Formed in 2018, EyRIS was the brainchild of a long-term collaboration across healthcare researchers and practitioners, and computer scientists. EyRIS was launched to commercialise and sell an AI-driven algorithm called SELENA+ that analysed retinal images to screen for diabetes-related eye diseases. Over time, many moving parts came together to facilitate full-scale production usage of SELENA+ within the national-level Singapore Integrated Diabetic Retinopathy Programme (SiDRP). The facilitators included multiple individuals in the public healthcare sector medical field, and several government institutions such as Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH), the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC), and Singapore's national healthtech agency, amongst others. Over the years, the algorithm was further fine-tuned and trained on as wide a data set as possible in studies that spanned ethnicities and age groups, eventually yielding highly accurate results. SELENA+'s results bridged the gap between research discovery and real-world use. Now, the team at EyRis had to commercialise SELENA+ and bring it to a wider range of markets and geographies. They faced numerous challenges in the process, within Singapore and in other countries. Nevertheless, by 2023, EyRIS' efforts paid off and the SELENA+ algorithm received regulatory approvals for use in a growing number of countries. Now, EyRIS' commercial heads, along with Dr Wong and the other co-founders, wondered how best they could continue to scale EyRIS' market reach and offerings.

By December 2018, Evie the digital personal assistant (PA) had gained quite a following from prominent clients such as Unilever and Airbus. Powered by artificial intelligence (AI), Evie was so good that clients believed 'she' was human, expecting to greet 'her' in the flesh at meetings. Jin Hian Lee, Evie.ai's co-founder, understood that gaining such high praise from clients was not enough. More needed to be done to jumpstart the fledgling start-up's growth to the next level. But where should his focus be? There were signs that Evie could perhaps benefit from specialising in specific domains or be bolder and venture beyond the shores of Singapore, where the start-up was based since it began in 2014. How should Lee chart the 'career path' of Evie? What should he do? Unbeknownst to him, Lee would face a similar dilemma in 2020 when the global COVID-19 pandemic plagued the world. How could he cope with the challenges awaiting Evie.ai?

In January 2019, Raymond Holmes, head of the Singapore Association of Chief Marketing Officers (CMO), an informal roundtable of CMOs from multinational corporations, went to explore Habitat, a hi-tech grocery store by Honestbee, a food and grocery delivery company. The advent of e-commerce allowed consumers to buy products online. Asset-light retailers had cost advantages over physical stores when it came to rental expenditure and inventory storage. Honestbee pioneered the food concierge service in Singapore, helping busy consumers fulfil and deliver online grocery orders from partners that had physical stores. Three years after its founding, the company added a physical storefront that aimed to be a lifestyle destination with a grocery store and other dining concepts. The futuristic store would also attract non-shoppers to the area. Holmes wondered if Honestbee's multichannel approach would provide a better experience for the consumers and enhance its profitability.