Singapore ranks second in AI readiness globally: Salesforce study
While the country gets top score for regulatory preparedness and adoption, it is below average for innovation capacity
[SINGAPORE] Singapore has been ranked second in artificial intelligence (AI) readiness across the world, a Salesforce study released on Thursday (Jul 31) showed.
The Global AI Readiness Index evaluates this trait based on five dimensions surrounding the technology: governance, diffusion, innovation, investment and talent.
These indicators offer “a comprehensive framework for understanding how prepared countries are to harness agentic AI and leverage digital labour to unlock greater opportunities for growth, impact, and efficiency”, Salesforce said.
The company conducted the study across 16 markets in which it operates. The United States ranked first, with an index score of 39.7 out of a possible 50. Singapore was in second place with 26.5, ahead of the United Kingdom with a score of 25.8.
The global average was 22.1.
Singapore’s ranking affirms its position as a global AI leader, and proves the efficacy of its National AI Strategy 2.0, rolled out in 2023, Salesforce said.
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Regionally, the city-state retained its top spot in the Asia Pacific AI Readiness Index, which was expanded to form the global index.
During its Budget in February, Singapore announced that S$150 million would be set aside for the Enterprise Compute Initiative. This would enable eligible businesses to partner major cloud service providers and access AI tools and computing power.
In 2024, the Republic also said it would invest S$1 billion in AI development across five years.
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A recent Morgan Stanley survey showed that Singapore could sustain a gross domestic product growth rate of 3 per cent, on the back of productivity gains from AI tools.
The bank noted that the country is home to more than 80 active AI research faculties,150 AI research and development and product teams, and over 1,000 AI startups.
A leader with room to grow
By dimension, Singapore ranked first in regulatory readiness as well as AI adoption, second in investment environments, and third in talent development in the Salesforce study.
The report noted “opportunity for further investment to improve its innovation capacity”, adding that the Republic scored below the global average when it came to capacity for AI innovation.
It also said that Singapore could expand its innovation beyond concentrated landscapes to also include agentic or goal-directed AI.
Agentic AI refers to systems that can operate autonomously to meet defined goals with minimal human intervention.
A global survey of 200 human resources executives, published by Salesforce in May this year, found that full implementation of agentic AI could boost average employee productivity by 30 per cent.
Salesforce itself offers Agentforce, its flagship AI product. The company said the platform could help to address Singapore’s labour force issues, amid an ageing population and a low birth rate.
“This can significantly boost labour market productivity,” the company added.
Also in May, Salesforce announced plans to partner Singapore Airlines in developing AI solutions for carriers, as part of a broader US$1 billion investment in the Republic to boost AI research, talent development and infrastructure building.
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