Budget 2026: 6 ways S’pore will invest in building its AI strengths

SINGAPORE – Describing artificial intelligence (AI) as a strategic advantage for Singapore in his Budget 2026 speech, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong laid out how the country would invest in the field.

1. Setting up National AI Council

An inter-ministerial committee, dubbed

the National AI Council, will be established to drive the Republic’s national AI agenda

.

It will provide strategic direction for the country’s national AI strategy as well as direct regulations and resources to accelerate the development and deployment of innovative AI solutions.

Chaired by PM Wong, the council’s six other members will include Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo and Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung.

2. AI Missions to be launched

The National AI Council will oversee the development and execution of a set of national AI Missions, including the commissioning of such missions in priority sectors with strong industry relevance and growth potential.

Efforts will be focused on accelerating the development, testing, deployment and scaling of AI solutions in four key areas:

More details will be shared on the AI Mission for advanced manufacturing during the debate on the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s (MTI) budget, with details on the other sectors to be announced in due course.

3. Enhancement of Enterprise Innovation Scheme

The Enterprise Innovation Scheme will be enhanced for the years of assessment 2027 and 2028

to support businesses in their adoption of AI

.

The scheme currently allows businesses to claim 400 per cent tax deductions or allowances on up to $400,000 of qualifying expenditure incurred on activities such as registration of intellectual property and research and development.

These businesses can also claim 400 per cent tax deductions or allowances up to $50,000 of expenditure per year for innovation projects carried out with polytechnics, the Institute of Technical Education or other partner institutions.

For the 2027 and 2028 years of assessment, these partner institutions will be expanded to include the Sectoral AI Centre of Excellence for Manufacturing.

Businesses will also be able to claim 400 per cent tax deductions or allowances up to $50,000 of qualifying AI expenditure for each year of assessment, though the option to convert up to $100,000 of total qualifying expenditure into a 20 per cent non-taxable cash payout will not be available for this.

Separately, a new Champions of AI programme will be set up to provide tailored support – including enterprise transformation and workforce training – for firms that aspire to use AI to comprehensively transform their businesses.

The Productivity Solutions Grant – which supports businesses in adopting IT solutions to improve productivity – will also be expanded to include a wider range of AI-enabled solutions.

4. New AI park at one-north

JTC will set up an AI park at business district one-north, which will help foster innovation, test-bedding and scaling of AI solutions.

As a dedicated space near research clusters, the park will allow AI start-ups, researchers and businesses to build new partnerships and network.

The new park will build on the Lorong AI initiative, which is a dedicated co-working space for Singapore’s AI economy.

MTI will share more details on the park during the debate on its budget.

5. Expansion of TechSkills Accelerator

The TechSkills Accelerator – which helps mid-career workers transition into tech roles as well as ensure existing tech workers remain relevant –

will be expanded to support AI skills training in non-tech occupations

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The Infocomm Media Development Authority will work with professional bodies in different sectors to identify key training needs and competencies, beginning with the accountancy and legal fields.

This will progressively be expanded to other sectors, with the Ministry of Digital Development and Information to share more details during the debate on its budget.

6. Free subscriptions to premium AI tools

To encourage learning AI, the Government will provide six months of free access to premium versions of AI tools to Singaporeans taking up selected AI training courses listed on the MySkillsFuture portal.

This is aimed at encouraging hands-on learning, said PM Wong.

The MySkillsFuture portal will also be redesigned to make AI learning pathways clearer and easier to access, to allow people to more easily find courses that match their work needs and proficiency levels.

AI literacy for students across institutes of higher learning will also be strengthened, to allow them to learn to use AI more wisely.

Read next: 11 highlights from PM Wong’s speech