The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced its commitment to provide nearly USD 75 million to advance quantum and AI features in the financial landscape. Under the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Grant Scheme (FSTI 3.0), MAS promised an additional USD 75 million to assist financial institutions in developing features in quantum and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

Also, the authority plans to allow the optimisation of quantum and AI related innovation and adoption in financial services. As quantum technology is an expanding field that is projected to deliver capabilities that could optimise the overall financial industry and broader technology, MAS has been working with the National Quantum Office after the National Quantum Strategy was announced, with the authority intending to develop a Quantum track under FSTI 3.0 to assist financial institutions’ in creating quantum features in Singapore. Quantum technology development As detailed by MAS, the Quantum track is set to include a number of grants, including Technology Centres, Technology Innovation, and Security. As part of the Technology Centres grant, MAS aims to assist the establishment of quantum computing and security advancement functions in the region, while allowing financial institutions and worldwide technology firms to discover new opportunities.

On the other hand, the Technology Innovation grant is set to comprise two sub-tracks that intend to support adoption of quantum technology solutions by financial institutions, while the Security grant focuses on improving cybersecurity readiness for the quantum era. Moreover, MAS plans to collaborate with Institutes of Higher Learning the Institute of Banking and Finance on talent development strategies to assist the advancement of quantum features in the financial services ecosystem. Artificial Intelligence adoption In a bid to optimise the existing AI and data grant scheme under FSTI 3.0, MAS aims to focus on increasing financial institutions’ development and deployment of these technologies in Singapore and provide AI platforms that can address industry wide use cases. The authority mentioned its plans to support financial institutions in creating AI innovation centres in the region for a number of functions, including AI model building and training, deployment of AI models for high-impact use cases, governance and risk management, and testing and monitoring.

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