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The measures include tailored AI roadmaps for 24 companies, workshops for small businesses, and S$150mn for advanced materials research and innovation.
Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), in partnership with other Government agencies, has launched a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives to help businesses improve productivity, strengthen competitiveness and unlock new growth opportunities.
Announced by Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry, at the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) 2026, the initiatives will support enterprises of different sizes, sectors, and levels of AI readiness.
DPM Gan said: "Trying out an AI tool or undertaking a pilot can be a useful starting point. But more substantial gains will require companies to look across their operations: rethink business processes, build new capabilities, and identify new opportunities for growth."
Champions of AI programme to support enterprise-wide transformation
The Champions of AI programme will support Singapore-based companies looking to make AI a core driver of business growth and transform their operations. The national initiative will begin with 24 companies across various industries, with more expected to join progressively. These companies are expected to demonstrate the impact of AI adoption and encourage wider use of the technology across their sectors and supply chains.
EnterpriseSG and relevant Government agencies will work with participating companies to develop tailored, long-term AI transformation roadmaps. They will also provide access to AI experts and solution providers to support enterprise-wide deployment, change management, workforce redesign and upskilling.
"Job redesign and training should begin in parallel to business process changes, rather than being an afterthought," said DPM Gan.
Participating companies must commit to clear transformation outcomes. These include identifying business challenges that AI can address, developing an enterprise-wide AI transformation plan, building internal AI capabilities and supporting workforce upskilling.
They must also work to encourage AI adoption across their supply chains and wider business ecosystems.
AI workshops and sector-specific solutions for SMEs
EnterpriseSG will strengthen support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), recognising that businesses are at different stages of AI readiness.
The measures include a series of 'Driving Entrepreneurship with AI' workshops and Catalytic AI Solutions, which aim to help companies move from experimenting with AI to deploying solutions that address operational and industry-wide challenges.
Workshops help small businesses develop AI prototypes
The Driving Entrepreneurship with AI workshops target micro-entrepreneurs and small business owners starting their AI journey, providing hands-on guidance to help participants identify practical use cases and build working prototypes tailored to their businesses. More than 280 small businesses received support during the pilot run to apply agentic AI tools in areas such as marketing, sales and customer service.
Further workshops are scheduled to roll out next month, with the programme set to scale up further in 2027.
Feedback from participants showed that while many businesses are experimenting with AI, they often lack the in-house technical capabilities and time needed to refine, integrate, and deploy solutions for their operational needs.
EnterpriseSG will look into providing support for the final stages of AI deployment to help companies put these solutions into practice.
Catalytic AI Solutions to target three sectors
EnterpriseSG also said it will support SMEs in implementing AI solutions in advanced manufacturing, trade and logistics. More details will be announced at a later date.
In advanced manufacturing, the solutions will address operational challenges and improve workflows, including inspection and quality control.
In trade, AI will help rice importers make better procurement and inventory management decisions while taking Singapore’s food security needs into account.
In logistics, the solutions will help companies optimise routing decisions and allocate jobs across their fleets. EnterpriseSG will also facilitate access to new data sources for transport management system providers to train their AI engines.
The government will work with trade associations to trial different support channels for businesses with varying needs and levels of AI readiness. A comprehensive set of support measures is expected to be announced by early 2027.
S$150 million investment to accelerate materials innovation through AI
Singapore is also investing in AI to accelerate research and commercialisation in advanced materials, which underpin industries such as semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, and energy and chemicals.
While AI can help researchers identify promising materials more quickly, turning these discoveries into materials that can be synthesised, validated and manufactured at scale remains a challenge.
To bridge this gap, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) has launched the Materials Accelerator for Research, Venture & Enterprise Launchpad (MARVEL-AI).
Supported by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), EnterpriseSG, the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and the National Research Foundation (NRF), MARVEL-AI will receive approximately S$150 million in Government investment under Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2030 (RIE2030).
The initiative will combine advanced AI models to identify promising materials and design experiments with self-driving laboratories to synthesise and test them. Results from each round of testing will feed into subsequent experiments, creating a continuous learning process.
Beyond materials discovery, MARVEL-AI will support validation, manufacturing process development and industrial translation, helping companies assess which materials can progress towards practical applications.
A*STAR, EnterpriseSG, and EDB will connect companies and investors to the platform, providing access to specialist expertise, infrastructure and validation capabilities to help bring new materials into industrial use more quickly.
The initiative is also expected to create opportunities for industry partnerships, enterprise growth, and new ventures. It will support talent development at the intersection of materials science, AI, and automation, with the aim of creating job opportunities and strengthening Singapore’s position in advanced materials innovation.
Supporting businesses at different stages of AI adoption
Together, the initiatives aim to build a network of Singapore-based enterprises equipped to compete in an increasingly AI-driven economy.
Lee Chuan Teck, Chairman of Enterprise Singapore, said: "AI is reshaping the way businesses compete, innovate and grow. The initiatives announced today, and others we are developing, will support all enterprises on their AI journey, no matter where they are starting from and where they want to grow to."
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