Singapore is stepping up its efforts to nurture its local AI talent pool by investing over $1 billion into its public AI research capabilities and talent development programmes, says Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo.
"We aim to find new ways to gain efficiency across the tech stack – from chip architectures to model and application design,” Teo told attendees at the Singapore AI Research Week’s gala dinner on Jan 24. "We aim also to build core AI engineering capabilities for the translation of theory to systems and applications."
The National AI R&D Plan (NAIRD) will run from 2025 to 2030 and span three areas: driving fundamental AI research on topics such as guarding against AI risks and achieving resource efficiency, working with industry partners to adopt and deploy AI in their operations and supporting young talent with their AI research endeavours.
Part of that investment will go toward existing initiatives such as the AI Visting Professorship, a scheme to attract top AI researchers from around the world to work with Singaporean researchers and students on projects.
The money going into the NAIRD is separate from earlier initiatives announced by Teo’s ministry. During the ministry’s Committee of Supply debate in 2024, Teo says the government will be investing more than $1 billion over the next five years to secure AI compute resources, nurture talent in the field and develop the industry.
The announcement of the NAIRD comes just a month after the government says it will be raising its investments in AI and semiconductors.
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On Dec 5, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong launched Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2030, a $37 billion five-year research and development masterplan for 2026 to 2030. Lee was Singapore’s prime minister from 2004 to 2024 and chairs the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council. The council advises the government on Singapore’s research and innovation efforts.
Out of the $37 billion, $3 billion will be used to support two new research initiatives: RIE Flagships and RIE Grand Challenges. RIE Flagships focus on areas that can create economic value for Singapore while RIE Grand Challenges will target national priorities such as longevity and aging.
Lee says Singapore will launch an RIE Flagship to grow the city-state’s semiconductor industry. Singapore is responsible for 20% of the world’s semiconductor equipment output and produces 10% of the world’s chips. Embarking on the flagship will help to “anchor and expand high-value corporate research and manufacturing in Singapore,” Lee says.
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Analysts and market watchers have mixed views on whether the flood of capital going into AI is fuelling a bubble. Pessimists such as “The Big Short” investor Michael Burry have called the AI boom a “glorious folly,” while optimists like the Bank of Singapore (BOS)'s chief investment strategist Eli Lee expect chip demand to continue to grow because of the need for AI compute in data centres.
“This is not a linear phenomenon. This is an exponential phenomenon,” BOS's Lee says.
