PRESS RELEASE

27 March 2026

Deep SAGE plugs execution gap as global deep tech start-ups demonstrate scalable growth at inaugural Demo Day

• Logice, Sembuh AI and StratifiCare each awarded S$500,000 by major Japan IT company TIS Inc., as part of its S$7.6 million commitment to co-develop and scale the accelerator programme.

Singapore, 27 March 2026 - Logice, Sembuh AI and StratifiCare emerged as the top start-ups at the recent inaugural Demo Day of the Deep Tech Seed to A Growth Expansion Programme (Deep SAGE). Deep SAGE is a collaboration between NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial heart of the National University of Singapore (NUS), and TIS Inc., one of Japan’s leading IT companies. Each start-up will receive S$500,000 in funding from TIS Inc., along with continued strategic and execution support through the programme.

Logice provides tech-enabled cold chain logistics to keep perishable goods fresh, while Sembuh AI offers an AI-powered platform to automate insurance claims and detect fraud. StratifiCare develops diagnostic tests for personalised medicine, including tools to predict severe dengue and cancer treatment response. All three start-ups were recognised for their innovative solutions addressing critical industry challenges. (Please refer to Annexe A for the list of participating start-ups, and Annexe B for quotes from the three winning start-ups.) 

Bridging the “valley of death” for deep tech start-ups 

Deep SAGE is a tailored accelerator programme that supports seed-stage start-ups from around the world in scaling towards pre-Series A and Series A funding. It addresses the “valley of death”, the critical phase between accelerator graduation and Series A funding, where technology may be validated but commercial traction often remains elusive. The programme combines capital, execution support, and enterprise access to help start-ups transform early-stage innovations into scalable, commercially successful businesses.

As a strategic co-architect of the programme, TIS Inc. has committed S$7.6 million over three years, investing a minimum of S$500,000 in selected high-potential start-ups across cohorts. Beyond capital, TIS Inc. brings experience working with large enterprises to help start-ups build execution capabilities and accelerate growth. 

NUS Enterprise delivers the programme through BLOCK71, its global network of physical accelerators across 11 cities, including Singapore, Tokyo, Silicon Valley, Saigon, and Suzhou. Participating start-ups receive mentorship and structured workshops, followed by a six-month incubation at BLOCK71 Singapore. During this period, they gain access to a global ecosystem that supports international market entry, pilot deployments and commercial partnerships. 

“Deep SAGE was only launched last year, but its early success shows the strong demand within the deep tech ecosystem for deeper execution support beyond mentorship and capital,” shared Professor Benjamin Tee, Vice President (Innovation and Enterprise), NUS Enterprise. “By embedding seasoned executives directly with founders through our fractional C-suite model, we work side by side to drive execution. This hands-on approach builds commercial rigour, accelerates operational maturity, and better prepares start-ups to scale successfully towards pre-Series A and Series A funding.”    

Mr Furusho Kensaku, Managing Executive Officer, TIS Inc., said, “At TIS, we work closely with enterprises across industries, and we consistently see that the gap in deep tech is not innovation, but execution. Deep SAGE reflects our commitment to helping bridge that gap, not just through capital, but by supporting start-ups with strategic direction and real-world perspectives. We bring our industry experience to guide start-ups and, where relevant, connect them with enterprise partners to support their growth.”

Supporting start-up growth through fractional C-suite model 

Unlike traditional accelerators that focus primarily on mentorship and funding, Deep SAGE is designed to close the execution gap. Over six months, seasoned mentors work closely with founders to refine strategy, develop go-to-market approaches, define KPIs and engage investors. Complementing this, the programme embeds experienced Fractional Executives (CXOs) within start-up teams for 12 weeks to execute these initiatives and translate pipeline into revenue. While mentors and CXOs provide executive-level guidance, final decisions remain with founders, preserving their autonomy while accelerating the start-ups' operational and commercial maturity.  

“My experience as a fractional C-suite for Logice is that the team is very diligent and ambitious in growing the business. For example, they took my advice to hire and operate a partner’s cold storage facility, which became a key enabler for securing more business. They also invested in reefer trucks to complete their distribution capabilities, laying the foundation to become a true cold chain logistics player. They deserve the S$500,000 funding as they have the potential, skills, knowledge, network and team chemistry to succeed in this industry,” said Mr Daru Kanugroho, Fractional Chief Product Officer, Logice. 

