Exploring a New Dimension of Possibilities: LIVR’s journey with Hatch

About LIVR’s Champion: Human Factors & Simulation Centre of Expertise, HTX

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Hatch’s Dimension X challenge is exceedingly competitive, with applicants needing to contend with a stringent multi-stage selection process against hundreds of contenders each cycle. Meet UK-based startup, LIVR, who saw the challenge not as a deterrence, but an opportunity worth pursuing. Discover what makes this programme a standout amongst the international startup community by hearing what LIVR has to say about their experience.

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Leap of Faith

The first impression Leo Kellgren-Parker, CEO of LIVR, is one of confidence. Yet, that belied not arrogance, but a calculated risk-taking approach framed by an almost enthusiastic eagerness to share his perspective and knowledge. 

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8 years ago, the Extended Reality (XR) industry was still in its nascent stages. Leo already had a vision then of just how much this technology could achieve – far beyond its current applications. “I kind of had an epiphany moment, much like when the internet was first introduced and people realised its vast potential,” he recalls. 

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Cue the founding of LIVR, a United Kingdom-based startup that sits at the intersection where artificial intelligence meets immersive technology, solving the "expert bottleneck crisis" where organisations can only perform as well as their most available expert through government-validated AI that works seamlessly across any device – from smartphones to VR headsets.

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Initially finding home in the traditional markets of media and entertainment, Leo knew the technology LIVR was developing had the potential to achieve impact beyond that. LIVR’s XR products could transform organisational knowledge into instantly accessible expertise through emotionally intelligent AI agents and immersive experiences, and that subsequent efficiency improvement thereafter could be reaped by those who were given access to it. 

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In 2024, Leo and his team encountered Hatch at a closed-door sharing session by the team in London. Hatch, he then learned, is the innovation centre of Singapore’s HTX, and is driven by the mission to curate and accelerate dual-use technologies that enhance public safety and security. No stranger to other accelerators and innovation programmes, it was Hatch’s promise for its open innovation challenge Dimension X to validate selected startups’ technologies via an accelerated 4-month proof-of-concept against an actual use-case that was unlike anything else the LIVR team had seen before. 

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“If you can get a place on this, you will solve the tech problem for a Home Team end-user that requires it for a real-world solution,” Leo explained. While public safety was a domain he had not foreseen for LIVR, it was too valuable a proposition for LIVR that was looking for a dual-use opportunity with a concrete product-market fit to pass up.

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Problem-driven Innovation 

Similar to how Hatch is driven by actual challenges faced by Home Team officers, LIVR’s approach also focuses on meeting prospective customers or users with a challenge on hand as opposed to mass pitching creative ideas and big concepts. Dimension X felt like the perfect fit for LIVR. 

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After successfully pitching to the project’s lead, or “Champion”, Lead Engineer Derek Chong from HTX Human Factors and Simulation Centre of Expertise (HFS CoE), Leo and his team spent the next four months as one of the ten start-ups in Dimension X Cohort 3 working in on their proof-of-concept. The clarity of challenge requirements and the detailed project vision by HFS CoE and the challenge sponsors from the Singapore Prisons Service (SPS) made for a smooth development journey, even via predominantly asynchronous collaboration between HTX and the LIVR via regular online calls and check-ins.

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The proof-of-concept that LIVR worked on for the SPS was a responsive AI avatar training system to help drug abusers combat their drug dependencies and address mental models of drug abuse. It can adapt to different user responses to build resilience in drug abusers to various societal triggers that could induce relapse. 

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The AI system developed was comprehensive, addressing multiple requirements put forth by the Champion Derek and the SPS. The system could track key user metrics such as pupil dilation, focus, and heart rate and voice sentiment to enhance human performance. It monitors where a person’s attention is directed, provides real-time voice feedback, and assesses stress levels through both physiological data and voice analysis. Crucially, given the sensitive nature of the challenge, the entire architecture is also designed to conduct everything offline.

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While challenging, these requirements spurred LIVR to achieve beyond what they had initially considered as possible when adapting their solution for dual-use in the domain of public safety, giving their team the opportunity to bring new capabilities to life and build something extraordinary. 

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Collaboration, Adaptation and Cultural Sensitivity 

Collaborating with Home Team stakeholders through Hatch’s programmes did not only push the boundaries of LIVR on the technology front. Building a proof-of-concept to be tested in a country and environment halfway across the globe necessitated cross-cultural adaptations and sensitivity. What might seemingly look like a secondary concern turned into an important hurdle for the LIVR team to cross before success could feature in their victory picture.

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While building the technical aspects for their AI platform, LIVR engineers had to learn how their proposed solution could function effectively in the multiracial and multilingual Singapore society. This meant their engineers in the UK had to familiarise themselves with Singapore speech patterns before they could incorporate Singlish into their language and accent database of their avatar. Leo mused, “Singaporeans tend to speak very fast.”

