Who We AreATUM is a Singapore deep-tech venture builder and investor. We build companies from breakthrough, IP-backed research, bringing capital, operational muscle, and partners from industry, VC, and government into every build. We've built and backed 15 ventures, and we invest in fast-scaling deep-tech with real fundamentals, not hype.The VentureLiquid cooling is fast becoming the backbone of the AI data center, and the coolant running through it is now mission-critical. Yet the fluid is still watched the way it was decades ago: manual sampling and lab send-outs that take days, catching corrosion only after the damage is done.We're building the company to change that.The core is an inline coolant-monitoring platform, developed at NTU, that uses laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy to read the coolant in real time, identifying and quantifying the dissolved metals that signal corrosion, down to which component is degrading and how fast. The optical monitors entering the market today read the fluid indirectly; this one measures the metals directly, which they cannot.The first market is coolant monitoring for data center operators, where a reliability and compliance gap is opening fast as the industry shifts to direct liquid cooling and no inline elemental product yet exists. It's a platform-led deep-tech company at the centre of the AI infrastructure build-out, with real technology, validated demand, and a clear path to category leadership.The RoleYou'll be the founding CTO. You'll own the technology roadmap and system architecture, and the hard work of taking a lab-validated method to a deployed, manufacturable product, alongside the NTU inventors as technical advisors and a dedicated ATUM venture team.Together, we'll:Take the platform from lab-validated science to a ruggedized inline product deployed in live cooling loopsValidate performance in real coolant chemistries and stand up the first operator pilotsBuild the founding engineering team and shape the technical organisationRaise pre-seed and seed capital alongside the CEO and ATUMBuild the IP moat, layering foreground IP on top of the licensed coreThis is not a job. It's a founding journey where you share the risk, the upside, and the impact.RequirementsInstrument builder: You've taken optical, analytical, or sensing hardware from prototype to a product that ships and holds up in the field, not just a lab demo.Broad technical range: You're deep in at least one of optics, photonics, embedded systems, or signal processing, and you can work across the others. The product spans hardware, fluidics, and software.Productization-driven: You think in design-for-manufacture, reliability, bill of materials, and field deployment. You turn a working method into something that can be built and sold at scale.A builder, not a passenger: You self-start, run at ambiguity, and own outcomes. You don't wait to be told what to do next.Resilient & ready: You have the runway to commit full-time, and you know building deep-tech hardware takes grit, iteration, and patience.BenefitsWhy Build With UsA validated starting point: Real technology, validated demand, real expertise, not a blank page.Founder-led: You're the CTO, with meaningful founding equity.Funding-ready: ATUM backs the build with pre-seed capital and grant access, plus follow-on funding from our investor network.Hands-on partners: We're in the trenches with you on product, GTM, and fundraising, not just on the cap table.Domain access: Labs, technical experts, early adopters, and an ecosystem already engaged.
Who We Are
ATUM is a Singapore deep-tech venture builder and investor. We build companies from breakthrough, IP-backed research, bringing capital, operational muscle, and partners from industry, VC, and government into every build. We've built and backed 15 ventures, and we invest in fast-scaling deep-tech with real fundamentals, not hype.
The Venture
Liquid cooling is fast becoming the backbone of the AI data center, and the coolant running through it is now mission-critical. Yet the fluid is still watched the way it was decades ago: manual sampling and lab send-outs that take days, catching corrosion only after the damage is done.
We're building the company to change that.
The core is an inline coolant-monitoring platform, developed at NTU, that uses laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy to read the coolant in real time, identifying and quantifying the dissolved metals that signal corrosion, down to which component is degrading and how fast. The optical monitors entering the market today read the fluid indirectly; this one measures the metals directly, which they cannot.
The first market is coolant monitoring for data center operators, where a reliability and compliance gap is opening fast as the industry shifts to direct liquid cooling and no inline elemental product yet exists. It's a platform-led deep-tech company at the centre of the AI infrastructure build-out, with real technology, validated demand, and a clear path to category leadership.
The Role
You'll be the founding CTO. You'll own the technology roadmap and system architecture, and the hard work of taking a lab-validated method to a deployed, manufacturable product, alongside the NTU inventors as technical advisors and a dedicated ATUM venture team.
Together, we'll:
- Take the platform from lab-validated science to a ruggedized inline product deployed in live cooling loops
- Validate performance in real coolant chemistries and stand up the first operator pilots
- Build the founding engineering team and shape the technical organisation
- Raise pre-seed and seed capital alongside the CEO and ATUM
- Build the IP moat, layering foreground IP on top of the licensed core
This is not a job. It's a founding journey where you share the risk, the upside, and the impact.
Requirements
- Instrument builder: You've taken optical, analytical, or sensing hardware from prototype to a product that ships and holds up in the field, not just a lab demo.
- Broad technical range: You're deep in at least one of optics, photonics, embedded systems, or signal processing, and you can work across the others. The product spans hardware, fluidics, and software.
- Productization-driven: You think in design-for-manufacture, reliability, bill of materials, and field deployment. You turn a working method into something that can be built and sold at scale.
- A builder, not a passenger: You self-start, run at ambiguity, and own outcomes. You don't wait to be told what to do next.
- Resilient & ready: You have the runway to commit full-time, and you know building deep-tech hardware takes grit, iteration, and patience.
Benefits
Why Build With Us
- A validated starting point: Real technology, validated demand, real expertise, not a blank page.
- Founder-led: You're the CTO, with meaningful founding equity.
- Funding-ready: ATUM backs the build with pre-seed capital and grant access, plus follow-on funding from our investor network.
- Hands-on partners: We're in the trenches with you on product, GTM, and fundraising, not just on the cap table.
- Domain access: Labs, technical experts, early adopters, and an ecosystem already engaged.
At ATUM Ventures, we exist to support courageous founders who turn differentiating tech into world-changing companies that solve critical challenges in Energy, Medtech and Advanced Manufacturing. We bring capital, operational muscle and partners from academia, industry, VC, and government who co-invest in every build.
At ATUM Ventures, we exist to support courageous founders who turn differentiating tech into world-changing companies that solve critical challenges in Energy, Medtech and Advanced Manufacturing. We bring capital, operational muscle and partners from academia, industry, VC, and government who co-invest in every build.
