Hey Everyone,
I wanted to curate a very broad overview of Singapore emerging into an AI Hub. There’s a lot of momentum in 2024 for this to occur. We’ll take a look at some of the key points of interest and collect some quotes.
There’s been so much geopolitical and geographical dislocation in recent times, a big shift in the future of talent. I believe Singapore, is shaping up to become a significant AI hub like Paris, France or Toronto, Canada or Austin, Texas or perhaps Tel Aviv, Israel.
Singapore is working on policy, AI regulation and has access to foreign investment that makes it the future leader of its area potentially in AI. It’s an unlikely underdog but the momentum is in its favor.
As of February 19th, 2024 we learned that Singapore will pump more than 1 billion Singapore dollars (about $743 million) over the next five years to further boost AI capabilities, said Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget speech on February 16th.
In recent years, some Chinese firms tried to “de-risk” by moving their HQ or a branch to Singapore in order to appear more international and friendly. Singapore has become a favoured business hub to set up headquarters for foreign companies, especially Chinese enterprises. Thus from a talent perspective, there are many factors in play for Singapore to manifest a serious AI hub in the era of Generative AI.
The Age of Sovereign AI and National AI Plans
Some countries are pushing for their own National “Sovereign AI” approach. While India’s AI regulations are baffling recently, announced in the Singapore Budget 2024 on February 16, the funds will be partly used to secure access to the heavy-duty graphics processing units (GPUs) – currently there is a global shortage of such chips – which are vital to ensure that AI projects are not hindered.
India has waded into global AI debate by issuing an advisory that requires “significant” tech firms to get government permission before launching new models. That’s not a great way to encourage foreign investment. It’s surprising how centralized India’s so-called democracy feels in these bleeding edge topics.
“The SG$1 billion allocation towards AI which also includes secure implementation of the National AI Strategy 2.0 demonstrates the government’s commitment towards fostering a trusted and responsible AI ecosystem,” said Sujith Abraham, senior vice president and general manager of ASEAN at Salesforce.
Singapore only has a population of around 5.6 million people, but their emphasis on AI seems more advanced than most of their neighbors in SE Asia. Singapore’s plan to invest more than $743 million into artificial intelligence over the next five years could strengthen its position as a global business and innovation hub. Singapore might be the place where foreign talent is actually comfortable working with or even at Chinese firms, as China is seeing a generational exodus of foreign investment. Talent from Hong-Kong, Taiwan and neighboring countries and even India will see Singapore as a technological utopia for better opportunities.
Singapore Could Rewrite the Template of how to Be an AI Hub
Singapore has unveiled plans to be a world leader in artificial intelligence with the launch of an updated National AI Strategy.
The city-state will look to triple its number of AI practitioners to 15,000 by training locals and hiring from overseas.
It will spend S$70 million (US$52 million) to develop an AI model trained to understand and generate human language that incorporates the diverse cultures and languages of Southeast Asia. It will also make available government data for AI innovation and public good.
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang says his firm intends to build a larger supercomputer and "announce some large investments" in Singapore.
There’s a lot to unpack here in the story of Singapore as an emerging AI hub that one article can do justice.
“Surprisingly, nearly three-quarters of business leaders globally are ill-equipped for AI transformation, believing their preparations are limited by time, people, and money,” said Nithin Chandra, managing partner of Southeast Asia at Kearney, a global management consulting firm.
Accessing GPUs, AI Chips and Corporate Partnerships
As part of the investment, Singapore will work to ensure it can secure access to the advanced chips “that are so crucial to AI development and deployment,” Wong said.
Singapore will also work with leading companies here and around the world to set up AI centers of excellence to spur innovation, he added.
Preserving Local Languages in AI Systems - Sovereign AI
Curiously Asia seems to be a leader in Sovereign AI, perhaps realizing that American AI systems could homogenize their culture and linguistic diversity.
SEA-LION is an open-source ChatGPT-like large language model (LLM) built by AI Singapore to represent the languages and cultures of southeast Asia and is set to be the first in a series of SEA-LION LLMs. The model has been trained on data in 11 languages, such as Vietnamese, Thai, and Bahasa Indonesia, which it plans to have ready in 2024.
Github: https://github.com/aisingapore/sealion
Singapore workers are the world’s fastest in adopting AI skills, LinkedIn report says (August, 2023)
Singapore workers are already the world’s fastest when it comes to adopting AI skills, according to LinkedIn’s Future of Work report released in August.
Economist Anders C. Johansson based in Indonesia said:
Singapore stands out in its effort to promote its domestic AI sector
The Singapore government is very active in the AI space, with a second AI strategy and efforts to attract foreign AI interests
International businesses operating in the AI spaces are attracted to the city-state
Different government-business collaborative efforts have been initiated, further promoting the development of Singapore as an AI hub
Interesting to see if/how Singapore helps shape the global AI agenda
I trust LinkedIn’s data reports on AI adaptability too, if Singapore leads who else are doing well? Finland (16x), Ireland (15x), India (14x), and Canada (13x) round out the top five countries with the highest rates of AI skills diffusion, according to the report.
Singapore
Finland
Ireland
India
Canada
As for native AI startups forming in Singapore, I think that’s a lot more difficult to get right. We’ll need a few more years to see if Singapore’s AI startup scene is up to the task though I think the number of startups intersecting with AI there is impressive.
National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2.0
Can Singapore Leverage Its Financial Hub Dominance?
Singapore is already an important trade hub and FinTech location, so how Generative AI intersects with Finance, FinTech and banking could be important for Singapore’s ability to attract talent and add value globally in Generative AI.
