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.
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