Singapore leads global AI investment with 27% of firms topping $1.28m: report

This places Singapore ahead of both the UK (18%) and the US (14%).

Singapore has emerged as the global leader in high-value artificial intelligence (AI) investment, with 27% of businesses allocating more than $1.28m (US$1m) annually to AI initiatives.

This places Singapore ahead of both the United Kingdom (18%) and the United States (14%), according to the latest IT Priorities Research report by Colt Technology Services.

Whilst Japan leads in adoption rates and Hong Kong shows strong mid-level investment, Singapore stands out for the scale and depth of its AI commitment, the report noted.

Much of this momentum is driven by the national $1b AI Strategy 2.0 (NAIS 2.0) and a strong network of public-private partnerships advancing applied innovation.

In addition to AI, Singaporean firms are placing significant emphasis on cybersecurity and operational automation. The Colt study showed 37% of Singapore businesses have made AI a top priority, closely matched by cybersecurity and digital resilience—areas strongly influenced by both policy and enterprise needs.

Supporting these efforts, the Singapore government has committed $500m to high-performance computing resources and more than $20m to develop AI talent, with the goal of tripling the national AI workforce within five years.