Singapore Airlines (SIA) has acquired a minority stake in Australia-founded Data Republic, in a move to further enhance its digital capabilities.

The stake in Data Republic was acquired through a placement of new shares. A statement of no objection was received recently from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board for the share purchase.

Data Republic’s governance platform, Senate, enables organisations to safely collaborate on shared data projects in a secured environment, leveraging technology to protect privacy, provide audit trails and ensure data security. SIA will be working with Data Republic and its partners from Singapore and Australia to provide organisations with a practical means to collaborate and innovate at speed using Data Republic’s unique secure data sharing technology.

“Singapore Airlines recognises the increasing importance that data plays in allowing organisations to have an enriched understanding of customers’ preferences. Our investment in Data Republic highlights our commitment to data innovation through a platform which leverages technology to ensure data security and privacy and further enhance our digital capabilities,” said Singapore Airlines Senior Vice President Information Technology, Mr George Wang.

SIA has been significantly enhancing its digital capabilities through a multi-phased programme which has seen great progress so far. The programme encompasses company-wide training programmes and participation by staff in innovation projects across the SIA Group; building digital capabilities through extensive IT-related recruitment and a shift to agile delivery of IT projects; large-scale investment in IT infrastructure; and increased collaboration with global tech leaders, start-ups and research institutes.