Google Cloud and Digital Industry Singapore (DISG) have jointly launched “AI Cloud Takeoff” (AI CTO), a national programme aimed at helping 300 digitally mature companies in Singapore build internal AI Centres of Excellence (CoEs) over the next 12 months. The initiative supports the development of proprietary AI-driven products and services to enhance global competitiveness and revenue growth.
The programme builds on a successful pilot run in November 2024, where 30 companies used AI solutions to improve operations and develop higher-value offerings. It is also the first initiative rolled out under the Singapore government’s broader “Enterprise Compute Initiative”, announced during Budget 2025.
Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Ms Low Yen Ling, delivered the opening remarks at the launch event on 13 June.
Driving strategic transformation with AI CoEs
Through a structured framework designed by Google Cloud, AI CTO will guide companies in setting up in-house AI CoEs to centralise AI talent, resources, and governance. These units will lead efforts to align AI innovation with business goals and ensure responsible, scalable implementation.
Philbert Gomez, Senior Vice President and Executive Director at DISG, noted the importance of the programme: “The Enterprise Compute Initiative is a pioneering national programme designed to bring together cloud service providers and IT consulting partners to accelerate AI-driven transformation for businesses. Our successful pilot with Google Cloud laid a strong foundation, enabling Singapore-based companies like Embed, Seaco, and YCH Group to harness tailored AI solutions that enhance operational efficiency and strengthen global competitiveness.”
Serene Sia, Country Director for Singapore and Malaysia at Google Cloud, added: “With DISG, we’ve designed AI CTO to help these firms implement a practical roadmap for holistic transformation, empowering them to scale enterprise AI innovation with confidence and readiness.”
Programme structure and incentives
Participants will be required to develop and pilot at least one AI-driven minimum viable product (MVP) within a six-month window. To support this, each company will gain access to a two-week AI bootcamp run by Google Cloud experts, followed by technical consulting and implementation services. These services span use case identification, AI development workflows, and solution integration with existing systems.
Participants will also receive Google Cloud credits to use serverless tools like BigQuery and Vertex AI, as well as access to upskilling through Google Cloud Skills Boost for Organisations. DISG and Google Cloud will jointly provide financial incentives of up to SG$500,000 per company, distributed across project milestones. Implementation will be supported by certified partners including Accenture, AsiaPac, CloudMile, Deloitte, Kyndryl, NTT Data, and Searce.
Applications for the programme are now open, with early participants such as Embed, Seaco, and YCH Group showcasing solutions developed during the pilot phase.
Industry pilots showcase AI potential
Embed, a provider of business management systems for family entertainment centres (FECs), worked with Searce to create “Sidequest AI”. The system analyses gameplay and transaction data using BigQuery and the Gemini API on Vertex AI to recommend custom in-venue experiences. Andy Welsh, CTO at Embed, said: “We now have the in-house knowledge and capabilities to rapidly elevate the rest of our product offerings using Google Cloud AI, an achievement previously unthinkable.”
Seaco, a global container leasing company, partnered with CloudMile to deploy a multimodal AI agent that automates container damage classification. Using images and voice notes uploaded by depot staff, the AI converts inputs into actionable reports integrated with Seaco’s SAP system. CIO Damian Leach credited AI CTO for helping structure their innovation approach, identifying the automation of 220,000 annual container inspections as a valuable use case.
At Vietnam SuperPort, logistics provider YCH Group is working with Kyndryl to embed AI in its cargo terminal operations. AI agents built with Google Cloud’s Document AI Workbench and AutoML models extract data from shipping documents and screen cargo images for prohibited items. Dr Yap Kwong Weng, CEO of Vietnam SuperPort, said these solutions could increase staff productivity by up to 35% and reduce errors by 50%.
Andrew Lim, Managing Director at Kyndryl ASEAN and Korea, noted that the solutions were developed using actual documentation and test images aligned to regulatory requirements, allowing deployment at Vietnam SuperPort with future expansion to other supply chain cities.
