Made with farmers, for farmers.
Founded in Singapore and Vietnam in 2021. Built from direct experience with the economic devastation that undiagnosed disease causes to farming families. Expanding across Southeast Asia and beyond.
Mission
Empower aquaculture and animal-health operators to make fast, data-driven health decisions at the point of need by delivering accurate, affordable, on-site molecular diagnostics that turn one hour into action.
Vision
A resilient, transparent food system where routine, on-farm testing prevents outbreaks, boosts profitability, and advances sustainability across shrimp, finfish, and other animal sectors — laying the groundwork for future One-Health applications.
The diagnostic tools that could protect farms have always existed — they just existed in centralised labs, hours away from the farms that needed them. We built RAPID to close that gap.
Built from direct experience with the problem.
In 2021, Kit Yong and Michael Nguyen founded Forte Biotech after witnessing first-hand how shrimp farmers across Vietnam were losing entire harvests to diseases that could have been caught early — if only the diagnostic tools had been accessible on-site.
The insight was simple: the molecular technology to detect pathogens already existed, but it was locked behind centralised labs, expensive equipment, and multi-day turnaround times. By the time results came back, entire ponds had been lost.
RAPID was built to close that gap — a portable, LAMP-based diagnostic platform that delivers molecular-grade results in under 1 hour, on-site, with no lab, no cold chain, and no specialist training.
Photo: Forte Biotech
Photo: Forte Biotech
Our journey so far.
2021
Forte Biotech founded in Singapore and Vietnam. First prototype development begins with NUS-GRIP.
Photo: Forte Biotech
2022
RAPID v1 field trials in Vietnam. First commercial deployments to shrimp farms in the Mekong Delta. LAMP assay patent filed.
Photo: Forte Biotech
2023
Winner, Temasek Foundation Net Zero Challenge (Food Systems & Sustainable Agriculture). Expanded to Thailand and Indonesia.
Photo: Forte Biotech
2024
RAPIDPlus developed with DxD Hub / A*STAR. Expanded to Malaysia and Philippines.
Photo: Forte Biotech
2025
RAPIDMax launched for high-throughput screening. Fin fish and swine assay development begins. Aotomatic data platform launched. Expanded to 9 countries across Asia.
Photo: Forte Biotech
2026
Concordance studies with BIOTEC/NSTDA and University of Arizona. ASF swine assay live. Tilapia panel in development. Continued expansion across Southeast Asia and beyond.
Photo: Forte Biotech
The team behind RAPID.
Photo: Forte Biotech
Kit Yong
Founder
Leads commercial strategy, fundraising, and institutional partnerships. Based in Singapore.
kit@fortebio.tech
Photo: Forte Biotech
Michael Nguyen
Co-Founder
Leads Vietnam operations, farmer engagement, and field deployment across Southeast Asia.
michael@fortebio.techThe institutions behind the science.
DxD Hub · A*STAR
RAPIDPlus — Designed & Developed with DxD Hub
The Diagnostics Development Hub (DxD), an initiative by A*STAR Singapore, partnered with Forte Biotech to design and engineer the RAPIDPlus device — bringing medtech-grade industrial design to field diagnostics.
NUS-GRIP
Foundational LAMP assay chemistry and core detection technology developed under NUS-GRIP (National University of Singapore — Global Research Innovation Programme). Patented.
BIOTEC / NSTDA
Thailand's National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. Independent LAMP vs qPCR concordance studies for EHP and AHPND validation.
University of Arizona
Aquaculture Pathology Laboratory. Independent concordance study comparing RAPID LAMP against qPCR for EHP and AHPND detection.
Temasek Foundation
Forte Biotech was selected as a winner of the Temasek Foundation Net Zero Challenge 2023 (Food Systems & Sustainable Agriculture), from over 300 applicants across 45 countries.
P4G — Partnering for Green Growth
Global partnership platform accelerating market-based solutions for sustainable development. Forte Biotech is a P4G partner, advancing accessible diagnostics as a pathway to resilient food systems.
Singapore-headquartered. SEA-deployed.
Headquarters
Singapore
Forte Biotech Pte. Ltd.
Singapore
Operations
Vietnam
Forte Biotech Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Showroom
Indonesia
Forte Biotech Pte. Ltd.
Batam, Indonesia
Active markets: Singapore · Vietnam · Thailand · Indonesia · Malaysia · Philippines · India · Taiwan · Japan