Budget 2026: Singapore commits S$800 million to semiconductor research and development to deepen ‘high-impact’ tech capabilities

Some S$800 million will be invested in semiconductor research and development (R&D) to strengthen Singapore’s capabilities in “high-impact” tech areas, as the city-state looks to cement its role as a key global hub for chip innovation.

The funding will go towards the semicon flagship programme under the Republic’s Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2030 (RIE2030) plan. The RIE Flagship, announced by Senior Minister and RIE Council chair Lee Hsien Loong in December 2025, is one of several such flagships targeting key economic sectors under RIE2030.

The programme will coordinate Singapore’s publicly funded semiconductor R&D efforts, focusing on areas where “Singapore has established strengths”, such as advanced packaging and advanced photonics.

“The flagship will translate research into products and encourage more advanced R&D and manufacturing activities, creating good jobs in Singapore,” said Minister-in-Charge of Energy, Science, and Technology Tan See Leng during his ministry’s Committee of Supply debate on Monday (2 March).

The semicon sector remains a key pillar of Singapore’s economy, contributing close to 7 per cent to gross domestic product. Through past RIE investments, Singapore has already built strong R&D capabilities and anchored a total of more than S$30 billion in investments from semiconductor companies, over the past four years, said Dr Tan.
 

National semicon centres

The RIE Flagship will also bring together efforts under the National Semiconductor Translation and Innovation Centre (NSTIC), said Dr Tan.

Singapore will invest another S$60 million to establish a new NSTIC for Power Electronics, focused on next-generation power electronics capabilities.
 

This builds on earlier NSTICs established for gallium nitride, advanced photonics, and R&D fabrication.

The centre will house an open-innovation 8-inch silicon carbide (SiC) R&D pilot line, designed to support rapid prototyping and seamless technology transfer to manufacturing.

It will be accessible to both public and private sector users, and will forge partnerships between industry and academia to drive commercialisation of wide bandgap semiconductor technologies, including SiC and gallium nitride.

The push into wide bandgap materials comes as traditional silicon increasingly struggles to meet the high-voltage and high-thermal demands of fast-growing sectors such as data centres and high-performance electric vehicles, said the Agency for Science, Technology and Research.

SiC and gallium nitride can deliver higher voltage handling, faster switching speeds, and greater thermal resilience – allowing power systems to become more compact while cutting energy waste.

The NSTIC for Power Electronics is expected to commence operations by April 2026.

The NSTIC for gallium nitride was launched in 2023 and opened in 2025. It brings advanced gallium nitride manufacturing capabilities to Singapore to serve high-growth markets such as 5G and 6G communications, radar, and satellite systems.

Meanwhile, since its launch in RIE2025, the NSTIC for Advanced Photonics has achieved several breakthroughs, said Dr Tan, including in high-speed data transmission and metalens fabrication.

It has since attracted over 10 industry partners and built a strong commercialisation pipeline, he said.

In 2025, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong announced that Singapore will invest in another NSTIC for R&D Fab for a semiconductor R&D fabrication facility.

Dr Tan said that it is on track to commence operations by 2027, and that companies have shown strong interest in the facility’s collaboration space.
 

Source: The Business Times ©️ SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.