About / Our story
What began in a block is now an engine.
Fifteen years on, the question isn't what Block71 was. It is about the global ecosystem that it has become. The startups built, the partnerships formed, and global markets unlocked.
The origin
One block on Ayer Rajah Crescent
In 2011, NUS Enterprise and partners moved the first startups into Block 71, an ageing industrial building slated for demolition. Cheap space and dense proximity made it the busiest startup address in Singapore. It became the reference point a generation of founders still shares, with the NUS pipeline running through it from the start: student ventures, alumni companies, and research spinouts now formalised through programmes like GRIP.
The block
Then and now
Our original space has been renovated, but more crucially the work inside has been reinvented to create more opportunities globally.
In 2011 the block offered a roof and little else: cheap desks, bare floors, fast wifi and a concentrated cluster of founders packed tight enough to learn from each other fast.
Today the spaces are built for commercialisation: rooms where startups and corporate partners work on the same problems, and a energy that permeates six countries.
The evolution
Why Block71 became B71
Incubation built the supply of startups: more than 1,600 companies through the Singapore block and the network beyond it. Over fifteen years the work became commercialising them, with corporates joining founders as equal stakeholders and market access reaching far beyond home.
B71 keeps the initial and the number that started it all in 2011. What changes is the name and the frame around the work. What stays is the substance: the eleven locations, the acceleration programmes, the incubation, the local teams, and the NUS research backbone behind all of it.
Fifteen years, verifiable
1,600+
Startups incubated since 2011
3
Unicorns: Carousell, PatSnap, ShopBack
11
Locations across 6 countries
150
Startups active in Singapore today
Next step
Our ecosystem offers.
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Incubation ↗
Start inside the Singapore flagship with workspace, mentors and a community of founders.
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Acceleration programmes ↗
Structured programmes that sharpen ventures and open doors to markets and capital.
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Corporate partnership ↗
Structured access to vetted NUS-affiliated startups for corporate teams.
FAQ
FAQ
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[1] Why did Block71 become B71?
The shorter name keeps the origin while reflecting a wider global venture platform under NUSX.
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[2] What happens to existing BLOCK71 programmes?
The programmes continue as part of the B71 ecosystem, with incubation, acceleration and market-access work still run through the local teams.
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[3] Do old block71.co links still work?
Existing redirects and references should continue to route users to the relevant B71 or NUSX destination as the site migration settles.
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[4] Does the Singapore location change?
No. Singapore remains the flagship location and the anchor for the wider B71 network.
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[5] Can I still say BLOCK71?
Yes. BLOCK71 remains the origin story. B71 is the shorter platform name for the global network today.
Would you want to live here?
N-House residency is allocated alongside NOC programme placement. Apply for NOC, and the N-House offer follows for selected students.