Singapore Invests S$100million to Boost Quantum and AI in Financial Sector

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has committed an additional S$100million to support the development of quantum and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the financial sector.

This investment is part of the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Grant Scheme (FSTI 3.0) and aims to foster innovation and enhance technological capabilities in finance. Quantum technology is poised to significantly impact the financial industry. To support this, MAS is collaborating with the National Quantum Office and has established a Quantum track under FSTI 3.0. This track will offer several grants:

• Technology Centres Grant: This grant supports the establishment of quantum computing and security innovation functions in Singapore, offering up to 50 per cent funding for manpower and other expenses.
• Technology Innovation Grant: Comprising two sub-tracks, this grant provides up to 50 per cent co-funding for projects that bring significant business impact and address industry-wide problems with quantum solutions.
• Security Grant: Aimed at enhancing cybersecurity readiness, this grant offers up to 30 per cent funding for developing pilots that explore Post-quantum Cryptography (PQC) and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD).

Additionally, MAS will work with Institutes of Higher Learning and the Institute of Banking and Finance to develop talent and support the growth of quantum capabilities in the financial services sector.

Advancing AI

While financial institutions have been progressively adopting AI, recent technological advancements have made such tools more widely accessible and increased the pace of adoption. With the advent of generative AI, financial institutions have embarked on initiatives to map the technology’s opportunities and risks, and have begun piloting it across a range of use cases. Nevertheless, the level of AI-readiness and adoption varies across financial institutions in Singapore. To address this, MAS is also enhancing the AI and data grant scheme under FSTI 3.0 to:

• Bolster AI development and deployment: Support financial institutions in establishing AI innovation centres in Singapore. These centres will focus on AI model building, training, deployment, governance, risk management, and monitoring.
• Develop AI platforms for industry-wide use cases: Encourage collaboration on industry-wide issues, such as scam and fraud detection, by developing secure frameworks and platforms for data exchange.