Singapore inks AI deals with Google and OpenAI to boost hub status

Singapore has inked separate agreements with Google and OpenAI to strengthen its position as a global artificial intelligence hub and accelerate AI deployment across public services, healthcare, education and enterprise.

The agreements, announced on Wednesday, include a new National AI Partnership with Google and the first memorandum of understanding between Singapore and OpenAI, which will see it set up an AI lab in the city.

Under the partnership, OpenAI will commit more than 300 million Singapore dollars ($234 million) to strengthen Singapore's AI ecosystem, according to a joint statement released by the ChatGPT-maker and the Ministry of Digital Development and Information.

While Google's announcement didn't include an investment commitment, the company said the main focus would be on solving societal challenges, building an AI-ready workforce, driving enterprise innovation and creating a secure AI ecosystem.

The companies announced the news alongside Singapore's ATxSummit, a flagship technology conference taking place in the city with a heavy focus on AI deployment this year.

The city-state has been trying to carve out a niche in the global AI race, positioning itself as a neutral and talent-rich platform for developing, testing and deploying AI solutions.

Google and OpenAI's deals also build on Singapore's broader national AI strategy, which includes an investment commitment of more than 1 billion Singapore dollars to strengthen public AI research capabilities over five years from 2025 to 2030.

Singapore has attracted major commitments from global AI players, including Amazon 's AWS and Microsoft , in addition to frontline model developers such as Google DeepMind and OpenAI.

The establishment of the "OpenAI Singapore Applied AI Lab" — the first such lab established outside the U.S. — follows the opening of its Singapore office in 2024 to support customers and partners in the Asia-Pacific region.

The new lab is expected to employ more than 200 people over the next few years, aiming to help its local partners harness frontier AI to enhance everyday economic capability.

That work will include national priorities such as education, public services, finance, healthcare, digital infrastructure, and a training program for mid-career engineers. Some broader "AI for All" efforts will see the company co-develop AI startup accelerators and citizen-centric applications.

Meanwhile, Google's deal will heavily involve training government researchers to use agentic AI tools for science, while working separately with the Ministry of Education to train educators.

Google will also explore collaborations in areas including healthcare and life sciences under its "global AI co-clinician research initiative." That includes exploring how AI can amplify a doctor's expertise and how AI agents can help support patients.

Google also released a joint whitepaper with Singapore's government that addressed safe deployment of AI agents, following the launch of an AI Agents Sandbox in August 2025.

The agreement builds on a long-standing AI collaboration between Singapore and Google, signed in 2022, to strengthen AI cooperation. The tech giant opened its AI research laboratory, Google DeepMind, in Singapore in November last year.