Medtronic proposes to invest up to US$50m for the first-of-its-kind regional Open Innovation Platform to advance the future of healthcare technologies in APAC

Investment focusing on development of talent and technology to be made over a period of five years

Medtronic plc (NYSE: MDT), a global leader in healthcare technology, today announced the launch of the Medtronic Open Innovation Platform (OIP) in Singapore. The OIP will bring strategic collaboration in healthcare technologies among various stakeholders across the healthcare ecosystem through capability development, partnerships and business organizations networking in the areas of medical technology and digital health in APAC, with Singapore as the epicenter.

Focusing on the unique healthcare needs of the APAC, this first-of-its-kind platform will be supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). This will enable Medtronic and the EDB to support talent and technology development which can help Medtronic leverage data, AI, and automation to address patient needs.

"Singapore has been a strategic hub for Medtronic with a manufacturing facility, its APAC regional headquarters, and now an epicenter for the Open Innovation Platform. We are excited to work with EDB's support on this program, aligned with our vision to lead the way for healthcare technology and address the complex challenges of the sector," said Chris Lee, president for Asia Pacific, Medtronic, at the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Medtronic and EDB..

As part of the OIP, Medtronic also launched the Medtronic APAC Innovation Challenge (MAIC) today, where business organizations in APAC will have the opportunity to showcase innovative medical technology solutions in one of the four domains - namely, ‘Life Transforming Technologies’, ‘Better Outcomes for All’, ‘Experiences that Put People First’ and ‘Insight Driven Care’.

MAIC will provide an opportunity to selected participants to collaborate with Medtronic to further develop and innovate in the medical technology sector. The final round of the MAIC is scheduled to take place alongside the Medtronic Asia Innovation Conference in the first quarter of 2022.

The top five winners of the MAIC may have the opportunity to partner with Medtronic for a commercial pilot on their proposed MedTech, digital health or solution, valued up to US$200,000 for each of the five winners.

In addition to MAIC, and as part of the OIP, Medtronic will also open its first-ever Digital Medtronic Innovation Centre (dMIC) in Singapore. When completed, the facility will offer a collaborative space for an all-round immersive experience of product and therapy innovation.

EDB and Medtronic have a long-standing relationship, one such example being a leadership development program - TalentX SG+ - operating since 2019. The program is unique to Singapore, identifying top local talent in the company and offering them a year-long rotational job posting, giving participants exposure to different businesses and countries in APAC. With the support of the EDB, Medtronic has also recently founded the Intelligent Supply Chain Planning Hub, a predictive and exception-based planning program which aims to develop and attract the best supply chain talent and capabilities.

Medtronic APAC Innovation Challenge launches on October 14 with submissions open until November 26. For more information about the MAIC, please visit this url.