James is founder and CEO of ION Mobility, an electric mobility and new energy company focused on Southeast Asia with teams across Singapore, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh and Shenzhen. ION's products combine advanced hardware and software technology with human-centred design in a full-stack end-to-end approach, so as to deliver smart electric motorcyles and energy storage solutions that are for everyone to use. The company has raised over US$25.5 million in funding since its founding in late 2019, unveiled its inaugural product, ION "Mobius" M1-S in Dec 2021, and subsequently soft-launched the M1-S in Jakarta in Nov 2022.
James was trained in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon with a second Major in Engineering & Public Policy, before gaining breadth at Stanford University in Management Science & Engineering (blending operations research, economics and organization science). Throughout his career, he has been a civil servant, venture and angel investor and serial entrepreneur on all 3 sides of the table; across industries the likes of fintech, internet, 3D printing, robotics and automation, venture capital and public policy and industry development – and in organisations such as Abakus Southeast Asia, Silicon Straits, GreyOrange, Neoteny Labs, Walden International, SG Innovate (f.k.a. Infocomm Investments) and IMDA (f.k.a. Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore).
Through Neoteny Labs, Silicon Straits and in his personal capacity, James is an investor in fast-growing tech companies such as Viki (acq. by Rakuten), HelloSign (acq. by Dropbox), Seatme (acq. by Yelp), Lanyrd (acq. by EventBrite), Formlabs, Playco, Animoca Brands, HipVan (acq. by BucketPlace), Caarly (acq. by Carousell), Carro, PolicyPal (acq. by AMTD Digital), Pixel Labs (acq. by Nextdoor), Silicon Straits Foundry (acq. by Grab), ParcelPerform and GetGo.
A recipient of the EDB Singapore Inc. scholarship in 2002, James has over 17 years of experience and track record in economic and industry policy formulation and implementation, venture capital, product development and management, business strategy and development, finance and operations in the technology and startup ecosystem in Southeast and East Asia.
In his spare time, James spends time with his family, enjoys gaming, hikes, photography and food, and volunteers at The Birthday Collective, a non-profit organisation he co-founded that strives to serve as Singapore's "Heart, Hand and Brain trust".
