More than S$45 million set aside to help Singapore manufacturers adopt AI

SMEs will be able to tap ready-to-deploy AI tools for areas such as product design, production scheduling and predictive maintenance.

An employee works at a production line during a tour of an REC solar panel manufacturing plant in Singapore on May 5, 2017. (File photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)

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SINGAPORE: The government has set aside more than S$45 million (US$35 million) over the next three years to help manufacturers adopt AI, Minister of State for Energy, Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang said on Wednesday (Oct 21).

The funding will support Enterprise Singapore’s (EnterpriseSG) Catalytic AI Solutions initiative for advanced manufacturing, which is aimed at helping manufacturers overcome common barriers to AI adoption, she said.

Speaking at Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific 2026, Ms Gan said the initiative will help manufacturers access ready-to-deploy AI solutions to improve productivity, optimise efficiency, and strengthen their competitiveness.

To make AI accessible to small‑ and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs), EnterpriseSG will also offer a suite of AI solutions to these businesses, Ms Gan said.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less These include solutions to optimise product and component design, automate the processing of request for quotation documents and enhance production scheduling and predictive maintenance. EnterpriseSG will co-fund eligible companies' adoption of AI solutions in the suite. The agency said in a media release on Wednesday that the solutions could reduce manual work and response times, improve equipment reliability and help manufacturers maintain consistent product quality. The suite will be expanded over time as more industry needs and solutions are identified. While many SMEs recognise the potential of AI, adoption can be challenging because of development costs, limited access to sector-specific solutions and uncertainty over outcomes, EnterpriseSG said. The initiative aims to address these barriers by bringing together AI solution providers, system integrators and industry associations, allowing SMEs to tap proven solutions without having to develop them independently. This could reduce the time, cost and complexity involved in adopting AI, it added. Some SMEs have already expressed interest in adopting AI solutions under the new initiative, Ms Gan said. EnterpriseSG is also developing Catalytic AI Solutions for the logistics and wholesale trade sectors, with more details to be announced at a later date. The initiative comes amid Singapore’s push to accelerate the use of AI in advanced manufacturing , one of four sectors targeted under its National AI Missions, alongside connectivity, finance and healthcare. Manufacturing accounts for nearly 20 per cent of Singapore’s GDP. Ms Gan said the goal was not simply to increase the use of AI, but to transform the manufacturing sector. “Our aim is to reimagine manufacturing to grow our manufacturing output and productivity,” she added.

These include solutions to optimise product and component design, automate the processing of request for quotation documents and enhance production scheduling and predictive maintenance.

EnterpriseSG will co-fund eligible companies' adoption of AI solutions in the suite.

The agency said in a media release on Wednesday that the solutions could reduce manual work and response times, improve equipment reliability and help manufacturers maintain consistent product quality.

The suite will be expanded over time as more industry needs and solutions are identified.

While many SMEs recognise the potential of AI, adoption can be challenging because of development costs, limited access to sector-specific solutions and uncertainty over outcomes, EnterpriseSG said.

The initiative aims to address these barriers by bringing together AI solution providers, system integrators and industry associations, allowing SMEs to tap proven solutions without having to develop them independently.

This could reduce the time, cost and complexity involved in adopting AI, it added.

Some SMEs have already expressed interest in adopting AI solutions under the new initiative, Ms Gan said.

EnterpriseSG is also developing Catalytic AI Solutions for the logistics and wholesale trade sectors, with more details to be announced at a later date.

The initiative comes amid Singapore’s push to accelerate the use of AI in advanced manufacturing , one of four sectors targeted under its National AI Missions, alongside connectivity, finance and healthcare.

Manufacturing accounts for nearly 20 per cent of Singapore’s GDP.

Ms Gan said the goal was not simply to increase the use of AI, but to transform the manufacturing sector.

“Our aim is to reimagine manufacturing to grow our manufacturing output and productivity,” she added.

AI CENTRE FOR MANUFACTURING ENTERS NEXT PHASE

Singapore’s AI Centre of Excellence for Manufacturing (AIMfg) will also enter its next phase, supported by the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2030 plan.

“AIMfg will deepen its capabilities to tackle more complex and mission-critical manufacturing problems, supporting end-to-end AI-enabled transformation and, importantly, scaling AI adoption to the broader base of manufacturers,” Ms Gan said.