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Annexe A – First cohort of Deep SAGE start-ups

No.	Start-up	Solution	Countries
1.	Aleph Technologies	Aleph Tech develops an AI co-pilot platform that uses machine learning and digital twin models to diagnose process inconsistencies, simulate scenarios, and optimise industrial plant operations, improving yield, energy efficiency, and reliability across sectors such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and offshore energy.	Singapore, India
2.	Clever Forever Education AG	Clever Forever is a Swiss EdTech start-up behind CatnClever, an ad‑free, AI-powered, gamified learning app for children aged three to seven that boosts school readiness across literacy, math, and socio-emotional skills.	Switzerland
3.	fn7	fn7 builds AI agents that automate go-to-market work by monitoring Reddit, LinkedIn, and X for real buyer conversations, crafting on-brand responses and social posts that drive qualified traffic and meetings without relying on traditional ads or cold outreach.	India, Australia
4.	Hoursec	Hoursec develops a novel AI chip architecture that runs training and inference together on a single chip, reducing compute time from hours to seconds while lowering energy use and data requirements for real-time, privacy-preserving edge applications.	Netherlands
5.	Logice	Logice is an Indonesia-based cold chain logistics start-up providing integrated, tech-enabled cold storage, processing rooms, refrigerated delivery fleets, and omnichannel warehousing to keep perishable goods fresh and make cold-chain operations more efficient, transparent, and accessible.	Indonesia
6.	RIFFAI	RIFFAI is a Singapore-based satellite and AI company that analyses Earth observation data to detect environmental changes and critical infrastructure risks, supporting climate resilience, defence, and infrastructure planning by bringing advanced space-based monitoring “down to Earth”.	Singapore, Japan, Thailand, US, UK
7.	Sembuh AI	Sembuh AI is an Indonesian insurtech start-up that uses an AI-powered SaaS platform to automate health insurance claims, detect fraud and overbilling, and reduce processing times and overpayments for insurers.	Indonesia
8.	StratifiCare	StratifiCare is a Singapore-based biotech start-up that develops in-vitro diagnostic assays for personalised medicine, including the world's first severe dengue prediction test, StratifiDen, using biomarkers to reduce over-hospitalisation, and StratifiREY for predicting liver cancer treatment response to Y90 radioembolisation.	Singapore, China
9.	UnoMove	UnoMove is a Singapore-registered robotics software company specialising in AI-powered visual navigation solutions for mobile robots, enabling autonomous operation in manufacturing, logistics, and facility management without relying on maps or external sensors.	China
10.	Vita	Vita is a Latin America-based SaaS platform that automates operational management for health centres, wellness clinics, and sports facilities, enabling 10 times faster handling of patient registrations, scheduling, billing, and integrations while supporting electronic invoicing and scalable capacity.	Chile

 

Annexe B: Quotes from start-ups receiving S$500,000

“We are deeply grateful to be part of the Deep SAGE programme and to have the opportunity to work with and be mentored by seasoned experts. The support from the embedded fractional C-suite has been very impactful, not only accelerating our pipeline expansion, but also giving us valuable lessons in market strategy, scaling operations and pricing. From the start, we focused on accelerating our progress with the strong support provided. With many competitive start-ups in the programme, we knew winning would be tough, but we are deeply honoured to receive this recognition. This funding will be a significant boost as we expand into new markets and enhance our technology.” 

Ms Indah Kusumawardhani, Co-founder and CFO, Logice 

“We joined Deep SAGE with an idea and left with a product companies are already buying. In a few months, we went from concept to enterprise deployment, with a growing pipeline behind it. The biggest unlock was the embedded fractional C-suite model, having experienced operators working with us every week forced speed and clarity. We made decisions faster, iterated faster, and closed our first enterprise customers while building a repeatable go-to-market playbook. We are excited to partner with TIS Inc. and deepen a collaboration already generating real commercial traction. This funding comes at the right moment as we open our seed round and scale distribution.” 

Mr Claudio Perlini, Co-founder and CEO, Sembuh AI 

“Deep SAGE is an accelerator programme that all start-ups should participate in. The traction made over nine months with the support provided is something that is valuable and hard to achieve otherwise. As start-ups, we are often unable to hire experienced people who truly understand the industry, but our fractional C-suite helped us open doors using her network that would have taken years to achieve. This award is a huge validation of our efforts, and we will continue pushing ahead with our clinical trials, overseas market entry and generating our first recurring revenue.” 

Dr Anthony Chua, Co-founder and CEO, StratifiCare