Google Cloud and DISG launch AI Cloud Takeoff to help 300 Singapore firms build AI Centers of Excellence and create AI-driven products and services

• Pioneering program under the Singapore Government’s “Enterprise Compute Initiative” aims to establish AI Centers of Excellence within 300 companies over the next 12 months 
• Offers a proven blueprint and up to SG$500,000 worth of financial incentives to help companies create new AI-driven solutions and services to boost their competitiveness 
• Pilot conducted last November has already enabled 30 companies to enhance their operations and bring higher-value products and services to international markets

Google Cloud and Digital Industry Singapore (DISG) today announced the launch of “AI Cloud Takeoff” (AI CTO), a full-fledged national program to establish AI Centers of Excellence (AI CoEs) within 300 digitally-mature, Singapore-based companies over the next 12 months. This will empower them to create AI-driven intellectual property, products, and services that boost their competitiveness and unlock new revenue opportunities.

AI CTO is the pioneering program under the Singapore Government’s “Enterprise Compute Initiative,” which was first announced during its Budget 2025 statement. Notably, the success of Google Cloud and DISG’s initial AI CTO pilot with 30 companies in November 2024 validated the program framework while providing valuable insights that informed the development of the broader Enterprise Compute Initiative.

Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and the Ministry of Culture, Community, and Youth (MCCY) Ms. Low Yen Ling was the Guest-of-Honor and delivered officiating remarks at the program launch event.

Using the proven framework designed by Google Cloud, AI CTO will help each company establish a dedicated in-house unit (i.e., an AI CoE) that will centralize AI-related expertise, resources, and governance; drive technology, process, and people transformation; and ensure AI innovation initiatives are aligned with business objectives, scalable, and implemented securely and responsibly.

AI CTO: Providing a clear pathway to enterprise AI excellence at scale

To meet program milestones—which include developing and piloting at least one minimum viable product (MVP) that addresses a high-value AI, generative AI (gen AI), or agentic AI use case within a set budget and a six-month timeframe—AI CTO will provide each participating company with access to:

• A two-week AI capacity building bootcamp with Google Cloud experts to establish an AI CoE that can effectively coordinate AI innovation initiatives across departments and lines of business, identify use cases aligned with corporate strategy and core priorities, and prioritize the right use case(s) by evaluating their expected value generation, feasibility, and actionability; 
• Technical consultancy services to facilitate the design of a structured blueprint that guides end-to-end AI solution development, from data exploration and experimentation, to model training, deployment, performance monitoring, and optimization based on clearly defined metrics; 
• Google Cloud credits to subsidize their use of industry-leading serverless compute and data-to-AI platform services like BigQuery and Vertex AI for solution development, and Google Cloud Skills Boost for Organizations for employee upskilling and change management; 
• Technical implementation services to build, test, and implement interoperable AI solutions (i.e., MVPs) that can be seamlessly integrated with existing workflows and systems, are grounded (i.e., only draw outputs from data sources the company chooses, trusts, and controls), and uphold stringent data privacy and AI security requirements.

Companies will work with their DISG-appointed, Google Cloud-certified technical consultancy and implementation partner of choice to establish their AI CoEs and receive financial incentives worth up to SG$500,000 from DISG and Google Cloud, disbursed in tranches as they meet various milestones. Google Cloud partners appointed by DISG for the program include Accenture, AsiaPac, CloudMile, Deloitte, Kyndryl, NTT Data, and Searce.

Applications are now open for the full-fledged AI CTO program. At its launch event, Embed, Seaco, and YCH Group demonstrated the AI solutions they have developed through the initial AI CTO pilot.

Embed: Gen AI for game-changing experiences at family entertainment centers

For families and youth who have had fun at family entertainment centers (FECs) like Timezone in Asia Pacific, Dave & Buster’s in the US, or Gamestate in Europe,Embed’s cashless business management systems have been the silent engine behind their experiences. The company’s kiosk, game card, wearable, and mobile wallet solutions enable everything from tap-and-play, to quick credit purchases and reloads, to prize redemption at FECs in 59 countries.

As part of its strategy to enable FEC operators to deliver enhanced and dynamic guest experiences through hyper-customization and its deeply integrated solutions ecosystem, Embed has partnered with Searce to develop “Sidequest AI.” This new solution uses BigQuery to process anonymized gameplay and transaction data to gain user insight and contextual understanding. It then utilizes the Gemini API on Vertex AI, with human-in-the-loop, to generate tailored recommendations for unique in-venue experiences. For instance, users reloading game cards could receive sidequests to customize their avatar or achieve specific, time-bound goals at their favorite game machines to earn bonus rewards.

Seaco: Multilingual, multimodal AI shores up container depot operations

Intermodal dry and refrigerated containers and tanks are used to transport anything and everything. As a global leader in providing leasing solutions for diverse sectors, Seaco’s 2.4 million twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) fleet facilitates the flow of essential goods and equipment between 500 shipping ports and depots across 51 countries via its 23 global offices, making it a key enabler of global commerce and other primary industries.

Efficiently manufacturing, maintaining, and redeploying containers is a critical driver of Seaco's business. Key to this process: before a container can be redeployed, it must be returned to a depot for inspection. Based on this assessment, it undergoes necessary maintenance before being graded to confirm its suitability for future cargo. To reimagine depot operations, Seaco has partnered with CloudMile to develop a multilingual, multimodal AI agent that automates container damage classifications and repair notifications. Now, depot staff can simply snap and upload photos of a container while adding voice notes using their mobile. Utilizing Google Cloud’s full suite of services, this Seaco AI agent detects and qualifies damages from photos, extracts relevant details from voice notes, and converts this information into readable, actionable next steps in Seaco's cloud-based SAP enterprise resource planning system.

YCH Group: Custom AI agents to be deployed first at Vietnam SuperPort

Vietnam SuperPort, jointly developed by T&T Group and Singapore-headquartered YCH Group (YCH), is a first-of-its-kind multimodal logistics hub in Vietnam. Spanning 83 hectares in Vinh Phuc, it integrates rail, road, air, and sea transportation modes with dry port, cargo terminals, and supply chain nerve center operations to facilitate seamless commerce between Vietnam, Southeast Asia, China, and beyond.

To advance its innovation roadmap for Vietnam SuperPort, YCH has partnered with Kyndryl to embed next-generation AI capabilities into its off-airport cargo terminal (OACT) operations. Using Google Cloud’s Document AI Workbench, they have jointly developed a custom AI agent that accurately extracts critical information from diverse cargo-related documents, including bills of lading, packing lists, and customs declarations submitted in PDF, image, or handwritten formats. This agent then validates the information against a database of cargo-specific shipping regulations to ensure compliance.

Kyndryl and YCH have also built a customized object detection AI agent. Underpinned by Google Cloud’s AutoML models that are trained to recognize prohibited goods, this detection agent analyzes images from X-ray cargo screening, logs any findings, and alerts administrators and cargo handlers to promptly halt cargo movements and address identified issues.