RICE

What RICE does

RICE, operated by Rise Media Pte. Ltd., is a Singapore-based digital native media company founded in 2016 that publishes human-interest journalism covering Singaporean society, culture, politics, race, mental health, and lifestyle. The publication is delivered through the ricemedia.co website, a 'Takeaways' email newsletter, and social media channels (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Telegram, plus a Spotify podcast), accumulating more than 1,200 articles and over one million combined social followers. The editorial product is free to readers; revenue is generated entirely through sponsored content and brand partnerships, including the institutionalized Storytellers program with Singapore Management University, Singapore Muslim Women's Association (PPIS), and Quantedge Foundation, as well as episodic campaigns with brands such as PropertyGuru, OCBC, ArtScience Museum, and Lien Foundation.

The business has extended beyond publishing into two adjacent operations. RICE Studios (ricestudios.co) is a wholly-owned creative production studio that produces branded content and storytelling projects for paying clients, monetizing the editorial team's production capabilities directly. Rice Thailand is a regional entity that extends coverage into the broader Southeast Asian market beyond Singapore. The company is privately held, bootstrapped (the only disclosed funding round, dated 2017, raised $0), and operates with a small editorial team of 1–10 employees headquartered in Singapore.

Customer concentration is skewed toward a handful of recurring brand sponsors, which represents both a credibility asset (validation from blue-chip local brands and foundations) and a revenue risk. There is no subscription or paywall revenue, no programmatic advertising disclosed, and no public marketplace for long-tail advertisers, meaning the unit economics depend on a small number of high-value branded content engagements each year.

Name

RICE

Legal name

Rise Media Pte. Ltd.

Website

https://ricemedia.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Sponsored Content: RICE produces sponsored content in collaboration with brands and organizations. Examples include sponsored articles with PropertyGuru (rental discrimination content), OCBC (financial wellness festival), ArtScience Museum (Dick Lee SingaPop exhibition), and Lien Foundation (mental health content). The 'Storytellers' program features sponsored content from Singapore Management University, Singapore Muslim Women's Association, and Quantedge Foundation.

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

RICE is a Singapore-based digital media publication that publishes editorial articles, videos, and photo stories covering current affairs, race and religion, mental health, sex and gender, immigration, and lifestyle topics targeted at a Singaporean audience. The company monetizes its audience by producing sponsored content and brand storytelling projects for corporate clients and NGOs through dedicated programs such as Storytellers. An adjacent creative studio arm, RICE Studios, offers content production services to brand partners.

Product overview

RICE Media operates as a digital media platform with a primary website (ricemedia.co) publishing editorial content across Singapore-focused topics. The company is structured as Rise Media Pte. Ltd. and extends its offerings through RICE Studios for creative production services and the Takeaways weekly newsletter for direct audience engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RICE Studios: A creative studio arm of RICE offering content production services, separate from the main media publication.

Products and services

• RICE Media Website (ricemedia.co) Digital media publication covering Singapore-focused editorial content including current affairs, race and religion, mental health, sex and gender, lifestyle, and cultural stories through articles, videos, and photo stories, targeted at a Singaporean audience.
• RICE Studios Creative production studio arm of RICE Media, operating at ricestudios.co, producing branded content and storytelling projects for brand partners.
• Takeaways Newsletter Weekly newsletter delivering curated stories and content highlights to subscribers.
• Storytellers Sponsored Content Program Sponsored content program enabling partner organizations to publish branded stories on RICE Media, with named participants including Singapore Management University, Singapore Muslim Women's Association, and Quantedge Foundation.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Lien FoundationminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 18 November 2025Lien Foundation collaborated with RICE on a video story about a retiree's battle with depression and anxiety. The foundation supports mental health initiatives and partnered with RICE for this video content.
• ArtScience MuseumminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 21 October 2025ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands collaborated with RICE on a video feature about Dick Lee's SingaPop exhibition, promoting the exhibition through RICE's editorial content.
• PropertyGuruminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 2 July 2025RICE collaborated with PropertyGuru on a video story about racial discrimination in Singapore's rental market. PropertyGuru was acknowledged as the collaborator who helped bring the sponsored content to life.
• Singapore Management University (SMU)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSMU participates in RICE's Storytellers program, a sponsored content initiative that features stories from or about the university. This partnership allows SMU to reach RICE's engaged Singaporean audience through authentic storytelling.
• Singapore Muslim Women's Association (PPIS)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPPIS participates in RICE's Storytellers program, creating sponsored content that highlights stories related to the association's work and community.
• Quantedge FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerQuantedge Foundation partners with RICE through the Storytellers program to share stories related to their initiatives and community work in Singapore.
• OCBCminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOCBC partnered with RICE and The Financial Coconut to present 'The Price of Tomorrow,' a financial wellness festival taking a holistic look at money in people's lives.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• TODAY Online: Mainstream Singapore news outlet (Mediacorp) covering news, lifestyle, and current affairs. Represents the broader incumbent media category that RICE differentiates against with its alternative editorial voice.
• The Straits Times: Flagship Singapore national newspaper with substantial digital presence. Represents the mainstream legacy media category from which RICE differentiates through editorial voice and human-interest framing.

Others

• Marketing-Interactive: Asia-Pacific marketing and media industry publication. Relevant as an adjacent industry observer and potential channel for RICE's branded content offerings targeting marketing decision-makers.
• CNA (Channel NewsAsia):

Direct peers

• The Smart Local: Singapore digital media company with strong social media presence covering lifestyle, food, and current affairs. Comparable in audience demographics, multi-platform distribution strategy, and advertiser-supported revenue model.
• Vulcan Post: Singapore-headquartered digital media publisher focused on lifestyle, tech, and startup stories with regional Southeast Asian reach. Operates a similar sponsored-content-plus-newsletter playbook and competes for the same brand-storytelling budgets.
• Coconuts Singapore: Singapore-anchored digital media brand covering city life, lifestyle, and news across Southeast Asia. Shares RICE's sponsored-content model, social-media-led distribution, and expansion ambitions across the region.
• Mothership: Singapore-based digital native news publisher covering current affairs, lifestyle, and social issues. Closest direct competitor to RICE, targeting a similar young Singaporean audience with sponsored content and branded storytelling.
• The Online Citizen: Singapore digital news outlet focused on civic and social issues. Comparable to RICE in its alternative-voice positioning, community-driven readership, and reliance on digital advertising and donations.

Regional players

• SG Magazine: Singapore-focused lifestyle and city guide publication. Comparable in local audience targeting and lifestyle content mix, though more tourism/lifestyle oriented than RICE's social-issues focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/RiceMedia.co
• Instagraminstagram.com/ricemedia.co
• TikTokvt.tiktok.com/ZSe3EUh4G
• Xx.com/rice_media
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rice-media-pte.-ltd.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about RICE