MIMOS Berhad, the national applied research and development (R&D) agency under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), is supporting the development of Malaysia’s deep tech innovation to provide solutions not just for industries but for the betterment of the country as a whole.

The agency has helped develop various technologies, including blockchain, electrical and electronics (E&E), semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI). Innovations like the national MyDigital ID, now under the Prime Minister’s Department, are one such technology that has been developed by MIMOS.

“MIMOS evaluates which R&D initiatives to pursue by looking at future tech trends to ensure these innovations bring tangible benefits to industries, government and the nation,” says Dr Pannirselvam Kanagaratnam, chief technology officer of MIMOS Berhad.

Forward-looking technologies have always been a key focus for MIMOS, with the agency often thinking far ahead into the future to stay ahead of innovation trends that could transform Malaysia’s technology landscape. For example, MIMOS is working on Neuromorphic Computing which enables smarter, faster and more energy-efficient AI.

MIMOS has also been working on the development of quantum intelligence use cases for the country for 11 years. The MIMOS Quantum Intelligence Centre was launched earlier this year. The agency has also put in proposals to help develop MOSTI’s two other moonshot programmes on space technology and rare earth elements, signifying its commitment to advancing deep technology.

In order for practical and innovative results to show, the commercialisation of each project is a big end goal. MIMOS’ strategy balances between focusing on both the market demand and deep technology developments to provide the most suitable solutions to fulfil the demands of the industry.

He shares that two teams under the agency, the strategy team and the commercialisation team, are often working in tandem to recognise what the industry looks for, understand areas of innovation and give industry players a competitive edge.

All these efforts play into how MIMOS can gauge the marketability and commercialisation potential of its projects to drive both innovation and profitability.

“That’s how the need for the technology input comes to us, we start doing some feasibility studies to see whether this is something that our team can take up. This also extends to universities, where if they already have something, even at a prototype level, we can take it from them and help to develop it,” says Pannirselvam.

To ensure that the projects perform well in the market, the agency follows the model where engagement with industry players starts from the get-go to identify interested recipients who resonate with the products.

Industry players will be involved in every stage of development. As the product evolves closer to completion, the engagement with industry players can assist MIMOS in providing field trial sites to conduct proper tests to fine-tune any gaps in order to meet the demands of the customers.

The engagement with multiple players also helps to ensure that the risk of a failed project is low by maintaining a pipeline of talent that can take over the technology, should an unforeseen situation arise.

“It’s very important for industry partners to come in from the beginning itself to make sure that when a solution is finally [found], it has a very high acceptance rate. That is what’s critical and crucial for the success of any technology that we develop. A lot of engagement is needed,” says Pannirselvam.

As an R&D centre, Pannirselvam highlights that MIMOS primarily collaborates with a wide range of industry players, including technology firms, start-ups and established corporations, rather than directly engaging with end users.

“Our focus is on developing technologies up to an intermediary level, creating opportunities for local technology companies to further develop, commercialise and support the final product. This approach helps build local capability and strengthens the tech ecosystem,” he explains.

The MIMOS Technology Preview (MTP), which the agency hosts annually, is an event open to the public to browse through booth showcases of technologies produced within the past year.

“After the first year, we generally have something to show. Some take longer to mature but, every year, we do have something that can be commercialised.”

The technologies that are developed with the assistance of MIMOS will also be able to add value to Malaysia’s intellectual properties (IP) and exports.

Emphasising the importance of tech sovereignty, Pannirselvam says for the safety of the country, these are the types of technologies that must be developed to protect critical utilities and infrastructure, to defend the country against conflicts that may arise.

“Right now, even for integrated circuit (IC) designs, we are looking at how we can get the ICs that are developed in our country to be integrated into our local ecosystem. At the moment, many of our IC design companies are just serving multinational companies, so the IP belongs to them instead of our local companies.

“We are giving the name to Malaysians. It is not just made in Malaysia, it’s made by Malaysians,” Pannirselvam says.

MIMOS’ grand total of 22 awards received at the International Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition (ITEX) 2025 is further proof of MIMOS’ testament to the organisation’s quality of innovation.

All of the submitted technologies were rewarded, which comprised 900 inventions from 15 other countries. MIMOS is committed to maintaining its accolades despite most of its projects within the past five years having matured in the final year of the 12th Malaysia Plan in 2025.

“It won’t be so easy to keep up the momentum. However, we still expect to do well because we didn’t show everything that we have. We showcased 22 products but we have more in progress. Hopefully we can keep up the momentum next year in the infancy of the 13th Malaysia Plan,” explains Pannirselvam.

Some of the products have already been adopted by big organisations. He shares that a project on autonomous chiller control has helped companies increase their energy savings through machine learning and AI-powered systems.

This taps into the sustainability market where MIMOS is able to capitalise on the good market traction while giving companies a solution to tackle operational obstacles.

These innovations also help to solve hurdles faced on a national scale. The palm oil sector, being one of Malaysia’s biggest exports, is an industry that can benefit from the projects that have been overseen by MIMOS.

The projects displayed at ITEX include infrared technology for inline palm oil monitoring, assisted navigation for unmanned ground vehicles, edge-based sensor fusion for geomapping and AI analytics for palm oil automations, delivering great potential use cases for the sector.

Another solution that MIMOS has helped develop is Reva In-Vitro, a portable device leveraging quantised machine learning and photodetector technology to provide real-time analysis of liquid samples.

Reva can help individual consumers through its needle-free glucose monitoring services, which is an alternative to conventional blood testing and useful for patients who have diabetes, for instance.