KUALA LUMPUR: Nova MSC Bhd’s subsidiary Dex-Lab Pte Ltd, has appointed Evolve Capital Advisory Pte Ltd, as its sponsor for Dex-Lab’s listing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) Catalist Board.
This appointment marks a significant milestone in Dex-Lab’s progression from Singapore’s first mover in eldercare humanoid robotics to a fast-scaling provider across Asia-Pacific (Apac) and Australia.
The proposed IPO remains subject to due diligence, finalisation of transaction structure, market conditions and approvals from both Nova MSC’s shareholders and the relevant stock exchanges.
Nova MSC executive chairman Sunny Loh Guan Huat said Dex-Lab has grown rapidly in Singapore with proven outcomes and attracts strong interest from care providers and institutions.
“The caregiving sector worldwide is under intense pressure. Our humanoid social robots Dexie and Daisy provide meaningful, complementary support to care teams and deliver measurable benefits to residents.
“With global demand rising for eldercare robotics, we believe the time is right to explore an SGX listing.
“The appointment of Evolve Capital is a key step as Dex-Lab prepares for regional scale-up. A SGX listing will help Dex-Lab accelerate market expansion, enhance R&D and strengthen its global position,” he said in a statement.
Founded in Singapore in 2020, Dex-Lab develops humanoid social robots designed specifically for eldercare and dementia care environments.
Its current flagship robots — Dexie and Daisy — deliver structured programmes including cognitive stimulation, mobility exercises, music therapy, and multilingual conversation and social engagement.
The solutions are developed to complement, not replace, human caregivers by reducing manual workload and enabling consistent, meaningful interaction for seniors.
Dex-lab’s solutions have gained strong market adoption in Singapore, with active deployments across leading care providers such as Singhealth Community Hospitals, PeaceHaven Nursing Home, MWS Nursing Home, All Saint Homes, Bright Hill Evergreen Nursing Home, Lion’s Home for the Elderly, and St Andrew’s Nursing Home.
Independent studies conducted with a major public healthcare cluster have reported measurable improvements — including a 32% increase in positive patient engagement, cognitive gains in 46% of participants, up to two hours of staff time reallocated per session, and enhanced staff-to-patient ratios from 1:3 to as efficient as 1:5–6.
Together with deployments in Australia and showcases in Hong Kong, these outcomes affirm Dex-Lab’s position as an emerging leader in social robotics in the Asia-Pacific region.
The sector in which Dex-Lab operates is experiencing rapid global acceleration with social robots, humanoid systems, and digital eldercare technologies gaining significant traction as healthcare systems worldwide grapple with rising care demand, shrinking labour supply, and rapidly ageing populations.
Global market drivers underscore this momentum, with the social robots market projected to exceed US$40 billion (RM165 billion) within the next decade, strong growth expected in humanoid robotics through 2030 and beyond, the dementia-care market estimated at US$40.6 billion by 2034, and the global population of individuals aged 60 and above forecast to reach 1.4 billion by 2030 — expanding further to 2.1 billion by 2050.
Against this backdrop, Dex-Lab is accelerating its expansion across key Asian markets and Australia, regions facing some of the world’s fastest-ageing demographics.
The company is building on completed and ongoing pilots in Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong.
It is currently evaluating new opportunities in Malaysia, China, the Middle East, and other emerging markets.