Jointly established by A*STAR and the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry in 2024, Ms Gan said AIMfg has made strong progress in driving AI transformation and adoption.

It has collaborated with 30 manufacturers in sectors such as aerospace, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and energy, completing 23 projects in which AI solutions were deployed.

“(AIMfg) will also draw more extensively on the strengths of our research and innovation system, working with our institutes of higher learning, frontier AI start-ups, and technology providers to develop relevant, industry-ready AI solutions,” Ms Gan said.

AI adoption among Singapore businesses has also grown, with nearly one in four adopting the technology in 2025 , up from about one in seven a year earlier.

LAUNCH OF AI CHALLENGE FOR MANUFACTURING

Ms Gan on Wednesday also announced the launch of the Singapore Embodied AI Challenge for Manufacturing, bringing together researchers, industry players, start-ups and global talent.

Embodied AI combines AI with robotics and physical systems, allowing machines to perceive, reason and act in the real world.

Participants will develop embodied AI solutions to real-world industry problems, with a pathway towards commercial deployment, she said.

Organised by the National Robotics Programme, A*STAR and PINE Lab@NTU, the inaugural edition will start with a semiconductor manufacturing use case provided by chipmaker Micron.

The government has also rolled out other measures to help businesses adopt AI.

At Budget 2026, the government announced that the Enterprise Innovation Scheme would be expanded to cover qualifying AI expenditure, while the Productivity Solutions Grant would cover a wider range of digital and AI-enabled solutions.

The Budget also unveiled the Champions of AI programme to support companies looking to use AI to transform their businesses.

“We need platforms that bring all the elements of the ecosystem together – manufacturers with problems that need to be solved; technology providers and researchers with ideas and solutions; and partners and talent who can take these solutions from pilot to deployment,” Ms Gan said.

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中小企业将能够利用现成的 AI 工具进行产品设计、生产计划和预测性维护等领域的工作。

2017年5月5日，在新加坡一家REC太阳能电池板制造厂参观期间，一名员工正在生产线上工作。（资料照片：路透社/Edgar Su）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

新加坡：能源、贸易及工业部政务部长颜晓煌周三（10月21日）表示，政府已拨款超过4500万新元（3500万美元），用于在未来三年内帮助制造商采用人工智能技术。

她表示，这笔资金将支持新加坡企业发展局（EnterpriseSG）的先进制造业催化人工智能解决方案计划，该计划旨在帮助制造商克服采用人工智能的常见障碍。

甘女士在2026年亚太工业转型大会上表示，该计划将帮助制造商获得可立即部署的人工智能解决方案，以提高生产力、优化效率并增强竞争力。

甘女士表示，为了让中小企业也能使用人工智能，EnterpriseSG还将向这些企业提供一套人工智能解决方案。

CNA Games 猜词游戏：逐行破解单词；流行词游戏：用给定字母造词；迷你数独：小巧的谜题，强大的脑力挑战；迷你填字游戏：小网格，大挑战；单词搜索：尽可能多地找出单词。显示更多 显示更少 这些解决方案包括优化产品和组件设计、自动化报价请求文件处理以及增强生产计划和预测性维护。EnterpriseSG 将共同资助符合条件的公司采用该套件中的人工智能解决方案。该机构周三在一份新闻稿中表示，这些解决方案可以减少人工工作和响应时间，提高设备可靠性，并帮助制造商保持产品质量的一致性。随着更多行业需求和解决方案的出现，该套件将逐步扩展。EnterpriseSG 表示，虽然许多中小企业认识到人工智能的潜力，但由于开发成本、行业特定解决方案的获取渠道有限以及结果的不确定性，采用人工智能可能面临挑战。该计划旨在通过汇集人工智能解决方案提供商、系统集成商和行业协会来解决这些障碍，使中小企业能够利用成熟的解决方案，而无需自行开发。该机构补充说，这将有助于降低采用人工智能所需的时间、成本和复杂性。颜女士表示，一些中小企业已经表示有兴趣在新举措下采用人工智能解决方案。新加坡企业发展局（EnterpriseSG）也在为物流和批发贸易行业开发催化型人工智能解决方案，更多细节将于稍后公布。这项举措正值新加坡大力推动人工智能在先进制造业的应用之际，先进制造业是新加坡国家人工智能使命的四大重点领域之一，其他三个领域分别是互联互通、金融和医疗保健。制造业占新加坡国内生产总值的近20%。颜女士表示，目标不仅仅是增加人工智能的应用，而是要彻底改变制造业。“我们的目标是重塑制造业，以提高制造业的产量和生产力，”她补充道。

