Google Cloud and Singapore’s DISG launch AI initiative

Google Cloud and Digital Industry Singapore (DISG) have launched an artificial intelligence (AI) programme aimed at helping 300 Singapore-based companies to establish their own dedicated AI centres of excellence (AI CoEs) over the next 12 months.

Dubbed AI Cloud Takeoff (AI CTO), it is the pioneering programme under the Singapore government’s Enterprise Compute Initiative (ECI). It aims to transition companies from initial AI experimentation to creating scalable, purpose-built AI applications that generate new revenue streams and enhance global competitiveness.

Participating companies will receive a blueprint for transformation, technical support and financial incentives worth up to S$500,000, disbursed in stages as they achieve key milestones. The initiative follows a successful pilot with 30 companies in November 2024.

Speaking at the launch event today, Serene Sia, country director for Singapore and Malaysia at Google Cloud, noted that organisations in Singapore have matured beyond basic AI adoption.

“What we are now hearing from them is that it is no longer about taking up AI, but taking off with AI,” Sia said. “Singapore companies want to create more advanced, purpose-built solutions to unlock even greater value. In the process of doing so, they tell us that they are facing a new set of challenges, such as building data-to-AI pipelines, fostering a learning culture and integrating with existing systems.”

Sia said the AI CTO programme was designed with DISG to provide a “blueprint to digitally build and scale their own AI solutions”, empowering them to “innovate confidently, become more competitive and generate revenue in new ways.”

Under the programme, companies will establish an in-house AI CoE, a specialised team to centralise AI knowledge, tools and governance. They will gain access to Google’s AI models such as Gemini through the Vertex AI platform, expert upskilling and hands-on support from Google engineers and a group of seven certified partners, including Accenture, AsiaPac, Deloitte and Kyndryl.

The initiative is a key plank in Singapore’s national AI strategy, which seeks to anchor AI innovation and talent in the country.

Low Yen Ling, senior minister of state for trade and industry, described the programme as a “powerful launchpad for companies on their AI innovation journey, from early experimentation to full-scale transformation.”

She also emphasised the government’s strong backing and goal to grow a strong pipeline of AI CoEs to act as catalysts for industry-wide transformation. “AI enables firms, big and small, to automate manual business processes, augment worker skills, raise productivity, further drive innovation and grow your top line as well as bottom line,” she said.

Low detailed how the government will provide targeted support, including funding for 70% of consultancy and cloud usage costs, capped at S$105,000 per company, to help businesses develop a minimal viable product and build out their AI capabilities.

The success of the pilot programme has already delivered tangible business outcomes. YCH Group, a homegrown logistics firm, partnered with Kyndryl to develop AI agents for its Vietnam SuperPort project. One agent, using Google Cloud’s Document AI Workbench, extracts and validates information from complex shipping documents, while another uses object detection models to analyse X-ray cargo scans for prohibited items.

Yap Kwong Weng, CEO of Vietnam SuperPort, said the innovations developed through AI CTO are expected to “boost staff productivity by up to 35% and cut errors by 50%, greatly enhancing port efficiency, security, and regional delivery speed”.

Other pilot graduates include Seaco, which developed a multimodal AI agent to automate container damage inspections, and Embed, which built a generative AI tool to create personalised experiences for customers at family entertainment centres such as Timezone.