According to CXO Advisor, Sangeet Paul Choudary:
Sangeet Paul Choudary, a former board member at one of Singapore's key initiative the ASEAN Financial Innovation Network and the co-author of the Singapore Govt's (IMDA) position paper on the platform economy states:
"Singapore isn't just interested in being an AI hub. Gaining AI leadership is part of a larger strategy at retaining its leadership position in global trade and financial flows. Singapore's DNA as a country is in global trade and financial services. Decades of innovation in port management and financial management are naturally extended into creating a hub for fintech, tradetech, and AI. Establishing an AI hub is directly related to establishing Singapore as a hub in global trade and finance." - read more. Country-as-a-platform: Why Singapore’s future needs a platform strategy
Read more about Platform strategy & AI on Sangeet’s Newsletter:
Sangeet is a notable Platform strategist and consultant.
How SEA-LION will attempt to help countries in Southeast Asia lessen their reliance on models built and developed in the West for the English language. That might not be as simple as it sounds given the proliferation and pace of new open-source models. However the quotes about Singapore’s AI prospects are also quite revealing:
Singapore as a Global Trade Hub for AI
“In many ways, Singapore already possesses the right foundations needed to flourish as a global AI hub,” said Kenddrick Chan, senior policy analyst at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.
Pooja Chhabria, career expert and Asia-Pacific head of editorial at LinkedIn, said Singapore has long been a “fertile ground” for AI disruption.
That’s thanks to the country’s “robust digital infrastructure, a strong framework for the protection of intellectual property, and a thriving ecosystem of venture capital firms, angel investors … that provide capital,” she said.
So here we have a small city-state country in a unique position globally and at the emergence of Generative AI.
Even as TSMC expands into Japan, I remain pretty bullish on the prospects of Singapore to build a legit Generative AI hub. I find the PR around their initiatives to be fairly forward thinking.
Singapore was among the first countries to publish an AI plan in 2019. In December, the Southeast Asian nation launched the National AI Strategy 2.0 — an updated version of its AI initiatives, outlining ways to prepare the economy to harness and utilize AI to empower workers and businesses.
If AI literacy is high in Singapore I’ll have to take a closer look into their AI startups. I have not noticed any particular media around their emergence.
What strikes me about Singapore is the Government Opt-in and leadership for economic opportunity around AI.
Leadership here is crucial and not just an ecosystem, access to foreign capital or investors and the like.
Singapore is well known in the emerging tech spaces for being a leading country and hub for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology development. I’m personally hoping that can pivot a bit more into Generative AI and serious niche startups that leverage large language models and the open-source community.
Nvidia could invest in 'iconic' AI site in Singapore: CEO Jensen Huang
Pragmatically for Singapore’s AI hub it will also depend on how major companies invest there like Nvidia. According to CNA, the Taiwan-born American also wants to build a new, larger supercomputer there.
Meanwhile as you might know, TikTok, which is not available in mainland China, has established Los Angeles and Singapore as headquarters locations to meet its business needs. Singapore is sometimes seen as “neutral ground” between the geopolitics between China and the U.S. In reality, Singapore-Taiwan relations are also pretty fascinating.
The Financial decline of Hong Kong since being taken over by China has obviously been a boon for Singapore’s status. It wasn’t so long ago Hong Kong was the financial powerhouse of the area. Originally, Hong Kong was known for its freedom of speech, but with the implementation of the National Security Law in 2020 changed a lot of things including an exodus of talent.
Gaining independence just 59 years ago in 1965, Singapore is a relatively young city state in Southeast Asia and it’s immigration policy with regards to its ability to recruit AI talent will be fascinating to watch in the 2020s.
As Hong Kong grows more like China, Singapore emerges with fundamentally new momentum for the region. I think a lot of that spills over to the Generative AI sector.
In Singapore, the focus is on AI adoption in the public sector and industry, and building an enabling environment of research, skills and collaboration, said Denise Wong, an assistant chief executive at Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), which oversees the country's digital strategy.
The Path is clear for Singapore to Become an AI Hub
Singapore plans for 15,000 AI experts, boosting government competency, building a smart nation, and increasing computing capacity.
Government as opted-in: “The government has launched various AI initiatives, supported local research on AI and engages private sector tech companies in consultative dialogues in its policymaking process.”
In December 2023, Singapore announced its second AI strategy, National AI Strategy 2.0, or NAIS 2.0 for short. The full strategy document can be downloaded here.
AI governance
To promote the responsible use of AI, Singapore rolled out AI Verify in May 2022 – the world’s first AI governance testing framework and software toolkit for companies. Many major American firms have tested it out.
The Center for Security and Emerging Technology said Singapore’s star “continues to rise as an AI hub” presenting significant opportunities for international collaboration. The center is a think tank within Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.
I have to agree with their conclusion. It’s a rare set of circumstances and could be a generational opportunity for Singapore to build out the conditions required to be a global and sustainable AI hub.
★ Singapore’s Star on the Rise ☆
Despite being a small city-state, Singapore’s star continues to rise as an artificial intelligence hub presenting significant opportunities for international collaboration.
Initiatives such as fast-tracking patent approval, incentivizing private investment, and addressing talent shortfalls are making the country a rapidly growing global AI hub.
Such initiatives offer potential models for those seeking to leverage the technology and opportunities for collaboration in AI education and talent exchanges, research and development, and governance.
The United States and Singapore share similar goals regarding the development and use of trusted and responsible AI and should continue to foster greater collaboration among public and private sector entities.
I hope this article has given you a decent overview of why I’m bullish about Singapore’s AI prospects even though it is a small place.
What will the National AI Strategy 3.0 hold? What promises of this momentum can actually be fulfilled? As I get more interested in East Asia’s role in the future of AI, I’ll be watching.
Great article. Compare this with India (who I’m generally bullish on) but who recently instituted a law constraining AI development unless approved by the government