The Liveability Challenge (TLC), Asia’s largest sustainability solutions platform presented by Temasek Foundation, launched its milestone 10th edition today with a record of over S$5.5 million in catalytic funding for 2027 – its largest funding pool yet – as it adds a new Oceans track to address mounting climate and liveability risks across the region.
Since its establishment, TLC has attracted thousands of applications globally, shortlisted and incubated 62 start-ups and deployed S$18 million in catalytic funding – innovations that have gone on to raise hundreds of millions more, says the ECO Business news.
Decarbonisation, cooling and ocean solutions are critical as carbon emissions and global warming continue to rise, while ocean health and marine ecosystems come under increasing pressure from environmental degradation and climate hazards.
Backed by integrated investment platform and co-presenter Asia Ocean Fund (AOF), the new Oceans theme will seek out pioneering solutions across Maritime & Energy, Materials & Circularity, Blue Food & Water, and Ocean Data & Intelligence.
“The ocean covers over two-thirds of our planet, and Asia Pacific sustains over two-thirds of global ocean economy employment – making it both our greatest climate buffer and an important economic engine. Yet, Asia Pacific faces a daunting US$5.5 trillion blue economy financing gap towards 2030,” said May Liew, Co-Managing Director, Asia Ocean Fund and CEO, OCTAVE Capital.
“Through our partnership with Temasek Foundation for the new Oceans theme, the Asia Ocean Fund is deploying the catalytic capital, regional networks and follow-on investment needed to develop a thriving commercial blue economy for the region,” she added.
In partnership with Temasek Foundation, these disruptive, deep-tech solutions will compete across three themes:
Decarbonisation;
Cool Earth; and
Oceans.
“Over the past decade, TLC has grown from a global crowdsourcing platform for promising innovations into one that helps climate solutions move closer to real-world impact. As we mark the 10th edition, Temasek Foundation remains committed to catalysing greater support for solutions with the potential to scale, reflected in a record funding pool of more than S$5.5 million. The addition of a new Oceans theme, with Asia Ocean Fund coming onboard, also broadens our focus to an area critical to Asia’s climate resilience. We look forward to bringing together more partners on this journey to help bold solutions go further and create lasting impact,” said Heng Li Lang, Head, Climate and Liveability, Temasek Foundation.
Meanwhile, Singapore’s lead public sector research and development agency, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), returns as the Decarbonisation theme co-presenter, alongside Enterprise Singapore as Strategic Partner. Together with Temasek Foundation, these partners will provide the catalytic funding and scaling support needed to take these solutions from lab to market at a time when they are urgently needed, it added.
“The solutions needed to address climate and liveability challenges already exist in many research labs and start-ups around the world. TLC helps innovators bridge the gap from breakthrough ideas to real-world deployment by connecting them with the partners, capabilities and opportunities needed to scale. As co-presenter of the Decarbonisation theme, A*STAR provides catalytic funding alongside access to research expertise, specialised laboratories and translational infrastructure, including facilities at A*StartCentral at One-North LaunchPad and A*STAR Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE²) on Jurong Island.
Together, these capabilities help innovators test, validate and scale their technologies, accelerating the pathway from innovation to impact.”, said Irene Cheong, Assistant Chief Executive, Innovation and Enterprise, A*STAR.
In its 10th edition, TLC 2027 was officially launched at Unlocking capital for sustainability 2026 – Singapore – co-hosted for the first time with AT ONE IMPACT WEEK 2026 in Singapore.
Call for submissions across the three themes is officially open and will close on 12 February 2027, with selected finalists to pitch their solutions to judges and investors at the TLC Grand Finale in Singapore in May next year. The TLC Grand Finale is a partner event of Ecosperity Week 2027 by Temasek.
Established in 2018, TLC – a global crowdsourcing platform presented by Temasek Foundation and organised by Eco-Business – has grown to become Asia’s largest sustainability solutions platform, supporting the commercialisation of innovative technologies from the lab to market.
“Despite geopolitical and economic headwinds, TLC’s record funding commitment, coupled with strong interest in next-generation technologies, demonstrate unbroken momentum for climate innovation. The addition of the Oceans theme expands this impact, unlocking novel solutions that safeguard ocean health and conservation while building long-term resilience. TLC serves as the vital link connecting leading innovators with the scale and support they need,” said Jessica Cheam, Founder and CEO, Eco-Business.
The winners of TLC 2026 include the Singapore-based Metha8, which developed a new method to generate clean and reliable electricity by converting methanol into power, and the France-based YAMA, which developed electrified carbon capture technology designed to decarbonise dilute gas streams from natural gas power plants.
