Singapore's AI Rhythm: Where Are We, Where's the Demand, and What Do the Latest Numbers Say?

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Speakers are Kenny Tay, CEO of the Singapore A.I. Association and Founder of AI49 International Group, alongside Kenny Loh, Licensed Wealth Advisory Director & S-REITs Investment Expert, to unpack how AI is reshaping business strategy and where the next SGX investment opportunities sit.

📅 Date: 29 July 2026

⏰ Time: 20:00–21:00 SGT

Then I did some research: Singaporeans are personally all-in on AI, enterprises are still climbing the adoption curve, the government is pouring money into infrastructure, and compute demand is exploding.

📊 The Latest Numbers (2026)

Metric

Figure

Source

Working population using AI

53% (3rd globally, behind India 59% and UAE 58%)

Omnibound 2026

SME adoption rate

14.5% (up from just 4.2% in 2023 — tripled in one year)

IMDA 2025

Large enterprise adoption

62.5% (up from 44% in 2023)

IMDA 2025

Employees using AI at work

73.8%, most using it multiple times a week or daily

IMDA 2025

Overall enterprise adoption

Only 28.5% of businesses have started using AI; 71.5% haven't moved yet

MOM April 2026

Deeply embedded in core processes

Just 3.8%

MOM April 2026

Compute demand growth

Nearly 4x growth in first 4 months of 2026

Bank of Singapore 2026

🏃 Adoption Pace: Three Distinct Layers

Layer 1: Individuals / Employees — Already Running

  • 73.8% of employees use AI in their daily work. ChatGPT, Perplexity — they're basically standard issue now.

  • Among Singapore B2B buyers, 73% use AI tools for procurement research (they ask AI before they Google suppliers).

  • AI search traffic converts at 4x the rate of traditional Google organic.

Layer 2: Large Enterprises — Active but Shallow

  • 76.4% of firms with 500+ employees have adopted AI, but most are still in "pilot" or "planning" mode.

  • Only 3.8% have truly embedded AI into core business workflows.

  • Highest adoption by sector: Information & Communications (74.1%), Professional Services (57.5%), Finance & Insurance (56.4%).

Layer 3: SMEs — Just Starting but Accelerating Fast

  • Tripled from 4.2% to 14.5% in one year, largely driven by government PSG grants.

  • SMEs that adopted AI through PSG reported average cost savings of 52%.

  • But the pain points are real: high costs (44.9%), lack of talent (42.4%), no clear strategy (32.4%).

🎯 Where's the Demand? Four National AI Battlegrounds

The Singapore government has identified National AI Missions — here's where the money and policy firepower are going:

Sector

Demand Highlights

SGX-Listed Play Logic

Advanced Manufacturing

AI-powered smart factories; A*STAR has already supported ~30 companies in deploying AI solutions

Precision engineering, semiconductor equipment, testing

Finance

48% of finance workers worry about AI impact, but 51% already use AI tools daily

Fintech, data services

Healthcare

AI for Science initiatives, complex scenarios like vaccine R&D

Medtech, biotech

Connectivity & Logistics

New transport & warehousing incorporations up +32.6% YoY, e-commerce logistics booming

Data centre REITs, logistics real estate

The Hidden Big Demand: Data Centres & Compute

  • Singapore is Southeast Asia's most mature data centre hub, capturing 99% of regional AI infrastructure financing.

  • But land and power constraints are pushing new demand to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

  • South & Southeast Asia data centres: 24% CAGR over next 4-5 years, operational capacity exceeding 3.5GW, potentially doubling by 2030.

💰 How Much Real Money Is the Government Putting In?

  • S$1 billion: Public AI R&D funding over next 5 years

  • 400% tax deduction: On qualifying AI spending, capped at S$50K per year (tax years 2027–2028)

  • OpenAI partnership: Over S$300M, establishing the first Applied AI Lab outside the US, targeting 200+ tech roles

  • Kampong AI: New AI precinct at One-North, clustering startups, research institutes, and tech giants

  • Target: 100,000 AI-ready talent by 2029

  • Champions of AI programme: Supporting enterprise AI transformation with customised roadmaps

⚡ One Sentence for Investors

Singapore's AI story isn't about whether — it's about how fast and how deep. Individuals and employees are already all-in. Large enterprises are stuck in the "pilot-to-production" gap. SMEs are just getting started on government subsidies. The real demand explosion is in "helping businesses turn AI from a toy into a productivity tool" — and the compute infrastructure powering all of it.

That's why when Kenny Loh talks SGX AI plays — precision engineering, semiconductor testing, data centre REITs — the "shovel seller" logic is rock solid. Singapore itself is frantically buying shovels.

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

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  • 北极篂
    ·07-29 21:06
    未来真正值得关注的,不只是AI软件,而是整个AI基础设施、数据中心、半导体及自动化产业链,因为这些才是能够持续分享AI成长红利的核心资产。
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  • 北极篂
    ·07-29 21:06
    我认为,AI投资真正比拼的,不是谁会写Prompt,而是谁能找到长期受惠的商业模式。政府持续投入资金、税务优惠及人才培养,加上企业AI渗透率仍然偏低,我相信这波AI浪潮还处于早期阶段。
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  • 北极篂
    ·07-29 21:06
    我反而更关注那些不直接卖AI,而是服务AI产业链的公司。无论是精密工程、半导体设备、测试封装,还是数据中心REITs,它们都像淘金时代卖铲子的人。AI模型越来越大,算力需求持续飙升,新加坡虽然土地和电力有限,却仍是东南亚AI基础设施核心,未来更会带动马来西亚、印尼等区域数据中心同步成长。
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  • 北极篂
    ·07-29 21:06
    从数据来看,新加坡53%的劳动人口已经使用AI,员工使用率更接近74%,说明个人端几乎已经完成教育。但企业端却完全是另一回事,只有约28.5%的企业真正采用AI,深度融入核心业务流程的更只有3.8%。这代表未来几年最大的增量,并不是更多人下载AI工具,而是企业愿意花钱,把AI真正变成生产力。从试点、测试,到全面部署,每一步都会带来新的IT支出、算力需求及设备投资。
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  • 北极篂
    ·07-29 21:05
    在我看来,这场分享最值得关注的,不是AI会不会改变世界,而是新加坡已经进入「AI落地」阶段。很多人还停留在ChatGPT很好玩的印象,但真正赚钱的机会,往往出现在企业开始大规模部署AI的时候,而不是全民讨论AI的时候。
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  • Cadi Poon
    ·07-29 20:01
    Singaporeans are personally all-in on AI, enterprises are still climbing the adoption curve, the government is pouring money into infrastructure, and compute demand is exploding.
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