AWS opens Singapore Innovation Hub & launches AI Springboard
AWS has announced the opening of its first Innovation Hub in the Asia Pacific region, located in Singapore, alongside the launch of the AI Springboard initiative in partnership with Digital Industry Singapore (DISG).
The new AWS Innovation Hub is an 8,000-square-foot facility sited in downtown Singapore, designed to help accelerate digital and artificial intelligence (AI) transformation for public and private sector organisations across the region. The facility enables leaders to interact with a range of technologies developed by AWS, Amazon, and over 30 technology partners, spanning more than 50 real-world customer use cases for cloud applications.
AWS plans to engage over 1,000 C-Suite executives annually at the centre and offer 200 tertiary-level students in Singapore exclusive learning experiences at the Hub. The company's stated aim is to provide a practical roadmap for digital transformation, using its proprietary Vision Builder tool powered by Amazon Nova.
Facility features
The Innovation Hub, an additional investment following AWS's commitment to invest USD $9 billion in Singapore cloud infrastructure by 2028, is intended to fast-track innovation across business sectors in Asia Pacific.
The Hub comprises three zones that guide executives: Aspiration, Acceleration, and Action. The Aspiration Zone allows business leaders to experience technologies such as generative AI, quantum computing, and virtual reality in a business context. The Acceleration Zone showcases the application of AWS and Amazon's technology and culture of innovation, offering examples of technology like AWS Graviton, Inferentia, Trainium chips, and AWS Outposts. The experience finishes in the Action Zone, where Vision Builder helps develop a transformation roadmap.
"Technological innovation is critical to the growth of Asia, and we need innovation to transform customer experiences while also delivering real business value," said Jaime Vallés, Vice President, AWS Asia Pacific & Japan. "The AWS Innovation Hub empowers our customers to convert big ideas into real business outcomes by combining our comprehensive cloud and AI technology, proven expertise from our network of over 140,000 partners worldwide, and Amazon's unique culture of innovation. Here at the Hub, our customers can build practical roadmaps to solve the region's most pressing challenges and opportunities in collaboration with AWS. From smart farming and personalised retail to emergency response and digitalised citizen services – the opportunities are endless, and we are excited to help accelerate the pace of digital innovation for the region."
The Hub's showcased projects include an AI-powered farm-to-table system from Netatech, the E-bike Smart Factory demonstration, ST Engineering's AGIL Trust solution for combating misinformation, the GS DAP blockchain financial services platform from Goldman Sachs, Amazon's Project Kuiper model rocket to support broadband access through low Earth orbit satellites, Amazon Rufus for retail AI shopping assistance, and a demonstration of Amazon Robotics' Hercules drive.
Industry collaboration
AWS has established similar offerings globally, such as the AWS Builders Studio in Melbourne and the AWS Generative AI Innovation Centre, and continues to provide collaborative development spaces like the AWS Gen AI Lofts.
Deloitte is among the AWS partners showcasing solutions at the Hub. Lee Chew Chiat, Technology & Transformation Leader at Deloitte Singapore, commented, "We are excited for leaders across APAC to experience the AWS Innovation Hub and Deloitte's suite of generative AI solutions tailored to the needs of legal and regulatory agencies, to empower them with greater productivity."
AWS and Deloitte have been working together for over seven years to help organisations turn ideas into solutions that drive real-world impact across various industries – from healthcare and life sciences to financial services, manufacturing, and the public sector. We look forward to continuing to support leaders in achieving their strategic visions based on a clear understanding of what the latest innovations can offer and how they can deliver meaningful impact and create lasting value."
The AWS Innovation Hub is underpinned by Amazon's stated leadership principles, including 'Learn and Be Curious', 'Invent and Simplify', and 'Think Big'.
AI Springboard initiative
Alongside the new Hub, AWS and Digital Industry Singapore (DISG) announced the AI Springboard programme. The initiative will support 300 Singapore-based enterprises in integrating and scaling AI adoption over the coming year.
Participating companies are eligible for support up to SGD $600,000, including SGD $350,000 in AWS cloud credits and training, as well as additional credits from AWS support programmes. Enterprises can also access government-co-funded consultancy services, valued at up to SGD $105,000, which are intended to complement the AWS support package.
According to AWS, these moves are expected to help address top business challenges in the region and facilitate the broad adoption of advanced technologies in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
