Opening Address by Minister Josephine Teo at ATxSummit 2026

Three years ago, on this stage, I spoke about our vision of "AI for the Public Good, for Singapore and the World".

Later that year, PM Lawrence Wong launched the National AI Strategy (NAIS) 2.0, which outlined 10 key enablers of a vibrant AI ecosystem.

Fast forward to May 2026, AI developments around the world have accelerated.

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   In Singapore, 70 AI Centres of Excellence have been set up;

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   We have built SEA-LION and MERaLiON, open-source models that reflect our regional context;

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   Our "AI for Science" programme is tackling pressing challenges like vaccine development.

Earlier this year, we set up the National AI Council, chaired by PM himself.

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   The Council will focus on National AI Missions, to broaden adoption across our economy, build deep AI capabilities, and make Singapore a leading hub for AI innovation.

To better support the work of the Council, we are updating our strategies and priorities.

This refresh builds on our experiences and insights implementing NAIS 2.0.

It is a "double-click" rather than a system reboot.

We are fleshing out how to push the boundaries in each component of our AI ecosystem.

In industry for example, the productivity impact of small-scale projects is just the beginning.

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   The National AI Impact Programme aims to broaden the base of enterprise users. Specifically, we will help 10,000 SMEs use AI meaningfully.

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   The Champions of AI programme will provide targeted support for those ready to make a bigger enterprise-wide impact.

An even higher level of ambition has been set through our National AI Missions, which aim to transform entire sectors.

Four sectors are being prioritised - Connectivity, Advanced Manufacturing, Healthcare and Finance.

Singapore has global standing in each of these sectors. Collectively, they make up over 40% of our GDP.

They are also areas where government enablers like data access and regulatory sandboxes can catalyse AI breakthroughs.

The National AI Missions will be driven by problem statements worth solving, not just for Singapore but for the world.

They aim to be "beachheads" for deep, game-changing AI adoption in their sectors.

Work has already begun.

In aviation, our air hub at Changi keeps us connected to 170 other cities and is the 4th busiest international airport in the world.

Citizens and visitors alike enjoy the seamless and thoughtfully designed Changi experience.

In the next decade, the T5 Expansion will double passenger handling capacity from 70 million passengers a year to 140 million.

Beyond building world-class infrastructure, we must rethink how our air hub operates.

How will passengers move from one gate to another? How will baggage be delivered across multiple terminals? How will aircraft landings and take-offs be sequenced on our runways?

These are genuinely hard problems that need both hardware and software innovations.

A new terminal alone won't do the job. There are multiple constraints to doubling the flights that we serve.

Among other challenges, we will need a next-generation Air Traffic Management system that prioritises safety and not just volume.

This is just one of the many exciting opportunities in T5 that AI can help with.

Our maritime hub at Tuas Port is another good example. It is the world's largest automated container terminal along one of world's busiest waterways.

There are rich datasets of complex operations useful for developing exciting new solutions.

Tomorrow, my colleague, the Transport Minister, Mr Jeffrey Siow, will share more of his ambitions with you.

Our connectivity challenges clearly demonstrate where Singapore can be a living lab for the world.

Likewise in Advanced Manufacturing, the scope and scale for impact is significant.

Developments in physical and embodied AI have great relevance to our manufacturing companies.

They already operate at the cutting edge of efficiency to thrive against intense competition.

Industrial robot density in SG is about 5X the global average, and consistently one of the highest in the world.

Physical AI can help with simulations for process redesign.

Better digital twins can improve predictive maintenance, reduce material wastage and production downtime.

But it is not so simple. Ideas developed in research labs do not always perform well enough in real factory settings.

To see real impact, we will need collaborators from the hardware, software, and operational domains.

This is why we welcome NVIDIA's new Research Lab in Singapore, focussing on embodied AI and efficient AI.

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   The lab will work hand-in-hand with our universities, industry partners and government agencies.

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   It strengthens NVIDIA's existing foundation in Singapore, deepens our AI talent ecosystem, and unlocks new sources of innovation.

We are also developing Punggol Digital District as a frontier testbed. Years ago, not so young Singaporeans like me will remember that Punggol was a sleepy village.

But in today's Punggol, we will create an integrated data platform, design real-world test scenarios, and provide special testing permits for robot deployment.

Robots can help our workers enhance service delivery to areas that are currently underserved.

A growing network of industry partners is using Punggol's ecosystem for testing and experimentation.

These sandboxes and collaborations help to spread acceptance and adoption.

On its own, Singapore's domestic market may not warrant so much attention.

What makes us compelling is the global network we are connected to and our track record for trusted technology adoption.

Leading companies like NVIDIA choose to deepen their presence here because we add something valuable to their global footprint.

We look forward to more of you joining them.

You will have noticed a pattern across what I shared today. The testbed at Punggol. Our ambitions for Changi T5. Etc.

In all these efforts, Singapore entities will not be passive observers, waiting for solutions to be served on a platter.

We will engage actively, address pain points along with our partners, strengthen our ecosystem to create new value for business and industries.

These partnerships are one of two critical enablers to activate our National AI Missions.

The other is governance - which we take seriously, because what we use in Singapore must be worthy of trust.

Although AI has developed at a breathless pace, governance approaches are far from settled.

But the stakes are getting higher, as AI becomes more deeply embedded in areas affecting people's lives - healthcare, finance, transport, public services.

The risks from autonomous agents, from cybersecurity threats, from the erosion of trust in information - they do not respect national boundaries.

The benefits of AI may also become narrowly distributed. Reduced access and lack of inclusion will disadvantage smaller countries like Singapore.

Internationally-recognised rules and standards will be important. But they will take time to form.

Meanwhile, we have started to spread and shape expectations, monitor how they shape ground realities, and adjusting them as we go.

One example is the Model Governance Framework for Agentic AI, which was developed with industry inputs and launched at the World Economic Forum in January.

It has been just a few months, but we are updating the framework today, with case studies of real-world agentic deployments by companies like PwC and Workday.

We also released a case study on OpenClaw, highlighting best practices for users.

Within the government, we apply the same iterative process to our own use of agents, experimenting through sandboxes with partners like Google, and learning how to make them safe.

In parallel, we interact closely with the global community of AI safety practitioners.

In fact, on Monday, an eminent group including Professors Yoshua Bengio, Stuart Russell, Dawn Song, Zhang Ya-Qin and Max Tegmark have just updated the Singapore consensus on AI Safety Research Priorities.

These efforts recognise that much work and international cooperation is needed before we can be assured of safety-by-design, where AI is deployed responsibly in areas that matter.

Singapore sees them as an essential investment of time and treasure, which we will commit to the long term so that AI can be trusted.

The efforts I outlined are part of AI becoming mainstream in our economy and society.

As a result, the AI hub in Singapore is increasingly vibrant.

Our National AI Missions provide strong reason for leading AI firms to anchor themselves here, to develop, test and scale AI solutions that are trusted and globally relevant.

At the same time, in areas like healthcare and education, we are harnessing AI for the Public Good and to improve athe well-being of our citizens.

We will speak more about them at suitable platforms.

In conclusion, we hope your time at ATx will give you a clearer sense of what it means to build with Singapore.

I invite you to join us to make a greater positive impact.

And I wish you all a very fruitful ATx.