By the WahLiao desk · Last verified 1 October 2026
Singapore’s plan for Super Intelligence, or AI, is the National AI Strategy 2.0 (NAIS 2.0), launched in December 2023 by Lawrence Wong, then Deputy Prime Minister. It works through three systems and ten enablers, sets out 15 actions, and aims to more than triple the number of AI practitioners in Singapore to 15,000. In 2026 the plan was sharpened: Budget 2026 created a National AI Council chaired by the Prime Minister, and in May the Minister for Digital Development and Information, Josephine Teo, announced an update with ten refreshed priorities. Rather than one sweeping AI law, Singapore governs AI mainly through voluntary frameworks and testing tools, backed by targeted laws on specific harms.
This guide explains the strategy and the rules. For what Budget 2026 changed for workers and employers, read Super Intelligence and your job.
Singapore’s AI plan: quick facts
| The strategy | NAIS 2.0, December 2023: three systems, ten enablers, 15 actions |
| Talent goal | More than triple AI practitioners, to 15,000 |
| Leadership | The National AI Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, set up in 2026 |
| 2026 update | Ten refreshed priorities, announced at ATxSummit on 20 May 2026 |
| National AI Missions | Advanced manufacturing, connectivity, finance and healthcare |
| Adoption drive | National AI Impact Programme: 10,000 enterprises and 100,000 “AI Bilingual” workers over three years |
| Governance | Model AI Governance Frameworks and the AI Verify testing toolkit, plus targeted laws |
The WahLiao Verdict
| The approach | Adopt quickly; govern with guidance and targeted laws. |
| For you | More courses, more help for employers, more AI in public services. |
| For firms | Grants to adopt, and frameworks to follow. |
| The open question | Whether the training reaches everyone, not only early adopters. |
| Watch | The National AI Missions, and any labelling rules for AI apps. |
What NAIS 2.0 set out
Singapore published its first National AI Strategy in 2019, among the earliest countries to do so. The second, launched in December 2023 under the banner of AI for the public good, for Singapore and the world, moved from individual projects to building whole systems. It organises the work into three systems: the activity drivers of industry, government and research; the people and communities who build and use AI; and the infrastructure and environment underneath, including compute, data and a trusted environment. Across these sit ten enablers and 15 concrete actions, meant to be delivered over three to five years.
The headline talent target was to more than triple the number of AI practitioners, the people who build and deploy AI, to 15,000. The strategy also set out to make Singaporeans confident users, not just onlookers.
The 2026 update
In February 2026, Budget 2026 created the National AI Council, chaired by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, and four National AI Missions in advanced manufacturing, connectivity, finance and healthcare. In March, the Committee of Supply debates launched the National AI Impact Programme. On 20 May 2026, at the ATxSummit, Minister Josephine Teo set out an update to the strategy with ten refreshed priorities, building on NAIS 2.0 rather than replacing it.
The National AI Impact Programme is the part most people will feel. It aims to help 10,000 enterprises integrate AI into their businesses over three years, and to support 100,000 workers to become what the Government calls “AI Bilingual”: people who combine expertise in their own field with practical skill in AI, starting with accountants and lawyers. There is good reason for the push: according to the Government, 14.5% of small and medium-sized enterprises had adopted AI in 2024, up from 4.2% a year earlier, while the rate among larger firms rose from 44% to 62.5%. A separate Champions of AI programme gives deeper support to larger firms ready to transform their whole business. Singapore has also committed more than S$1 billion to public AI research and talent from 2025 to 2030.
How Singapore governs AI
Singapore has no single AI Act. Its approach combines voluntary guidance, testing tools and targeted laws:
| Instrument | What it is |
|---|---|
| Model AI Governance Framework | Voluntary principles for explainable, fair, human-centric AI, first published in 2019, the first in Asia, and updated in 2020 |
| Framework for Generative AI | Published by IMDA and the AI Verify Foundation in 2024 to address newer risks such as hallucination and copyright |
| Framework for Agentic AI | Added in 2026 for AI agents that can plan and take actions |
| AI Verify | A testing framework and software toolkit launched in 2022 by IMDA and the PDPC, which organisations can use to check their AI systems against governance principles |
| PDPC advisory guidelines | How the PDPA applies to personal data in AI systems (2024) |
| Targeted laws | Election deepfakes, AI-generated intimate images, and the Online Safety Commission |
The frameworks are voluntary, but they shape what regulators expect and what large buyers ask of suppliers. The laws deal with specific harms; deepfakes and the law explains them. At the 2026 Committee of Supply debates, the Government also said it would study labels for AI apps, like the labels on food or medicine, setting out what an app can do, its intended uses and its limits.
What it means for you
For most people, the national plan arrives as practical help: courses and a free premium subscription (see SkillsFuture’s free AI subscription), support for employers (see Super Intelligence for small businesses), and rules that protect your data and your image (see your data and Super Intelligence). The bigger bet, through the National AI Missions, is that whole industries here, from factories to hospitals, will change the way they work.
Singapore’s AI strategy: FAQ
What is Singapore’s National AI Strategy?
NAIS 2.0, launched in December 2023, is Singapore’s plan to use AI for the public good. It works through three systems, ten enablers and 15 actions, and was updated with ten refreshed priorities in May 2026.
What is the National AI Council?
A council set up in 2026 and chaired by the Prime Minister to give strategic direction to Singapore’s AI agenda, including the four National AI Missions.
Does Singapore have an AI law?
Not a single one. It relies on voluntary frameworks and testing tools, plus targeted laws on harms such as election deepfakes and AI-generated intimate images.
What is AI Verify?
A testing framework and toolkit launched in 2022 by IMDA and the PDPC, which organisations can use to check their AI systems against internationally recognised governance principles.
What is the National AI Impact Programme?
A programme launched in 2026 to help 10,000 enterprises adopt AI and support 100,000 workers to become “AI Bilingual” over three years.
Read next
This page belongs to Super Intelligence. Next, read Super Intelligence for small businesses.
Sources checked 1 October 2026: National AI Strategy 2.0 (2023); MDDI, launch speech for NAIS 2.0; MDDI, Minister Josephine Teo’s ATxSummit 2026 address; MDDI, National AI Impact Programme factsheet; The Edge Singapore, the refreshed priorities and research funding; Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, on AI Verify; Conventus Law, Committee of Supply 2026 initiatives. General information. Last updated 1 October 2026.
