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.
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.