这些解决方案包括优化产品和组件设计、自动化处理询价文件以及增强生产计划和预测性维护。

EnterpriseSG 将共同资助符合条件的公司采用该套件中的人工智能解决方案。

该机构周三在一份新闻稿中表示，这些解决方案可以减少人工操作和响应时间，提高设备可靠性，并帮助制造商保持稳定的产品质量。

随着更多行业需求和解决方案的出现，该套件的功能也将逐步扩展。

EnterpriseSG表示，虽然许多中小企业认识到人工智能的潜力，但由于开发成本高、行业特定解决方案获取渠道有限以及结果的不确定性，采用人工智能可能面临挑战。

该计划旨在通过汇集人工智能解决方案提供商、系统集成商和行业协会来消除这些障碍，使中小企业能够利用成熟的解决方案，而无需自行开发。

报告还指出，这可以减少采用人工智能所需的时间、成本和复杂性。

甘女士表示，一些中小企业已经表示有兴趣在新计划下采用人工智能解决方案。

EnterpriseSG 也在为物流和批发贸易行业开发催化人工智能解决方案，更多详情将于稍后公布。

新加坡正大力推动人工智能在先进制造业中的应用，这是新加坡国家人工智能使命的四个重点领域之一，其他三个领域分别是互联互通、金融和医疗保健。在此背景下，新加坡推出了这项举措。

制造业占新加坡国内生产总值的近20%。

甘女士表示，目标不仅仅是增加人工智能的应用，而是要变革制造业。

她补充说：“我们的目标是重新构想制造业，以提高制造业产量和生产率。”

人工智能制造中心进入下一阶段

在新加坡“研究、创新和企业 2030”计划的支持下，新加坡人工智能制造卓越中心 (AIMfg) 也将进入下一阶段。

“AIMfg 将深化其能力，以解决更复杂、更关键的制造问题，支持端到端的 AI 赋能转型，更重要的是，将 AI 的应用推广到更广泛的制造商群体，”甘女士表示。

颜女士表示，AIMfg由新加坡科技研究局（A*STAR）和能源、贸易及工业部于2024年联合成立，在推动人工智能转型和应用方面取得了显著进展。

该公司已与航空航天、半导体、制药和能源等行业的 30 家制造商开展合作，完成了 23 个部署人工智能解决方案的项目。

“（AIMfg）还将更广泛地利用我们研发创新体系的优势，与高等学府、前沿人工智能初创企业和技术提供商合作，开发相关的、行业适用的人工智能解决方案，”甘女士说。

新加坡企业对人工智能的采用率也在不断提高，预计到 2025 年，将有近四分之一的企业采用这项技术，而一年前这一比例约为七分之一。

启动面向制造业的人工智能挑战赛

颜女士周三还宣布启动新加坡制造业具身人工智能挑战赛，该挑战赛将汇聚研究人员、行业参与者、初创企业和全球人才。

具身人工智能将人工智能与机器人技术和物理系统相结合，使机器能够在现实世界中感知、推理和行动。

她表示，参与者将开发针对现实世界行业问题的具身人工智能解决方案，并朝着商业部署的方向发展。

本次活动由国家机器人计划、A*STAR 和 PINE Lab@NTU 联合举办，首届活动将以芯片制造商美光提供的半导体制造应用案例拉开帷幕。

政府还推出了其他措施，帮助企业采用人工智能。

在 2026 年预算案中，政府宣布将扩大企业创新计划的覆盖范围，以涵盖符合条件的 AI 支出，同时将扩大生产力解决方案补助金的覆盖范围，以涵盖更广泛的数字化和人工智能解决方案。

预算案还公布了“人工智能领军企业计划”，旨在支持希望利用人工智能技术转型业务的公司。

甘女士表示：“我们需要将生态系统中的所有要素聚集在一起的平台——有待解决问题的制造商；有想法和解决方案的技术提供商和研究人员；以及能够将这些解决方案从试点阶段推进到部署阶段的合作伙伴和人才。”

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