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Multilingual Avatar in Action: Not only limited to English, the avatar is able to adapt their response to different languages, like Chinese and Italian, based on the user’s needs.

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The cultural adaptation went beyond language. Leo recalled a memorable moment during the creation of the proof-of-concept’s initial training environment, which was inspired by drug dens in the UK. The original environment featured elements like broken windows, graffiti, and rubbish – which the LIVR team later discovered made the training less immersive as these were details that would not be present in Singapore due to local laws. It was moments like this that the LIVR team would likely not have been able to experience in a similar programme conducted in a Euro-centric environment, and that added dimension was an organic learning opportunity beyond Hatch’s Dimension X benefits on paper. 

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A Gateway to Singapore and Beyond with Hatch 

Hatch’s mission to innovate by accelerating collaborations between global deep tech start-ups and Singapore’s Home Team agencies extends beyond the public safety ecosystem in Singapore. 

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Prior to joining the Dimension X program, LIVR explored other sectors where there was demand for efficiency improvements, such as healthcare, human resources, recruitment, and education. The public safety industry was a first for LIVR, and the Asia-Pacific market was an equally new foray. Leo explained how LIVR had previously worked with governments and non-profits in the European Union, and while his startup found successes there, Asia’s tech ecosystem with its proclivity for innovations and tech adoption – a sentiment echoed by international organisations like the World Economic Forum and the International Monetary Fund – was an untapped market Leo was especially keen to explore.

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While Hatch’s mission is anchored in improving Singapore’s public safety, its networks have been international from its inception. Through engagements with partners across the globe, especially in innovation hubs like Silicon Valley and London. With the multitude of start-ups that Hatch inducts each year into its programmes, Hatch remains committed to driving value both ways: In exchange for bringing innovative deep tech solutions to benefit Singapore’s public safety, global start-ups get their technologies validated through a proof-of-concept with HTX and a potential landing pad in Asia. 

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At the conclusion of each Dimension X cohort, successful start-ups will be invited to exhibit at a cohort Demo Day to government attendees from Singapore’s Home Team and other government agencies, and also to stakeholders like venture capitals, system integrators, and other innovation programmes in Singapore’s innovation and tech ecosystem. LIVR pitched and exhibited at Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH), Singapore’s premier innovation festival that convenes global and regional innovation ecosystem stakeholders to over two hundred attendees.

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Leo described being selected for the Dimension X programme as an “element of locked time”. Had he not met the Hatch team, Leo reflected, “We would not have been aware of this opportunity, nor would we have understood how amazingly the challenge statement did fit (our) technology.”

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The journey for LIVR did not halt after their Demo Day. The collaboration with HFS CoE and SPS was a significant milestone, and is the first step of LIVR’s journey in Singapore and with the Home Team. Discussions with government agencies may feel complicated and obfuscated due to complex processes, and Hatch’s role post-programme is to assist start-ups on this front. Assistance rendered includes a dedicated team in Hatch that oversees how the successful proof-of-concept can be brought forward to the next stage with the Champion and challenge owner – which in LIVR’s case is with Derek from the HFS CoE and the SPS.

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Now that LIVR is approaching a year since it has completed its Dimension X challenge, Leo explained that the upcoming next phase for his proof-of-concept trial with Derek and the HFS CoE and other traction his company has since found in Singapore beyond the public safety vertical led him to open an office in Singapore.

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The initial proof-of-concept with Hatch was always meant to form part, and not the entirety of, a start-up’s success in Singapore. The non-traditional approach Hatch continues to take with its programmes by validating proofs-of-concept and exposing start-ups to its networks emphasises growth beyond public safety. While counterintuitive, if founders like Leo can find other opportunities in Singapore and the region to secure their start-up’s longevity, the more secure the runway these start-ups have to continue refining their technologies until they are suitable for deployment.

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The Road Ahead

LIVR holds a proud spot as a Hatch alumni, and is an example of how an international start-up’s journey “hatches” and grows with Hatch.

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When considering what encouraged him to take the leap to work with Hatch via Dimension X, Leo believes it is the perspective that technology need not be perfect, and can grow, evolve and adapt with iterations to fit new needs. “(The technology) is already here now. It may not be as perfect as we imagine, but it’s a journey worth taking. We should strap ourselves in and see where it takes us and the possibilities it could bring upon. Do not let perfect be the enemy of good.”

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Sharing his advice for start-ups considering joining the future iterations of the programme, Leo emphasised the importance of not coming in with any preconceived notions or assumptions. Instead, his message to future start-ups successful in securing a spot in Hatch’s programmes is to keep an open mind, enjoy the journey, and make the most out of various opportunities the programme and Hatch team offer.

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