SMU announced the 60 finalists of the 12th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC), organised by SMU's Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE). The finalists would gather at SMU's city campus between 29 September and 2 October 2025 to pitch their innovations to a judging panel during the LKYGBPC Grand Finals Week. Shirley Wong, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at SMU IIE, highlighted that the 12th LKYGBPC saw a record-breaking 1,500+ applications from more than 1,200 universities across 91 countries. Ms Wong said the numbers show growing global startup confidence in using Singapore as a gateway to Asia.
LKYGBPC also introduced the DueAI™ Challenge this year, an initiative leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the efficiency and comprehensiveness of startup screening. Dr Sze Tiam Lin, the Senior Licensing Advisor at SMU IIE who created this new initiative, said, "The DueAI™ Challenge demonstrates how AI can transform entrepreneurial evaluation for investors and deliver greater scalability and objectivity while empowering human decision-making."
