Singapore-based telco Singtel has inked a strategic partnership with Digital Industry Singapore (DISG) to speed up a company-wide multi-year AI transformation scheme and strengthen its capabilities in AI-enabled operations, digital infrastructure, customer platforms and workforce development.
As part of the first stage of this transformation, Singtel will receive support from DISG to reinforce its AI capabilities – including developing and hiring AI talent, establishing governance and technology frameworks, and building enterprise advisory and implementation expertise to support AI deployment at scale.
Singtel said the partnership was in line with Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0, which aims to bolster sovereign digital capabilities, grow local AI talent pipelines and develop globally competitive AI leaders capable of driving long-term economic growth and industry transformation.
Yuen Kuan Moon, Singtel Group Chief Executive Officer, said: “This grant is a strong vote of confidence in the Group’s role in advancing Singapore’s AI ambitions and strengthens our position as a leading digital infrastructure and technology partner.”
“Ultimately, our goal is to create real impact not just for our business, but for Singapore, future-proofing our industries to be more competitive and resilient in the AI era,” he added.
The telco said that as an adopter, it was integrating AI across customer engagement, network operations and enterprise services to improve responsiveness, efficiency and resilience. “In customer care, AI supports both agents and customers through capabilities such as real-time assistance, intelligent routing and conversational AI,” the firm said.
In enterprise services, platforms such as the telco’s connectivity firm CUBΣ incorporate AI-enabled orchestration to help enterprises manage performance, connectivity and security more dynamically. Singtel said it gradually plans to expand these capabilities through additional tools and services that leverage AI.
At the network level, Singtel is strengthening its core network architecture and moving towards more autonomous networks where AI can predict issues, optimise performance and boost recovery and resilience in complex digital environments.
“These efforts will support the demands of technologies, such as robotics, IoT and autonomous systems, as well as rising expectations for seamless, intelligent and real-time digital experiences,” it said.
As a provider, NCS – the former IT government agency acquired by Singtel in 1997 – develops and deploys enterprise-grade AI platforms and applications across Asia Pacific.
As an enabler, Nxera – Singtel Group’s regional data centre arm and RE:AI – its cloud specialist deliver AI-ready data centers, GPU infrastructure, cloud platforms and digital infrastructure that support secure and scalable AI take-up.
More specifically, the first phase of the partnership will focus on strengthening the telco’s foundational AI capabilities across several areas, including:
- Develop a roadmap and operating plan to become a world-leading AI-native Telco
- Build and deploy advanced agentic AI and AI/ML capabilities in all business units
- Cultivate AI-native talent, by equipping business leaders with the necessary knowledge and upskilling employees
- Establish a trusted AI operating model with clear governance, flexible technology architecture and strong security controls
- Develop reusable AI solutions and deployment playbooks
- Drive organisation-wide adoption and culture change initiatives
