New SkySong partnership offers global connections

January 10, 2008

A new collaborative agreement between ASU’s Enterprise Arizona Venture Center (EAVC) and iAxil, the business incubator arm of Asia’s leading business space provider, Ascendas, aims to create global opportunities for local entrepreneurs.<separator></separator>The agreement aims to build on the expansion of EAVC tenants into Asia by connecting them with iAxil’s resources, and vice versa.<separator></separator>iAxil has an impressive portfolio of innovative technology firms played host to at the Ascendas-owned Singapore Science Park, such as Scitech Medical, i-Web Technologies and Greenscience Technology, along with partners in Asia, Europe, Australia and India.<separator></separator>EAVC, a unit located SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, offers mentoring, networking, educational opportunities, and flexible office and meeting space. The EAVC specifically serves global businesses interested in expanding operations into the United States, as well as<separator></separator>U.S. businesses seeking to expand and explore collaborative opportunities.<separator></separator>Much like EAVC, iAxil supports and “grows” ventures into commercially viable businesses. iAxil, known as a one-stop center for entrepreneurs and start-ups, provides access to venture capital, business planning, financial modeling, market intelligence, deal structuring, recruitment of talent, branding, access to international markets and quick start-up space.<separator></separator>“ASU is thrilled to establish a partnership with a dynamic and forward-thinking organization such as iAxil,” says Julia Rosen, ASU’s assistant vice president for economic affairs. “The opportunity for local SkySong companies to take advantage of this channel to enter the Asian market will be an important addition to the offerings of the EAVC. Likewise, we know that many companies that iAxil supports can take advantage of SkySong as a platform to enter and grow within the United States and the Americas.”<separator></separator>iAxil is owned by Ascendas, who owns and operates business parks in Singapore, China, India, the Philippines and South Korea.<separator></separator>iAxil, which has worked with more than 200 start-up companies since 1994, is well-established in Singapore, and ASU anticipates a stream of opportunities resulting from the partnership. The company has more than 60 technology firms in its portfolio at the Singapore Science Park.<separator></separator>Officials with the company believe iAxil’s SkySong relationship will enable them to build U.S. market penetration for these firms.<separator></separator>Sinomem Technology and Pharmesis International, both listed on the Singapore Exchange, are two highly successful iAxil-assisted firms.<separator></separator>Sinomem is the leading membrane separation and purification solutions supplier for China’s pharmaceutical and fermentation industries, while Pharmesis specializes in the research and development, sale and marketing of Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine-formulated products for the treatment of illnesses relating to the liver and gall bladder.<separator></separator>“iAxil is a well-connected venture accelerator, and we have no doubt that our partnership with SkySong will be a tremendous value to other EAVC tenants,” says Chew Mun Hou, vice president for Ascendas’ Business Network & Incubators and head of iAxil. “As a comprehensive, one-stop shop, iAxil provides our ventures ready access to the U.S. market, and opportunities to network, collaborate and build relationships with superb expertise in an efficient manner.”<separator></separator>iAxil has established partnerships with other like-minded technology and research-and-development parks, as well as incubation centers around the world, to establish regular forums and global exchange among respective tenants. These include Technopolis in Finland, Heidelberg Technology Park in Germany and Tsinghua Business Incubator in Beijing.

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