Budget 2026: Quick takes on Singapore’s new National AI council, AI missions

[SINGAPORE] A new set of national artificial intelligence (AI) missions will be launched to bolster key areas of Singapore’s economy, said Minister of Finance Lawrence Wong in his Budget speech on Thursday (Feb 12).

They will be focused on four sectors – advanced manufacturing, finance, healthcare and connectivity.

This comes on the back of various multinational corporations, such as tech giants Microsoft and Google, having set up AI Centres of Excellence in the Republic recently.

Singapore companies, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), are set to benefit from the announcement, amid strengthened support for all businesses to adopt AI and “benefit from it in practical ways”, said Wong, who is also prime minister.

Notably, the Enterprise Innovation Scheme will be expanded to include AI expenditures as a qualifying activity, for the years of assessment 2027 and 2028, capped at S$50,000 per year.

At present, the scheme offers businesses with 400 per cent tax deductions on qualifying expenditures in activities like research and development, innovation and capability development.

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Other related efforts announced include:

• Establishment of a new National AI Council, chaired by PM Wong. It will offer “strategic direction and drive Singapore’s AI agenda”.
• Launch of a new Champions of AI programme, supporting firms who wish to use AI to transform their businesses.
• Building a larger AI park at one-north – a new cluster for AI-related ideas and collaborations to become practical solutions for businesses and public services.

Additionally, Singapore will expand the Productivity Solutions Grant to support a broader range of digital and AI-enabled solutions.

Here are some quick takes from analysts and observers on these initiatives:

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Budget 2026: AI can be ‘strategic advantage’ for Singapore if harnessed well

Chua Han Teng, senior economist at DBS Bank

• “Coordinated efforts under the National AI Council and the establishment of an AI park aim to position Singapore strategically as a global AI leader, driving innovation while enabling the effective and targeted deployment of AI.”
• “Harnessing AI effectively across the economy will boost productivity – a crucial driver of competitiveness and growth over the next decade – as Singapore’s mature economy faces increasingly binding land and labour constraints.”

Andrew Kay, Asia-Pacific and Japan director of systems engineering at Illumio

• “This year’s Budget makes it clear that AI will play a defining role in keeping Singapore competitive. More funding to make AI accessible across industries, and to ensure the workforce is ready for it, is a smart move.”
• “(But) if Singapore wants to unlock AI’s full economic benefit, security must evolve alongside innovation, not behind it. That balance will determine how confidently organisations can adopt AI and how effectively the nation can sustain its digital advantage.”

Raen Lim, Asia-Pacific and Japan managing director at Qualtrics

• “Budget 2026 is sending a clear yet familiar message: more AI adoption, more compute power, more upskilling and more support for employees. The harder question is the one that will decide whether any of it sticks.”
• “If Singapore wants to be a ‘trusted AI hub’, the next step is to treat trust like national infrastructure which requires measurable governance. With Singapore’s AI Verify and Project Moonshot underway, the opportunity is to turn Singapore’s trust framework into a regional benchmark.”
• “This way, organisations can demonstrate that systems have met clear standards for transparency, data stewardship, safety testing and accountability. It would be a signal of proof that helps enterprises buy, deploy and scale AI with confidence across the region.”

James Greenwood, area vice-president, solution engineering at Tanium

• “The AI-related reforms can help accelerate secure adoption by widening access to capability-building, trusted infrastructure and practical, business-ready solutions, enabling SMEs to move beyond pilots and deliver measurable productivity gains.”
• “The creation of a National AI Council is an important signal of coordinated, long-term leadership, helping to align priorities and translate national ambition into practical outcomes for small businesses.”
• “To realise this at scale, strong digital fundamentals will remain essential, including clear visibility across devices and assets, disciplined cyber hygiene and resilient IT operations, so smaller businesses can adopt AI with confidence while managing risk and complexity.”

Craig Nielsen, Asia-Pacific and Japan VP at GitLab

• “The challenge has shifted from adoption to accountability. Companies need visibility into what AI agents are already running across their networks and assess whether they’re delivering measurable value.”
• “The competitive advantage will belong to organisations that are intentional about what they assign to autonomous systems versus people. This frees teams to focus on high-value strategic thinking and overall orchestration while agents handle routine work.”
• “Real efficiency gains require changing how teams collaborate and what they prioritise.”

Kelvin Cen, head of South-east Asia at Bloomberg

• “The raft of AI measures in this year’s Budget, including the National AI Council and incentives for businesses making AI investments, are forward-looking initiatives that will promote Singapore’s role as an AI leader and reinforce Singapore’s role as a global financial centre.”
• “AI centres of excellence and capital market hubs will become increasingly entwined and these new measures are strategic investments in that future.”

Manik Bhandari, Asean Data and AI Leader at EY

• “Singapore can move the needle by backing high-growth companies with scale and depth or identifying ‘big bets’. It is imperative to select the right AI champions in this first wave as any misstep could undermine the credibility and success of the entire programme.”
• “Programmes like the new ‘Champions for AI’ should focus on companies with AI-ready data, the right talent and a value-focused use case strategy, supported by a credible roadmap for transformation.”

For more of BT’s Budget 2026 coverage, go to bt.sg/budget26