Keppel’s real AI story isn’t the humanoid robot

Keppel’s agentic AI that picks data centre sites and spots breakdowns is already paying its way

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Jude Chan
Published Mon, Nov 9, 2026 · 03:00 PM
    • Keppel’s humanoid robot Ken shares the stage with chief digital officer and CEO for connectivity Manjot Singh Mann (centre) and CEO for real estate Louis Lim.
    • Keppel’s humanoid robot Ken shares the stage with chief digital officer and CEO for connectivity Manjot Singh Mann (centre) and CEO for real estate Louis Lim. PHOTO: TAY CHU YI, BT

    [SINGAPORE] When Keppel trots its embodied artificial intelligence robots into the room, it feels like stepping into a futuristic movie set.

    Ken the humanoid greets visitors by name, while a robot dog called Sentry sweeps the room and flags something odd, right on cue. The cameras love it.

    Ken is being trained to flip high-voltage switches at the Senoko waste-to-energy plant. Sniff, another robot dog, is meant to crawl into incinerators and test the air for toxic gas.