Singapore has quickly become a leading global AI hub, leveraging its strategic location, sophisticated infrastructure and well-crafted legislation to attract skilled experts and investment in AI. This strategic focus has led Singapore to rank third in the world in AI investment, innovation and implementation, just behind the United States and China, according to Tortoise's Global AI Index.

That is why the Czech Embassy together with CzechTrade Singapore organised a mission of startups led by the Czech Association of Artificial Intelligence. The participants were:  Aiviro, Aharta, Kardi Ai, Revelia, Webvalley / Černá.AI. The mission, partly funded by the PROPED project, provided participants with the opportunity to learn about key components of Singapore's (and indeed the world's) AI ecosystem:

Public Sector

The business mission learned about the most important pillars underpinning AI in Singapore::

1. AI Singapore - a national program that connects the government, academia, and the private sector. It focuses on promoting the practical use of AI in various industries, supporting research, and addressing issues of ethics and transparency in AI systems. AI Singapore implements a number of projects for startups, public institutions, and multinational companies. It also offers, for example, the AI Apprenticeship Programme, a nine-month training programme that prepares professionals to work with AI through participation in projects. Thanks to this, Singapore already boasts more than 6,000 AI professionals, and their number is expected to triple within five years. Another program is AI4SME, which makes it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises to implement AI technologies. It uses grants to help companies establish cooperation with AI researchers and experts.
    
2. Academic research. A key hub in this regard is the AI Institute at the National University of Singapore, which regularly ranks among the top ten universities in the world. The institute brings together leading AI researchers from across the university and is dedicated to both basic and applied research in the field of AI. Its activities focus on healthcare, logistics and manufacturing, finance, as well as sustainable urban development and education. The institute's goal is to use AI to address real-world challenges and contribute to improving quality of life, while also emphasizing the use of AI benefits with minimal risks.
    
3. AI Verify Foundation is the third pillar of Singapore's AI ecosystem. It operates under the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), a government agency that regulates the information technology and media sector. The foundation focuses on promoting the ethical use of AI. It develops tools for testing AI systems to verify their accuracy and safety. In addition, it works to create standards for the responsible use of AI. Its members include leading companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Dell, but it is also open to membership from various countries around the world which it would like to engage with on the internationalization of standards.
    
4. SGTech is a trade association that brings together more than 1,400 technology companies of all sizes, from multinational corporations to medium and small businesses to startups. Its goal is to strengthen Singapore's position as a global technology hub. It helps companies with digital transformation, promotes technology standards, and raises awareness of cybersecurity. Czech companies had the opportunity to meet with the leadership of the digitalization and startups section. During the meeting, SGTech representatives not only introduced them to the specifics of Singapore's technology environment, but also provided valuable advice and recommendations for establishing business cooperation.

The largest AI conference in Asia – SuperAI

Singapore is an important center for hosting large conferences and trade fairs, as confirmed by its second place in last year's International Congress and Convention Association ranking. Czech companies had the opportunity to attend the sold-out SuperAI conference, which is the largest of its kind in Asia. The event attracted over 7,000 participants, including technology experts, investors, and researchers. Among the more than 150 exhibitors was the Czech start-up Kardi Ai, which had its own stand co-financed by the PROPED Project.

In addition to establishing new contacts with the “who's who” of the global AI scene, the conference also offered an overview of current issues and trends in the field of AI. Several themes resonated throughout the event:

• - How revolutionary is/will AI actually be? Many speakers asked this question and pointed out that every advance in IT is always revolutionary at first, but then it's “just software.” Applying AI to business processes is complicated, and companies still don't fully understand what AI can do, even though the promises are often grandiose. The situation is similar with AGI (artificial general intelligence), where it is unclear whether we have already developed it by chance and, if not, when and how we could achieve it. It is also impossible to define the requirements for AGI precisely, because no human brain, no matter how intelligent, can handle everything that is often included under the broad term AGI.
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• - The human factor is often the main constraint on the use of AI. AI can handle more and more tasks independently, but the problem is the task itself, which is often difficult to explain even to another human being, let alone a machine. People also may not trust a “black box” that sometimes produces inaccurate outputs. At the same time, the much-desired refinement of outputs often comes up against limited budgets and infrastructure that is not ready to run large language models. On the other hand, more and more people are being trained in the field (both in IT departments and beyond), which could give the use of AI a huge boost in the coming years.
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• - However, concerns about replacing humans with artificial intelligence are premature. While layoffs due to automation are certainly happening, new positions are also being created. In addition, many professions simply cannot replace human decision-making, especially in the legal environment, finance, or industries dealing with ethical issues. “Agent systems,” the latest trend in AI, are still rather fragmented, independent models trained for a narrow set of tasks, so they are often indistinguishable from traditional “deterministic” models.
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• - Practical manuals for new startups – many successful companies shared their experiences from their early days. The main points were: a) it is necessary to have a clear “use case” and a clear customer, b) do not promise the impossible, but at the same time communicate what is important, c) do not ignore ethical and legal issues, d) build a base of loyal “power users,” even if they are not the main source of revenue.

International hub for the exchange of experience

Singapore is also seeing an increase in AI centers of large and multinational companies. In June 2025, Australian mining company BHP opened its innovation center here in collaboration with AI Singapore with the aim of accelerating the introduction of AI in the mining industry. Joint solutions have already led to water and energy savings. Another recent addition is the pioneering OpenAI, which announced the opening of its Singapore branch at the end of 2024. Other major multinational companies that have established regional headquarters or significant development centers in Singapore include technology giants such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon Web Services, NVIDIA, IBM, Oracle, PwC, and Grab. These companies are actively contributing to the development of local artificial intelligence through various initiatives: Google runs the AI Trailblazers program, NVIDIA has established an Artificial Intelligence Center with the Singapore Institute of Technology and launched an AI accelerator with other partners. This further solidifies Singapore's status as a leading destination for cutting-edge companies in the field of artificial intelligence. This move is expected to accelerate even more AI-based innovation and attract more experts to the region.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) also participated in the business mission by helping to organize a B2B meeting with the ARQon Group, where all Czech entities were introduced to partners from the fields of research, investment, and distribution. The event, which was opened with an introductory speech by Ambassador Michaela Froňková, was attended by a total of 30 people from various entities. During the event, Dr. Eleni D, Director of HealthTech at AWS, presented AWS's innovative activities, and May Ng, CEO of ARQon, provided guidance on expanding into Singapore.

In conclusion, it should be noted that Singapore is a country that relies on international law and strong commitments, and this is no different in the digital sphere. That is why it is also the first country with which the European Union has negotiated a Digital Trade Agreement, which will come into force very soon. The agreement will facilitate the free flow of data, remove data localization requirements, strengthen personal data protection, recognize electronic documents and signatures, and prohibit customs duties on digital transmissions. It will thus support small and medium-sized enterprises, protect consumers, facilitate cross-border e-commerce, and create space for the development of technologies such as AI and blockchain. For this reason, a delegation of Czech companies was on the agenda of the European Union Delegation, which plays an irreplaceable role in raising awareness of European business and research in this area.

Are you interested in cooperating with Czech AI Solutions?

If you would like to take advantage of Czechia's emerging ecosystem, please contact the economic team of the Czech Embassy in Singapore, headed by Ambassador Michaela Froňková:

- Petr Manoušek (petr.manousek@mzv.gov.cz), economic diplomat at the Embassy, and

- Ladislav Graner, Director of the CzechTrade Foreign Office (singapore@czechtrade.cz).