The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has just announced that it will commit an additional S$100 million under the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Grant Scheme (FSTI 3.0) to support financial institutions in building capabilities in quantum and Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
This commitment by MAS follows Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat’s announcement in June 2024 that the government would add S$300 million over five years to the National Research Foundation’s research and development budget to support quantum technology research and development.
MAS sees Quantum technology as a rapidly advancing field that holds significant potential to transform the financial industry and the broader economy, and this grant scheme will help the National Quantum Office establish a Quantum track to support financial institutions building quantum capabilities in Singapore via:
- Technology Centre grant: Up to 50 per cent funding support for manpower and hard/software infrastructure, subscriptions and licenses, for 24 months.
- Technology Innovation grant: Up to 50 per cent co-funding support will be provided to advance the exploration of industry use cases for quantum solutions and solving relevant industry-wide problem statements.
- Security grant: Up to 30 per cent funding to enable experimentation using Post-quantum Cryptography (PQC) and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) to safeguard critical data.
MAS will also enhance the existing AI and data grant scheme under FSTI 3.0:
- Bolster financial institutions’ development and deployment of AI technologies in Singapore – to support financial institutions in establishing AI innovation centres in Singapore for a range of functions including AI model building and training, deployment of AI models for high-impact use cases, test and monitoring, as well as governance and risk management.
- Develop AI platforms to address industry-wide use cases –Support the development of industry-wide AI solutions and high-impact use cases.
Singapore’s National Quantum Strategy is focused on developing scientific and engineering capabilities in quantum technology through innovation and enterprise partnerships while developing our local talent.
Singapore started research and development into quantum technology in 2002, and this MAS announcement takes the total amount Singapore has invested in building a sovereign quantum technology industry to S$800 million, which is minor when compared to the US$55 billion that countries and corporations worldwide have so far invested in quantum technology.
What is Quantum technology?
It is not hyperbole to state that Quantum technology is the next big thing that will change our world. The following YouTube video by physicist Dr. Michio Kaku explains the technology:
Quantum technology is now on the cusp of commercialisation, with applications in navigation, communication and data security.
Feature Image: Monetary Authority of Singapore