Emerging Technologies for a Sustainable Future: Insights from Dr. Basil Lui by Taeyoung Kang

 

In the Pascal Forum, Dr. Basil Lui, a visionary in emerging technologies, provides valuable insights into how these technologies can contribute to building a sustainable future. With investments spanning emerging technology, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing, Dr. Lui’s expertise sheds light on the promising intersections between technology and sustainability.

 

Embracing Innovation for Sustainability

Dr. Lui emphasizes that emerging technologies inherently drive productivity and efficiency, thereby reducing carbon footprints. Singapore’s focus on innovation stems from its reliance on human capital, with technology serving as a cornerstone of productivity enhancement. By investing in innovations like autonomous driving, Singapore aims to optimize resource utilization, such as land space dedicated to roads, thus aligning with sustainability goals.

 

Urban Air Mobility and Sustainable Transport

Exploring the concept of Urban Air Mobility (UAM), Dr. Lui discusses the potential of flying cars to further optimize urban space and transportation. While still in progress, UAM offers the prospect of reducing reliance on traditional road infrastructure, thereby promoting sustainability and enhancing connectivity within and between urban areas.

 

Addressing Food Security through Innovation

The conversation extends to food security, a critical concern heightened by the pandemic. Dr. Lui highlights Singapore’s “30X30” initiative, aiming to meet 30% of the nation’s nutritional needs domestically by 2030. Innovations such as vertical farming and lab-grown meat exemplify Singapore’s commitment to sustainable food production, reducing reliance on imports and mitigating environmental impacts.

 

Convergence of Technologies and Multidisciplinary Learning

Dr. Lui underscores the convergence of diverse fields, such as semiconductor technology and artificial intelligence (AI), in driving innovation. Multidisciplinary expertise is essential in leveraging technologies effectively, as demonstrated in applications ranging from healthcare to autonomous vehicles. Dr. Lui advocates for continuous learning and emphasizes the importance of understanding both technological and business aspects to navigate the evolving landscape successfully.

 

Blockchain: A Versatile Tool for Sustainability

Highlighting blockchain technology, Dr. Lui emphasizes its potential beyond cryptocurrency. With its immutable distributed ledger, blockchain finds applications in various industries, including land registry and electronic medical records, enhancing transparency and accountability while fostering sustainability.

 

Transformation for a Sustainable Future

Dr. Basil Lui’s insights underscore the transformative potential of emerging technologies in shaping a sustainable future. By leveraging innovation across diverse sectors and embracing multidisciplinary learning, societies can address pressing challenges while fostering economic growth and resilience.

 

Reflection: Navigating the Technological Landscape

Reflecting on Dr. Lui’s insights, we acknowledge the pivotal role of multidisciplinary knowledge in navigating today’s technological landscape. As technology continues to evolve, embracing innovation and learning across diverse fields will be key to remaining competitive and relevant in the global economy.

 

About Dr. Basil Lui

Dr. Basil Lui is the Founding Partner of AGP. Prior to this, he was an Advisor and Managing Partner at EDBI where he oversaw investments in Healthcare and Emerging Technologies. Dr. Lui was a key member of EDBI’s Investment Committee for ~50 investments with 10 exits. On the healthcare front, he was involved in several investments for EDBI, including Doctor Anywhere a full-stack online-offline healthcare service; Hummingbird Bioscience a clinical-stage precision medicine company; MiRXES a developer of RNA early disease detection tests; US2.ai an AI software platform for echocardiography to fight heart disease; and a pre-covid investment into mRNA vaccine platform Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA). Basil has a strong interest in regenerative technologies that can restore cellular health and resilience.

Additionally, Dr. Lui drove early stage deep-tech fund-of-funds investments at EDBI, covering regional healthcare funds, and as a LPAC member in portfolio funds, worked closely in partnership with funds to invest in Singapore and the region. He also spearheaded EDBI’s investments in areas that would have an impact to the future of healthcare and the bioeconomy such as synthetic biology, gene edits, robotics, AI, blockchain, AR and VR. Dr. Lui pioneered EDBI’s post-investment value creation and communications efforts, ensuring strong support to portfolio companies through market access, talent recruitment, strategic financing, partnership & guidance; and is often a speaker in global technology events and panels.

Prior to EDBI, Dr. Lui was a McKinsey consultant covering South East Asia, an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Keppel-NUS Corporate Laboratory, the APAC President of a global semiconductor electronic design automation company, an Assistant Professor at National University of Singapore Electrical & Computer Engineering, and a post-doctoral researcher at the Cambridge University Engineering Department. Basil is the inventor of several patents and holds a BA (1st class), MA and PhD from the University of Cambridge. He was awarded a Commonwealth scholarship, a Singapore Government Public Service Commission scholarship, and a Research Fellowship from Trinity College Cambridge.

 

About EDBI 

Investing since 1991, EDBI is a Singapore-based global investor in select high-growth technologies spanning sectors across Information & Communication Technology, Emerging Technology and Healthcare. As a value-creating investor, we support companies aiming to expand in Asia and globally through Singapore with our extensive network, resources and expertise. For more information, visit www.edbi.com.

 

About August Global Partners

August Global Partners (AGP) is an independent fund management company spun out from EDBI, a Singapore state-owned strategic fund, with former top and senior executives as the fund’s founders. Armed with a robust track record and years of success, and having managed significant assets-under-management (AUM) previously, this team will now manage two funds, the AGP Continuation Growth Fund (AGPCG) and a second fund, the AGP Healthcare Fund (AGPHC), to capture new and exciting opportunities. AGPHC is a pure commercially driven fund with Living Better and Aging Better themes.

For more information, visit www.augustglobalpartners.com.