Singapore has allocated more than S$45 million over the next three years to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the advanced manufacturing sector in adopting artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The funding forms part of the government’s broader national AI strategy aimed at enhancing productivity and competitiveness within the industry.
The announcement was made on October 21 by Minister of State for Energy, Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang at the Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific (ITAP) event held at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre. Gan emphasized that the initiative, called the Catalytic AI Solutions program, intends to make AI more accessible to SMEs by addressing common adoption challenges and providing ready-to-use solutions.
Under the program, Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) will collaborate with trade associations, chambers, and qualified technology vendors to offer AI tools that assist with various manufacturing tasks. These include optimizing product and component design, improving production scheduling, and enhancing predictive maintenance processes. Some vendors have already expressed interest in participating, indicating early momentum for the initiative.
EnterpriseSG’s assistant managing director for manufacturing, Wong Zeng Yi, highlighted AI’s potential to boost productivity, quality, and responsiveness while enabling faster innovation and new revenue streams. He noted that the agency will co-fund eligible SMEs’ AI adoption and plans to expand the initiative to other sectors such as logistics and wholesale trade.
In addition to the AI funding, the Singapore Manufacturing Federation announced plans to launch a dedicated jobs portal, the Manufacturing and Talent Connection Hub, expected to be operational later in 2026. The portal aims to connect manufacturers with prospective employees, supporting workforce development within the sector.
The manufacturing industry remains a critical component of Singapore’s economy, accounting for approximately 20% of the nation’s gross domestic product and employing about 12% of the workforce. Minister Gan underscored the sector’s need to adapt amid a more complex operating environment marked by tight labor markets, growing competition for investments, and geopolitical shifts affecting supply chains. She also stressed the importance of sustainability alongside competitiveness.
Gan further noted that advanced technologies such as robotics, digital twins, and AI could enable manufacturers to raise productivity and create skilled job opportunities. She expressed confidence that decisive action would reinforce Singapore’s role as a key global hub for advanced manufacturing, where cutting-edge technologies are developed and deployed at scale.
The AI-focused manufacturing efforts align with the national AI missions announced earlier by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong as part of Budget 2026. These missions cover sectors including advanced manufacturing, connectivity, finance, and healthcare, and are supported by the National AI Council chaired by the prime minister.
The advanced manufacturing mission seeks to increase industry output through product and process innovation, establish premier factories in Singapore, and build a local base of industrial AI companies that can export solutions globally. The AI Centre of Excellence for Manufacturing, launched jointly by A*STAR and the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry in September 2024, plays a pivotal role in this strategy. Since its inception, the center has partnered with 30 manufacturers across various fields including aerospace, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and energy. Collaborators include multinational and local companies such as Coca-Cola, Philips, Sunningdale Tech, and Rockwell Automation.