How to get 50% government funding for AI infrastructure in Singapore

Building production AI infrastructure in Singapore?

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You're probably eligible for 50% government funding. Most companies don't realize EDG covers operational infrastructure projects, not just R&D.

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Here's what actually qualifies and how it works.

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EDG is not just for innovation

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Many finance teams still frame EDG as a grant for experimentation, but in practice, it supports capability building.

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That includes projects such as:

• Designing and implementing production MLOps pipelines
• Modernizing fragmented data platforms into scalable architectures
• Introducing data observability and lineage
• Restructuring cloud architecture to align cost with usage
• Building structured governance around AI and data systems

The key requirement is that the work strengthens the company’s long-term capabilities. Infrastructure modernization qualifies because it fundamentally upgrades how your organization builds and operates.

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Is your project a good fit?

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EDG works best when the engagement is meaningful in scope, and the timeline spans several weeks.

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It is not designed for a two-week emergency fix.

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It also does not qualify for small ad-hoc consulting work, staff augmentation (temporary contractors), software licenses alone, or undefined operational support.

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EDG supports structured projects with defined outcomes.

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How this works in practice

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Example: An e-commerce company building recommendation capabilities internally. Models work in staging, but deployments are manual (takes 1 week), no monitoring, and the infrastructure scales inefficiently.

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The team knows the next step is to build robust CI/CD for models, production-grade monitoring, and auto-scaling of inference endpoints.

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Project scope (12 weeks):

• Production MLOps pipeline (CI/CD for models)
• Automated deployment with rollback
• Model performance monitoring
• Cost tracking and alerts
• Team training (5 days hands-on)

Project costs:

• Total: SGD 90,000
• EDG funding: SGD 45,000 (50%)
• You pay: SGD 45,000

Outcome:

• Faster model deployment (1 week → 1 day)
• Cost visibility (discovered SGD 8,000/month waste)
• Team training
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Typical ROI: Infrastructure projects funded by EDG usually pay back in 3-12 months through faster delivery, cost savings, or both.

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The timeline: Faster than you think

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A common hesitation is timing, but don’t assume grant applications take months and stall progress.

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In reality, once the technical scope is clearly defined, the timeline is often 6-8 weeks from preparation to approval.

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The most important thing to prevent delay is to define a clear scope:

• When modernization goals are vague (for example, improve our data stack, optimize costs, fix MLOps), you can expect applications to slow down.
• When objectives are concrete (defined deliverables, measurable impact, structured implementation), the process moves predictably.

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Who is eligible?

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Most established Singapore tech companies already meet the core criteria:

• Singapore-registered entity
• At least 30% local shareholding
• Minimum local employment
• Financially solvent

If you’re operating a real production system and planning a meaningful infrastructure upgrade, eligibility is rarely the blocker.

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The real barrier is often internal

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Many leadership teams know their AI or data foundations need work. But if the upgrade feels expensive, EDG shifts the equation.

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Having an internal tech team is another hesitation for companies. But EDG is not about replacing your engineers. It’s about upgrading the capability faster than internal bandwidth allows.

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Specialized infrastructure work

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Production MLOps, data observability, lineage tracking, and cost attribution are deep, specialized domains.

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Consultants bring the expertise while internal teams bring domain knowledge. The combination is stronger than either alone. Just ensure the consultants share their knowledge and their know-how with your engineers.

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Speed without permanent headcount

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Hiring senior platform engineers or AI infrastructure specialists permanently is expensive and slow. Especially in Singapore.

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EDG allows companies to co-invest in structured modernization projects without long-term hiring commitments.

1. You upgrade the system.
2. Your team absorbs the knowledge.
3. The organization retains control.

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Architecture reset moments

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Internal teams are excellent at building and iterating.

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But when a platform has grown organically for years, modernization requires stepping back and redesigning core assumptions. That kind of reset benefits from an external perspective.

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An outside view shortens the redesign cycle and reduces blind spots.

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How projects move forward

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Week 1-2: Define scope together to clarify what you actually need: production MLOps, data observability, architecture redesign, or cost optimization.

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Week 3-4: EDG consultant prepares application.

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Week 5-10: Enterprise Singapore reviews (typically 4-6 weeks).

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Week 11: Approval, the project starts.

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Week 11-25: Project execution (12-16 weeks typical)

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Upon completion: Submit claims, receive reimbursement

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The total time to start is 6-11 weeks from initial consultation to project kickoff, not the 6 months people assume.

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Closing thought

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Most AI infrastructure projects are delayed by cost, bandwidth, and expertise constraints. EDG grants can change your capital efficiency.

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If you're planning to:

• Move AI models from prototype to production
• Modernize fragmented data infrastructure
• Introduce observability to production systems
• Optimize spiraling cloud costs
• Build MLOps capabilities

There's a high probability your project qualifies for EDG.

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First step: Schedule a free 30-minute consultation. We'll review your infrastructure needs and outline a realistic scope and timeline. If EDG isn't appropriate for your situation, we'll tell you directly.

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