Global Business Innovation Programme in Singapore - Artificial Intelligence: Smart and Land Mobility

The Global Business Innovation Programme is structured around three main stages and each business will have a designated Innovate UK Business Growth innovation & growth specialist to support them for at least the duration of the offering, including developing a work plan to capitalise on the opportunities identified. The three main stages of the Global Business Innovation Programme are

• Get ready: A two-day workshop to build knowledge and understanding of the market and potential opportunities, including how to do business, cultural aspects, how to protect your IP, and training on how to better articulate your value proposition.
• Visit the market: Explore the opportunities first-hand through meetings with key companies, research organisations, and potential collaborators and partners, through pre-arranged meetings and organised matchmaking.
• Exploit the opportunity: An exploitation workshop and one-to-one support from an Innovate UK Business Growth innovation & growth specialist to help you follow up and maximise the opportunities identified through the programme.

To apply for this initiative, you must:

• Be a business focused on developing AI innovative solutions for Smart and Land Mobility.
• Be a UK-based innovation-led company with ambitions to grow and internationalise.
• Be a company with fewer than 250 employees.
• Be the CEO, founder or a senior decision maker in the business who is able to attend and complete all activities.

Singapore is a global leader in digital innovation, consistently ranked among the world’s most advanced cities. With a robust economy, high GDP per capita and exceptional infrastructure, Singapore is an ideal gateway to Asia. Its attractive tax system, familiar legal framework and English-speaking business environment further enhances its appeal as a hub for international business.

The UK and Singapore have a strong co-innovation partnership and an appetite to work together to address common challenges faced across the AI and transportation.

Most recently, a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Innovate UK and Enterprise Singapore to deepen the UK-Singapore co-innovation relationship. This builds on an already extensive bilateral partnership, which since 2021 has seen 42 collaborative R&D projects being jointly funded and over 150 UK SMEs being supported through Innovate UK’s global programmes.

In addition, Singapore and the UK are members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) free trade deal.

Innovate UK will fund and organise flights, accommodation and any conference fees for successful applicants. Innovate UK will also pay for any reasonable adjustments throughout the initiative. Only one representative from each company will be funded.

On acceptance of the offer, a commitment fee of £1,000 will be obtained from each delegate. It will be refunded on completion of the full activities and agreed work plan. Non-completion after formal acceptance may result in forfeiting some or all the commitment fees.

AI is already having a positive impact on productivity. PwC estimates that transport is likely to see the largest productivity gains from AI due to the high capacity of operations in the sector to automation.

Since as early as 2014, Singapore has identified and prioritised investments in smart mobility with a number of strategic programmes overlapping in AI and transport. A strong digital infrastructure with IoT sensors and 5G supporting real-time connectivity, and a pro-innovation regulation from Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) create a great environment to support innovation.

We are looking for up to 15 businesses that focus on developing AI and Machine Learning (ML) solutions for Smart and Land Mobility in the following areas:

• Intelligent traffic management, scheduling and route optimisation
• Predictive maintenance
• Multimodal transportation and smart logistics
• AI-driven solutions that increase business productivity in transport
• Please note: While business models that utilise autonomous vehicles are in-scope, applications focusing on autonomy technologies or robotics are out of scope.

Applications are open to all UK SMEs focusing on the above sub-sectors.

• Saturday 1st March 2025: Depart the UK
• Monday 3rd – Friday 7th March 2025: Opportunities for B2B meetings, site visits and networking
• Saturday 8th March 2025: Arrive in the UK

To learn more about the programme, register for the applicant briefing event on the 15th November 2024.

Application form can be found here.

• Closing date for applications: 10th December 2024 at 17:00
• Get ready workshop: 18th and 19th February 2025
• Visit the market: 1st – 8th March 2025
• Exploit the opportunity workshop: 19th June 2025

If you have any questions or difficulty completing your submission, we are happy to help, email us at event.enquiries1@innovateukedge.ukri.org.