Salesorce: Singapore Ranks Second Globally in AI Readiness

Salesforce has released its Global AI Readiness Index. The index shows Singapore ranks second globally in overall Artificial Intelligence (AI) readiness, exemplifying how aligned strategy, public-private collaboration, and digital investment create fertile ground for agentic AI. The ranking affirms Singapore’s position as a global AI leader and underscores the success of its national AI strategy in driving AI transformation, paving the way for enterprises to unlock the potential of digital labour with Agentforce.

Singapore also retains its position as the most AI-ready nation in Asia-Pacific, having previously earned the top spot in the 2023 and 2021 editions of Salesforce’s Asia Pacific AI Readiness Index.

The Global AI Readiness Index evaluates AI readiness across 16 key global markets where Salesforce operates. It uses 31 selected indicators that span five critical dimensions of AI development. These indicators are governance, diffusion, innovation, investment, and talent. The index offers 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 Finds Singapore Leading in AI Governance and Adoption

Singapore excels across multiple key dimensions on the Global AI Readiness Index. It ranks first in regulatory readiness and AI adoption, second in investment environments, and third in talent development. This strong performance is underpinned by a robust regulatory foundation, advanced digital infrastructure, high degree of institutional coordination, and a strong AI skills pipeline backed by its national upskilling strategy.

While Singapore has largely fostered enabling environments for AI, there is an opportunity for further investment to improve its innovation capacity. There remains room for Singapore to broaden innovation beyond concentrated innovation landscapes,  including emerging subfields such as agentic or goal-directed AI.

Singapore Primed to Leverage Agentic AI as the Next Growth Engine

Agentic AI promises to be a game-changer for productivity, potentially boosting efficiency by up to 30%. Agentforce, Salesforce’s digital labour platform, allows Singapore organisations to build and deploy AI agents that can autonomously make decisions, take action, and drive meaningful outcomes 24/7.

Singapore faces a tight labour market due to slowing labour market growth rates, an aging population, and declining birth rates. With Agentforce, Singapore enterprises have the opportunity to tap into the USD $6 trillion global digital labour market and unlock potentially limitless digital workforces. This can significantly boost labour market productivity, facilitating the nation’s long-term growth and competitiveness, as it looks towards its next phase of development.

“The Salesforce Index highlights Singapore’s success as a global leader in AI readiness, stemming from early investments in infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, and human capital. Salesforce is proud to be an integral part of this thriving ecosystem, supporting secure, real-time innovation. Our recent USD $1 billion investment in Singapore is strategically directed towards furthering AI research, talent development, and building trusted infrastructure to facilitate continued AI excellence. In the next phase of Singapore’s AI journey, we must continue to double down on AI, focusing on scalable, inclusive deployment models to turn the agentic AI opportunity into reality,” said Brian Kealey, Country Leader at Salesforce Singapore.

Key Singapore Findings on AI Readiness

Dimension 1: Regulatory Frameworks (Are strategies and policies ready for AI’s complexities?)

• Singapore ranks first globally with a score of 9.8, above the global average of 8.6.
• The country has a robust AI regulatory foundation that translates principles into action through regulatory sandboxes, assurance frameworks, and public sector procurement standards, such as the Model AI Governance Frameworkand National AI Strategy 2.0.

Dimension 2: AI Diffusion andAdoption (How widely is AI being used?)

• Singapore leads globally with a score of 8.0, well above the global average of 5.8.
• Singapore’s Smart Nationvision and AI procurement guidelines have been critical to driving integration across transport, urban planning, and citizen services.

Dimension 3: Innovation Ecosystems (Is there robust capacity for AI innovation?)

• Singapore  scores 0.7 for its capacity for AI innovation, below the global average of 1.7.
• Despite having a largely enabling environment for AI, Singapore has a relatively concentrated innovation landscape, with less focus on emerging subfields such as agentic or goal-directed AI.

Dimension 4: Investment Environments (Is capital flowing where itis needed?)

• Singapore ranks second globally in AI investments with a score of 2.3, above the global average of 1.4.
• Though scoring lower than the United States (8.8), Singapore is working to close the gap with increased sovereign funds, strategic grant schemes, and national AI missions, including its National AI Strategy 2.0.

Dimension 5: Human Capital and Skills (Does the workforce have the necessary AI skills?)

• Singapore ranks third in human capital development globally, combining a strong AI skills pipeline with a policy-backed national upskilling strategy.
• With a score of 5.8, Singapore ranked ahead of the global average (4.5), but ranked behind Germany (6.2) and the United States (6.0).