Authors: Yanni Yoong (Sr Program Mgr), Monica Tsai (BD)
Debug, a Google initiative, announced the expansion of its research and development (R&D) and mosquito production capabilities in Singapore (media release here). This opening establishes Debug's first international R&D hub and marks the launch of its largest adult mosquito production facility in the Asia Pacific.
This is a significant milestone for Debug and the Asia Pacific region.
Ten years ago, Debug set out to answer the question: how could we stop debilitating mosquito-borne diseases like dengue without chemicals, without GMOs, and without harming the environment?
The answer, it turns out, is good bugs.
Image: Debug Singapore factory.
From Six Million to Ten Million — and Growing
Debug has been supporting the National Environment Agency (NEA) on Project Wolbachia since 2018 and opened its first end-to-end mosquito production facility in 2022. By 2024, Debug released 6 million male Wolbachia mosquitoes per week to suppress the dengue vector population in the community and reduce the risks of dengue among residents. Today, over 10 million are released weekly.
Rigorous and extensive trials by NEA have shown that Project Wolbachia – Singapore has achieved 80-90% suppression of the Aedes aegypti mosquito population and more than 70% reduction in dengue incidents after 6 to 12 months of releases[1].
What This Expansion Makes Possible
The expanded Debug R&D facility and team aren't just about producing more mosquitoes. It's about building smarter, faster, even more precise tools to get this technology accessible to more people.
By scaling our Singapore-based team of scientists, hardware engineers, and software engineers, Debug is accelerating the development of:
While Debug’s current operations primarily focus on mosquito population suppression technology to reduce dengue cases, the expanded facility introduces new R&D capabilities for mosquito population replacement. This approach involves releasing mosquitoes that pass on Wolbachia to the next generation, eventually establishing a mosquito population that is far less capable of transmitting dengue.
The expansion includes a new specialised larval rearing unit designed to develop innovations for replacement programs. This additional offering allows Debug to deliver customised, effective cost-per-person protected targets tailored for countries in Southeast Asia and beyond with larger populations.
Built in Singapore, for the World
Dengue affects 4 billion people globally. Asia bears 70% of that burden.
Choosing Singapore as our first international R&D hub is deliberate. Our Singapore team understands the climate, the markets, and the communities we're working to protect.
The innovations developed here won't stay here, but they'll become the blueprint for scaling customized, cost-effective solutions across Southeast Asia and beyond.
The next generation of Debug technology will be built here, in Singapore, and deployed across the region and around the world. If you want to be part of what comes next, we'd like to hear from you.
Get in touch: partners@debug.comDebug roles: https://goo.gle/debug-sg
Subscribe through email:
