Source: Chuangye Bang

Image source: Generated by Wujie AI

For a year, the global tech industry's enthusiasm for AIGC (AI-generated content) has not diminished.

At the beginning of last year, ChatGPT rose to fame, sweeping the globe with its generative pre-trained transformer model feature, igniting a global wave of AIGC, and almost all global startups flocked to this track. In less than a year, the development of AIGC has given rise to blockbuster applications such as writing assistants, AI painting, and conversational robots.

AIGC technology is also becoming a new variable in Singapore's digital technology ecosystem. According to the latest global AI country index report from Tortoise Media, Singapore's artificial intelligence index comprehensive ranking has jumped from sixth place to third place. This means that Singapore will be one of the most suitable cities in the world for tech startups in the future.

In February 2019, a few Chinese people who came out of internet giants established an AI voice service company, Wiz.ai, in Singapore, and the business now covers six Southeast Asian countries. After the success of ChatGPT, they also launched TalkGPT with integrated ChatGPT capabilities this year, enabling interaction with over a million customers in one hour.

Other companies with similar backgrounds include ADVANCE.AI and SailDrone Intelligence. The former is committed to providing digital solutions using AI, big data, and cloud computing technologies, and its parent company is the Southeast Asian unicorn, Lead Ventures Group. The latter mainly focuses on speech recognition, speech synthesis, natural language processing, and related technologies and applications.

These companies have caught the hottest AI wave in the past two years, and have completed several rounds of financing, ranging from Series A to Series D, with a group of sufficiently prominent venture capital firms behind them: GGV Capital led the investment, Singapore fund Wavemaker Partners and Insignia Ventures, Hong Kong fund ZWC Partner, Tencent, Hillhouse, and Qiming Venture Partners, among others.

They have almost the same reasons for choosing to land in Singapore: a good business environment, leading global digital infrastructure, sufficient policy support, and outstanding talent from around the world. Most importantly, they hope to find opportunities for global market expansion in Singapore.

Chen Yingyu, Director of the Greater China Region of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), said, "If Singapore is compared to a person, we belong to the tech optimists, looking forward to the application of generative AI in Singapore's digital technology field."

AIGC: A New Variable in Singapore's Artificial Intelligence

Since 2017, Singapore has been increasing its investment in the field of artificial intelligence.

In May 2017, Singapore launched the AI Singapore (AISG) national program, under which the Singapore government will invest about 150 million Singapore dollars in its artificial intelligence ecosystem for startups and research institutions. In November 2019, Singapore established a national-level artificial intelligence strategy for an 11-year period, with the government allocating 5 billion Singapore dollars, aiming to become a smart nation with widespread application of artificial intelligence by 2030. In November 2021, Singapore has committed to invest an additional 1.8 billion Singapore dollars (approximately 9.26 billion RMB) on top of the 5 billion Singapore dollars in the "Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 Plan" to accelerate artificial intelligence research.

The Singapore government is also leading by example in promoting the application of generative AI in public administration.

In February of this year, the Open Government Products announced the launch of a prototype virtual writing assistant customized for the government, using ChatGPT as the model. In October, the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO) established a dedicated sandbox model called the Artificial Intelligence Government Cloud Cluster to promote more applications and use of generative AI. In addition, Singapore has also launched the "AI Trailblazers Initiative" for private enterprises, aiming to accelerate the development of "influential" generative AI solutions.

All these initiatives have made Singapore one of the fastest-growing countries in the field of artificial intelligence.

The latest report shows that Singapore is the "leader" in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of enterprise and government readiness for artificial intelligence. Compared to other developed economies, the people of Singapore are more positive about artificial intelligence. Another piece of data is that according to the latest 2023 Asia-Pacific AI Readiness Index released by Salesforce, Singapore ranks highest in the field.

More AI-related companies are entering the country. These include Chinese companies such as Pony.ai, SenseTime, Pensees, Geometric Intelligence, a provider of AI-based outsourcing services, and Spark Mind, which focuses on AI education.

Image source of the International AI Innovation Center launch ceremony: SenseTime official website

Outstanding local startups are also emerging in various fields of AI in Singapore. These include Pand.AI, a big data and AI company, AI Rudder, a speech AI technology developer, NovA, an industry-wide AI platform, NextBillion.ai, an AI-driven local solutions provider, DocSumo, an AI document management startup, and Cosmose AI, an AI data analysis platform.

According to the latest survey by Ernst & Young, CEOs from around the world are embracing the opportunities brought by AI, with 66% of CEOs in Singapore believing that AI can be a force for good. Over 90% of CEOs are incorporating AI into their capital allocation, and over 40% of CEOs are actively investing in AI.

The new opportunity lies in the eruption of AIGC, which makes us realize that a new era is dawning, indicating that the door to general artificial intelligence has cracked open a bit.

In 2021, the globally authoritative IT research and consulting company Gartner released the 12 important strategic technology trends for 2022, placing generative AI at the top of the list. It is also projected that by 2025, generative AI will account for 10% of all generated data, up from the current less than 1%.

"Generative AI (and AIGC) can not only be used as a single solution to improve productivity, but can also be embedded in business models and technology stacks to provide new products and value to consumers and citizens," said Chen Yingyu.

To promote the responsible global use of AI, Singapore has also established the AI Verify Foundation, collaborating with tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, and IBM to develop AI governance testing frameworks and toolkits to effectively address AI risks and meet the needs of global enterprises and regulators. Chinese outbound enterprise WIMI is also a member of this initiative.

