In worst-case scenarios, this can trigger dangerous “thermal runaway” events that cause fires or explosions. The challenge is to design batteries that not only perform well but also protect people in emergencies.

Matwerkz’s Innovation

Dr Leong Yew Wei, who left A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (A*STAR IMRE) during the COVID-19 pandemic to found deep-tech materials solution company Matwerkz Technologies, had been particularly concerned by frequent reports of e-bike battery explosions.

Having also previously been part of the Technology for Enterprise Capability Upgrading (T-Up) programme, which seconded him to a local firm to help them with research and development, he knew what made a product commercially viable and was convinced that Matwerkz had a market to tap into.

Matwerkz soon developed its flagship and Slingshot-winning anti-fire product, Thermorphous. Unlike conventional materials, Thermorphous is an adaptive “2-in1” coating that behaves differently depending on battery state and temperature.

At normal operating temperatures, it acts as a heat dissipation layer, cooling the battery for stable performance. In the event of overheating, it rapidly transforms into a fire-resistant barrier, slowing or preventing flames from spreading and protecting both people and infrastructure.

I love to challenge the status quo … I still have this passion, which is to find something new to do, something different. All along I have been trying to do that.

— Dr Leong Yew Wei, Matwerkz CEO and founder

Matwerkz’s Impact

With Thermorphous and other new materials in the pipeline, Matwerkz is well-positioned to become a key enabler in the transition to a world of both clean energy and reliable performance.

Thermorphous’ dual-function capability sets it apart as a smart, responsive safeguard for the batteries powering our world, for instance in electric vehicles.
Manufacturers are able to build safer batteries, reducing the risk of catastrophic fires while allaying the anxieties of consumers.
By raising safety standards, Matwerkz is enabling the growth of sustainable energy storage and electrical mobility.

Us2.ai’s Challenge

Heart disease is the world’s number one killer, responsible for nearly one in three deaths. Echocardiography, the use of ultrasound waves to create moving pictures of the heart, is the gold standard for early detection. It is safe, reliable, and cost-effective.

Yet it is also time-consuming and highly dependent on skilled operators. A single echocardiogram typically takes at least half an hour and 250 manual clicks. And with trained sonographers in short supply, millions of patients risk missing timely diagnoses, which could be a matter of life and death.

Us2.ai’s Innovation

James Hare experienced this problem first-hand when he received a troubling electrocardiogram reading that necessitated a follow-up echocardiogram reading. Thinking it would be a straightforward process, he was shocked to discover how long it took for echo reports to be manually generated. Worse, he consulted two doctors and received two completely different reports.

Realising that there was a major problem to fix, James co-founded medtech company Us2.ai (formerly eko.ai) in 2017. From day one, A*STAR readily provided critical assistance to James’ team, from establishing industry connections to introducing potential investors.

With A*STAR’s strong support, Us2.ai was able to train machine-learning models to automatically interpret ultrasound images of the heart, reducing hours of work to just seconds. Instead of laborious manual tracing, a doctor now needs only one click, without having to worry about human error and variability.

We are…engaging in ambitious research projects that, if successful, could dramatically expand the access people have to their heart health. Being able to move that needle even slightly is a goal I would be forever proud of.
— James Hare, Us2.ai CEO and co-founder

Us2.ai’s Impact

By turning echocardiography into a much faster, more affordable, and more consistent process, Us2.ai is giving doctors more time to act and patients a better chance at living longer, healthier lives.

Us2.ai’s software was featured in over 35 peer-reviewed studies in 2024 alone, some of which show a 70 per cent reduction in analysis and reporting time compared with manual methods.
Us2.ai’s latest high-quality echo platform, which has more than 45 automated echo parameters and the added power to detect cardiac amyloidosis (a clogging of proteins in the heart), was cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2024. It can be paired with any ultrasound device — not just in advanced medical centres but also in resource-limited settings.
Its technology is now registered in 31 countries and deployed in healthcare systems across Australia, France, Japan, Malaysia, Poland, the United States, and more.

As Us2.ai and Matwerkz Technologies show, scientific research is far from theoretical. It is about solving problems and improving the lives of people, one innovation at a time.