One-North LaunchPad Rezoning to Double Start-Up Space with Kampong AI Hub and Unified Business Park Zone

LaunchPad was started by JTC in 2015 as a hub to bring together start-ups, incubators, accelerators and venture capitalists. Since its launch, it has housed more than 2,400 start-ups, including Carousell, Patsnap and Nium, and hosts more than 30 incubators, accelerators, and venture capital firms.

Currently, the LaunchPad comprises different zones. Most of the estate is designated for business parks without a set development intensity. Smaller plots are zoned for business parks with GPRs of 5.0 and 4.0, alongside plots set aside for mixed-use development and roads.

With the proposed rezoning, the different land parcels will be unified under a single business park zone with a GPR of 2.5, roughly doubling the potential permissible floor space. JTC said this will rejuvenate LaunchPad as one integrated development, allowing a mix of uses to strengthen the start-up ecosystem. A plot currently designated for road use will also be converted to residential with commercial space at the first storey.

Work to rejuvenate LaunchPad is already under way. JTC launched a tender on July 29 to design and build the AI block for Kampong AI. The completed block will provide 14,500 sq m of business park space, including event and collaboration spaces, for up to 70 companies. The tender closes on August 24.

The project involves the adaptive reuse of two existing flatted factories as Kampong AI’s AI block and accommodation block. A separate tender for the accommodation block, which will house more than 200 residential units, will be launched later. Kampong AI is slated for completion by 2028.

Plans for the wider LaunchPad estate also include new event spaces, sports facilities, networking areas, and additional food and beverage options, with enhanced sheltered connectivity between blocks including new covered linkways.

JTC has also unveiled a new co-working and event space at LaunchPad called The Meeting Point, a dedicated venue for networking, investor meetings, and community events. New measures include access for LaunchPad start-ups to 19 global start-up nodes such as San Francisco, Paris, Tokyo, and Shenzhen, through agreements between JTC and NUS Enterprise and a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Action Community for Entrepreneurship and INSEAD.

Start-up-friendly policies have also been introduced. Companies at LaunchPad do not have to pay rent for up to two months while fitting out their space, and enjoy flexible lease terms and shorter notice periods.

Singapore’s start-up ecosystem is ranked fourth in the world, according to the 2025 Global Startup Ecosystem Index by StartupBlink. The Republic has more than 4,500 tech start-ups, 220 incubators and accelerators, and over 500 venture capital firms. The government announced a S$1 billion top-up to the Startup SG Equity scheme in Budget 2026.