Singapore's favorable policies and good business environment in the field of AI have provided an ideal environment for the development of emerging technologies like AIGC.

Digital Technology, Another Engine of Growth

AIGC is a product of the digital age, backed by the maturity and perfection of digital technology, such as algorithms, computing power, blockchain, big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence.

Singapore is one of the countries that started and emphasized the development of digital technology at an early stage. As early as 2014, Singapore launched the Smart Nation initiative, establishing the strategic transformation focus of the digital economy, digital government, and digital society. This has provided a comprehensive national strength foundation for its innovative domestic digital economic governance paradigm and participation in global digital economic governance.

Chen Yingyu said that at the current stage of economic development, Singapore needs to continuously explore innovative cutting-edge technologies. Digital technology has profound innovative opportunities, "therefore, Singapore will actively participate in the global digital technology industry wave."

The ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement is a good example. Singapore is exploring measures to improve digital and data connectivity, such as in payment systems and data interconnection between ASEAN countries.

In addition, Singapore has established an AI governance framework and launched it in 2019, continuously updating its terms and strengthening cooperation with the private sector and other countries in the field of artificial intelligence.

These measures have allowed Singapore to have a more diversified digital industry ecosystem, and with the help of technologies such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and blockchain, fintech, e-commerce, and B2B enterprise software are gradually taking shape in Singapore, attracting tech giants and startups from around the world.

Domestically, Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and Huawei have all established their headquarters in Singapore. From 2018 to 2021, TikTok rented office buildings in Singapore three times for international business development.

There are also homegrown tech unicorns or outstanding startups in Singapore. For example, Grab, a super app born in Southeast Asia, ViSenze, a local image recognition startup focused on e-commerce applications, SixSense, an industrial vision detection startup, and 6Estates, an AI-driven intelligence company separated from the joint research center between the National University of Singapore and Tsinghua University in China.

This is thanks to Singapore's emphasis on nurturing digital technology talent, close cooperation between government and enterprises in the development and application of digital technology, and the efficient construction of digital technology infrastructure in Singapore.

In March 2022, SAP collaborated with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) to launch the SAP Labs Singapore innovation center, planning to hire and train about 200 talents in the field of artificial intelligence over the next two years. Singapore's Minister for Communications and Information, Josephine Teo, recently announced the establishment of two cybersecurity centers at local universities as part of the plan to develop Singapore into a cybersecurity hub.

The Enterprise Singapore (Enterprise SG), Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), and the National Research Foundation (NRF) jointly launched a S$12 million Singapore Blockchain Innovation Program in December 2020 to promote blockchain in a wider range of industries.

IMDA launched the Digital Connectivity Development Blueprint earlier this year, aiming to strengthen Singapore's digital infrastructure over the next decade to better seize the opportunities brought by emerging technology trends such as generative AI, autonomous systems, and immersive multi-party interactions.

"These technologies have the potential to change various sectors in Singapore, including finance, healthcare, security, and logistics," said Chi Xingling, Director of International Cooperation and Strategic Partnerships (China) at IMDA. "Digital payments can enhance financial inclusion and improve transaction efficiency, while telemedicine and digital health records can transform the healthcare industry. In logistics, digital technologies such as blockchain, IoT, and AI can help improve operational efficiency and transparency. Emerging technologies can also strengthen Singapore's ability to address cybersecurity threats."

Chen Yingyu said that for Singapore, the importance of digital technology lies not only in itself but also in its ability to drive and empower all existing economic sectors in Singapore.

Becoming a Pivot for Entrepreneurs

In any innovation ecosystem, entrepreneurs are at the forefront, and Singapore is no exception.

Singapore's extensive support for various industries provides entrepreneurs with a well-connected innovation network and abundant resources, creating a favorable environment for innovation and entrepreneurship, and promoting the development of Singapore's tech startup ecosystem.

In November last year, Huawei Cloud and IMDA jointly launched the Spark program, a new incubator program for fintech, Web3, metaverse, and software-as-a-service startups, providing guidance, funding, and networking opportunities for media and tech startups. Another initiative is the IMDA certification, which provides an approval stamp for innovative technology solutions, helping startups gain credibility and visibility in the market.

So far, these two measures have accelerated over 180 Singapore tech companies, securing project pipelines worth over S$920 million from government agencies and enterprises, and raising over S$1 billion in new capital, driving business expansion and technological advancement.

In addition, IMDA has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to establish the first joint innovation center in Southeast Asia at the Pixel Innovation Hub, providing Singapore-based tech companies with access to the latest AWS technologies, resources, networks, and showcase opportunities.

Singapore, as a global innovation gateway, has unique advantages: it has long adhered to the principles of openness, diversity, and partnerships, and has introduced a series of related policies around these three aspects.

For example, in talent attraction, Singapore has introduced several talent programs—Tech@SG and Tech Pass—to ensure diversity in its talent pool. In terms of partnerships, the Singapore government has established the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA). At the industry level, the government has launched multiple programs to promote collaboration between enterprises, as well as between enterprises and research institutions and higher education institutions.

Especially in today's VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) environment, Singapore's open and inclusive attitude towards emerging technologies, progressive policy guidance, and favorable environment for science and technology innovation have become more prominent—

"Singapore is a city-state. Perhaps we don't occupy the forefront of all technologies, but we can become a country that rapidly adopts cutting-edge technologies and takes the lead in scaling up their application across society and the economy," said Chen Yingyu. "We welcome tech companies from around the world to come to Singapore to test your new technologies and collaboration models."

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