Building the foundations of AI Infrastructure: How Singapore helps companies power the next wave in Southeast Asia

Behind every artificial intelligence (AI) model lies a physical layer. From servers, power and cooling systems to networking components, chips, and advanced materials, these work in concert to form the AI infrastructure: the foundation underpinning the development, deployment, and management of AI models and applications.

Global AI infrastructure spending is projected to grow from US$765 billion in 2026 to US$1.6 trillion by 2031¹. Companies along the AI infrastructure value chain are re-evaluating their global manufacturing and R&D footprint globally to strengthen capabilities and scale capacity to meet rising demand.

Southeast Asia’s trusted advanced manufacturing hub to drive AI infrastructure developments — Singapore

Southeast Asia’s AI opportunity is expected to add over US$120 billion to regional GDP by 2027, driven by accelerating digitalisation and rising hyperscale investment. Singapore is projected to see the highest GDP uplift — over 3 per cent by 2027².

Singapore is well-placed to support companies in serving this growing demand with our advanced manufacturing ecosystem and infrastructure, trusted operating environment and global connectivity. With 35 per cent of tertiary graduates in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines — among the highest globally — Singapore also offers a strong pipeline of engineering and technical talent. Singapore ranks second globally in industrial robot density³ and hosts the highest concentration of World Economic Forum Lighthouse Factories in Southeast Asia, with seven facilities recognised for advanced Industry 4.0 adoption.

An ecosystem to support AI infrastructure

Manufacturing contributes approximately 20 per cent of Singapore’s GDP and employs about 12 per cent of the workforce⁴. The Government has set ambitious targets to raise Singapore’s manufacturing value-add by 50 per cent between 2020 and 2030⁵ — with AI infrastructure as a clear priority. Here’s how Singapore is enhancing our offerings:

• Investment in R&D. Under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2030 plan, Singapore has committed S$37 billion to advance strategic domains, including AI infrastructure. Of the S$37 billion, the government announced a dedicated S$1 billion commitment to public AI R&D over 2025-2030⁶ — covering fundamental AI, applied AI, and talent development — building on a previous S$500 million tranche from 2019 to 2023. Singapore’s National AI Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, coordinates national AI missions across manufacturing, connectivity, finance, and healthcare.
• Talent development. Government, industry and institutes of higher learning co-develop specialised, certified curricula for critical engineering skills across Singapore’s six local universities. Continuous upskilling through Work-Study Diplomas and Degrees, Career Conversion Programmes, and schemes such as the IMDA TechSkills Accelerator help sustain a growing pipeline of AI-related engineering talent⁷.
• Ecosystem partnerships. Companies can access over 50 research institutes, universities, and corporate labs — including A*STAR’s Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre, Institute of Microelectronics, and Institute of Materials Research and Engineering — alongside the NUS Sustainable Tropical Data Centre Testbed for test-bedding and validation. National programme offices such as the AI Centre of Excellence for Manufacturing help accelerate the commercialisation of critical technologies. Close to 100 AI Centres of Excellence have been established by companies including ST Engineering, SIT x NVIDIA, UBS, and Razer, alongside 150 AI R&D and product teams and over 1,000 AI startups.
• Sustainability. With a commitment to net zero by 2050, Singapore is unlocking at least 300MW of near-term capacity under its Green Data Centre Roadmap and supporting energy-efficient innovation through initiatives such as the S$30 million Green Computing Funding Initiative — helping companies advance their own decarbonisation goals. These complement ready access to over 150 carbon services and trading firms to facilitate robust carbon accounting and sustainable operation management in Singapore.

Be part of the value chain in Singapore

Globally leading companies — from supply-side manufacturers to demand-side cloud and hyperscale operators — have already anchored high-value manufacturing, R&D, and corporate functions across six areas of the AI infrastructure value chain, here in Singapore:

• Compute and memory, from chip design to NAND flash and semiconductor equipment
• Storage, including recording media for high-capacity AI workloads
• Power and thermal, supporting high-density cooling and energy demands
• Systems and networking, from high-speed interconnects to optical components
• Edge computing, driving R&D for low-power, on-device AI
• Hyperscale, home to the world’s leading cloud and colocation providers

Read more about what global companies are doing in Singapore:

Footnotes:

¹ “Tracking Trillions: The Assumptions Shaping the Scale of the AI Build-Out.” Goldman Sachs, 1 May 2026.

² “Unlocking Southeast Asia’s AI Potential: Opportunities for Growth and Innovation.” Singapore Economic Development Board, 7 Apr. 2025.

³ “Robot Density Surges in Europe, Asia, and Americas.” IFR International Federation of Robotics, 8 Apr. 2026.

⁴ “Services Sector Drive 70% of Singapore’s 2025 GDP.” Singapore Business Review, 5 Apr. 2026.

⁵ “Singapore’s 2024 Budget for Businesses Booklet.” Singapore Economic Development Board, 20 Aug. 2026.

⁶ “Singapore to invest S$1 billion over five years to boost AI public research.” Singapore Economic Development Board, 24 Jan. 2026.

⁷ “What makes Singapore home to world-class talent.” Singapore Economic Development Board, 16 Sep. 2026.