From Singapore to Germany: How Polymerize is Driving Sustainable R&D in Chemicals

Expanding into new markets is a strategic decision for many tech companies aiming to scale their impact and address complex industry challenges with innovative solutions. For Polymerize, a Singapore-based startup, entering the German market represented an opportunity to showcase its AI-powered material informatics platform in one of the world’s most advanced chemicals industries. By predicting experimental outcomes, optimizing formulations, and streamlining R&D processes, Polymerize’s platform enables chemical and materials companies to accelerate product development, cut costs, and advance sustainability initiatives. 

Company Background 

Founded in 2020, Polymerize provides a cloud-based material informatics platform specifically designed for chemical and materials companies. The platform integrates digital transformation and AI-driven innovation into R&D, helping businesses accelerate product development. By leveraging process and chemistry-specific knowledge, Polymerize’s solution enables highly accurate predictions even with limited data.

The platform also enhances sustainability in the chemical industry by accelerating R&D processes, reducing development time, calculating carbon emissions, and cutting costs. By optimizing formulation design and recommending alternative sustainable ingredients through AI, it helps support companies in reducing waste, energy consumption, and reliance on harmful materials. Additionally, by enabling global collaboration and data sharing, it promotes more efficient use of resources, leading to greener innovations.

Identifying Germany as a Strategic Market 

Building on its growing success and established customer base in markets such as the U.S., India, and Japan, Polymerize identified Europe—specifically Germany—as its next strategic market after its expansion into Japan. Germany’s significant role in the global chemicals industry and commitment to sustainability made it an attractive target for expansion. 

The founders: left – Kunal Sandeep; right – Abhijit Vijay Salvekar

“Germany is a key player in the global chemicals industry, and we see tremendous potential in helping companies here achieve their sustainability goals through digital transformation,” said Kunal Sandeep, Co-Founder & CEO of Polymerize. “To ensure our product resonates with the German market, we knew we needed a partner who understood the local landscape.”

Navigating Market Entry with Scaler8’s Explore and Open Innovation Programs 

To navigate the complexities of the German market, Polymerize participated in Scaler8’s Open Innovation Program, where they were matched with a problem statement that allowed them to pilot their solutions and address specific industry challenges. Recognizing further opportunities in Europe, Polymerize also joined Scaler8’s Market Explore Program in 2023 as part of the GIA Munich Acceleration Program, powered by Start2 Group and supported by Enterprise Singapore. These programs provided Polymerize with critical market insights, customer interviews, and guidance on local business practices and cultural nuances, all of which were instrumental in refining their approach.

Achieving Success with Local Partnership 

With the support of Scaler8, Polymerize refined its market approach and effectively demonstrated its platform’s capabilities in Germany. A key milestone was the opportunity to pitch to Meraxis, a Swiss company with operations in Germany, facilitated through Scaler8’s Cross-border Open Innovation Program. This led to a PoC agreement, allowing Polymerize to showcase the power of its AI platform. One of the key challenges Polymerize faced was designing a product that seamlessly fits into existing R&D workflows while enhancing AI model accuracy through the integration of domain knowledge.

Image credit: Polymerize

Despite these hurdles and working with a limited dataset, Polymerize’s platform was able to ingest the data provided by Meraxis and convert it into predictive models with over 95% accuracy. The platform forecasted properties for unknown formulations and recommended optimal solutions to achieve desired outcomes, validating the technology’s potential to revolutionize R&D for sustainable materials. This success not only demonstrated the value of Polymerize’s technology but also led to a contract with Meraxis, affirming its impact in the German market.

Looking Ahead: Scaling in Europe

Buoyed by the success of the PoC with Meraxis, Polymerize is now positioning itself for further growth in Germany and the broader European market. The company plans to expand its sales efforts, and explore new business opportunities and partnership, leveraging the strategic insights gained from its market entry.

“Working with Scaler8 has been a game-changer for us,” said Abhijit Vijay Salvekar, Co-Founder & CTO of Polymerize. “We are excited about our new partnership with Meraxis and look forward to forming additional collaborations that will enable us to support the sustainability goals of chemical companies and governments alike.”

Polymerize is currently seeking partnerships with research institutes and system integrators to contribute to ongoing sustainability initiatives, aligning its efforts with broader environmental goals in the industry.