ATxSG: NVIDIA, Google invests in Singapore’s race to harness frontier AI

NVIDIA launched an AI research lab in Singapore, and Google has expanded its partnership with the government in support of the city-state’s ambition to become an AI hub.

At this year’s ATxSummit, the Singapore government announced the expansion of key partnerships with NVIDIA and Google as part of its national AI strategy to deploy AI at scale, drive enterprise innovation, and bolster its workforce.

NVIDIA is launching an AI research lab in Singapore focused on advancing embodied and efficient AI in collaboration with university researchers, industry partners, and government agencies.

The lab is NVIDIA’s Singapore hub and second research presence in the Asia Pacific region.

The lab will explore potential applications in manufacturing, such as the use of AI to enable intelligent systems to perceive, reason, and act in the physical world. It will also find ways to optimize models and infrastructure to reduce compute costs, improve energy efficiency, and support scalable AI deployment.

“Ideas developed in research labs do not always perform well enough in real factory settings,” said Josephine Teo, Singapore’s minister for Digital Development and Information, during the opening keynote of ATxSummit 2026.

“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, focusing on embodied AI and efficient AI.

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

Google to drive R&D and enterprise innovation

Additionally, the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) expanded its collaboration with Google to accelerate the adoption of frontier AI in Singapore. The new AI partnership follows a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in 2022 with the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group.

Through this collaboration, Google will aim to drive innovations for growth across enterprises and the local start-up ecosystem. Following the launch of its Singapore Engineering Center, Google Cloud’s expanded team of forward deployed engineers will help Singapore-based companies accelerate and scale agentic enterprise transformation. The new partnership also builds on Google Cloud’s ongoing work with several public agencies.

Furthermore, Google will promote the use of Google DeepMind across public agencies and research institutions in Singapore to deploy frontier AI models, starting with the health and life sciences sector.

For instance, Google DeepMind will explore ways to work with public health clusters to use AI and deliver higher quality care as part of its global AI co-clinician research initiative. Google DeepMind is also partnering with the National Research Foundation (NRF) to train local researchers on agentic AI tools for science.

Google is also expanding its collaboration with the Ministry of Education to strengthen the sector’s AI capabilities across teaching and learning, including educator training and upskilling programs.

Google has also launched a joint whitepaper to discuss findings from its AI Agents Sandbox and share the best practices for AI governance. The whitepaper shares recommendations on how agents can perform tasks like software testing in a safe and efficient manner.

This was written in collaboration with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech Singapore), and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).

As Singapore advances its national AI strategy, the focus now shifts to deploying frontier AI to “accelerate real-world impact for the country,” said Ben King, country managing director at Google Singapore.

“Through this expanded partnership with the Singapore government, we are putting AI into action by combining the best of our technology, R&D expertise, and local talent to accelerate AI for the public good. This also creates a scalable blueprint for responsible AI innovation.”