Why Singapore is the premier destination for global AI investment

Singapore’s status as a premier destination for investment in artificial intelligence (AI) is rising — and shows no signs of stopping.

Speaking at an MSNBC event in San Francisco in January 2018, Google CEO Mr Sundar Pichai had this to say about the future of tech and humanity: “AI is one of the most important things humanity is working on. It is more profound than electricity or fire.” 

As one of the biggest employers of AI researchers in the world, Google is not the only player taking notice of AI’s power to disrupt and transform. Many other companies made strides towards capturing opportunities. In a 2017 report by McKinsey Global Institute, the potential value pool created in ASEAN by proactive AI adoption is estimated at S$1.2 trillion (US$897 billion). 

Countries want to help businesses capture AI-driven business opportunities in the region. City-state Singapore is currently leading the region in AI experimentation across multiple industries, investing heavily in a bid to become a regional giant in AI innovation and adoption.

“The future is exciting. Every member of ASEAN is already engaging in some level of AI research and publicly committing to working collaboratively to advance technology adoption,” says Ms Xiangwen Liu, Senior Director of Alibaba Technology Strategy Department.

AI players in Singapore set their sights on global expansion

In May 2017, Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF) launched AI Singapore (AISG), a S$150 million (about US$109 million) national programme to deepen Singapore’s AI capabilities for the future digital economy. 

One year on, Singapore’s AI ambitions are showing results. Alibaba Group and YITU Technology are just two of the global AI heavyweights that have enlarged their footprint in Singapore, as strong collaborative growth, broader regulatory initiatives, and investment in AI incubation spaces emerge. 

Shanghai-based AI firm YITU Technology (YITU) opened its first international office in Singapore in early 2018. YITU is the current leader in global facial recognition benchmark tests. Its partners include giants such as Microsoft, Nvidia, Huawei, Tencent, Certis, and Chubb.

YITU sees its expansion into Singapore as a strategic move for the company and regards Singapore as an attractive base for its regional operations. YITU’s Research and Development (R&D) Centre in Singapore further complements the company’s efforts in contributing to the development of a vibrant AI ecosystem in Singapore. 

Mr Lance Wang, YITU’s General Manager of South-east Asia, Hong Kong and Macau, explains why. “Various initiatives from both the public and private sectors have contributed to a thriving deep tech ecosystem, spurring the development of Singapore’s AI industry. Furthermore, Singapore’s strategic location serves as a springboard into other regional markets, including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines,” says Mr Wang. 

Mr Wang is backed by recent rankings. With Singapore topping global charts in AI investment attractiveness and a 2017 Global Smart City Performance Index, AISG integrates seamlessly with Singapore’s broader Smart Nation programme. 

In fact, Singapore is the top location for AI and robotics investment in 2018. Singapore’s value propositions as an AI hub include strong support for public-private partnership initiatives as well as integrated IT-enabled services across areas as diverse as mobility, healthcare, safety and productivity, according to reports by fDi Intelligence and Juniper Research.

Table: Top 10 locations for AI and robotics investment, 2018

Source: fDi Intelligence

Growing and protecting AI research

Mr Jeff Zhang, Chief Technology Officer of Alibaba Group, elaborates on Singapore’s appeal: “Singapore is well known for its world-leading technology R&D institutions, strong base of academic research talent, a population that is receptive to the next big thing in technology, and supportive government policies.” 

Tech titan Alibaba announced plans earlier this year for a multimillion-dollar collaboration with Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the Alibaba-NTU Singapore Joint Research Institute, to deploy AI solutions in scenarios ranging from home, retail, community and urban transportation to hospitals and nursing homes. NTU is ranked by Nikkei and Elsevier as the top university in the world for AI research citations in 2017.

As the first of its kind for Alibaba outside of China, the Institute will catalyse the development of future labs in the S$20 billion (US$15 billion) Alibaba DAMO Academy worldwide programme.  

Ms Liu, Senior Director of Alibaba Technology Strategy Department, describes the Institute as a “landmark undertaking” by Alibaba to connect AI researchers and practitioners across the global R&D value chain to facilitate ground-breaking AI applications. 

Moreover, companies can rest assured that their innovations will be well protected. Dr Zhang Zhenjie, R&D Director at YITU R&D Centre Singapore, lists Singapore’s deep intellectual property (IP) expertise and strong AI talent pool as factors attracting YITU’s regional operations to Singapore. 

A 2017 index ranked the Republic among the world’s best for the strength of IP protections, demonstrating Singapore’s commitment to nurturing and protecting high-value innovation.

A hotbed for AI talent

Amidst a global AI talent crunch, aspiring AI hubs worldwide are neck and neck in the race to draw top talent and high-value tech investments.

In addition to attracting international AI talent and investment, Singapore is building a pipeline of AI training programmes on the ground. A slew of AI-focused undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate level offerings has been introduced, and 2018 marks the graduation of Infocomm Media Development Authority’s third batch of trainees for its AI Apprenticeship Programme designed to deepen workforce capabilities. With these initiatives, Singapore is positioning itself as a base for nurturing AI expertise not just for Singapore, but for the Asia-Pacific region. 

Supporting Singapore’s push towards building deep national capabilities in AI, YITU recently inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) to advance industry-focused AI education and research. YITU and NYP will jointly develop industry-relevant AI training courses for NYP students, staff, and working professionals to help boost local AI skillsets. Learners will gain hands-on experience in building AI applications for industries such as retail and financial services.

Apart from multinational superstars, top AI professionals and innovators have also found themselves a home in Singapore.

Veteran intelligence expert Mr Drew Perez is CEO of Singapore-based Adatos.AI. With 26 years of intelligence experience with the United States Department of Defense, Mr Perez specialises in mapping AI-driven intelligence analytics to real-world applications. 

Through genetic programming, or more simply, AI that builds AI, Adatos creates data analysis algorithms that outperform humans in speed and accuracy, enabling data-driven investment decisions in diverse industries. The company is focusing its efforts on improving productivity in agriculture and forestry through precision agriculture.

Co-founder Jonathan Paul says, “Whether you are a North American pension fund with a million spruce trees or an Indonesian palm oil company, both can make more informed decisions with better data about what is happening with their soil and their plants.” 

“For me, Singapore is one of the best countries in the world,” Mr Perez says. “There is a willingness to lead in helping incubate technologies.”

Singapore may not be known as an agricultural powerhouse, but this did not stop Adatos from picking Singapore as its launch pad for global strategic resource intelligence solutions. 

“We incubate the capabilities here, and the beneficiaries are our neighbouring countries and the rest of the world,” Mr Perez explains. “We cannot be constrained by thinking that Singapore is only this size of a country, and that we cannot influence at a really global level. Yes, you can. Singapore can make an impact on global problems such as food security and the global community.”