S'pore adds 300m to develop quantum computers, talent pool

Sum will be spent on grooming 200 local experts, studies, offering grants for research

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Singapore's quest to establish itself as a quantum powerhouse has received a nearly $300 million investment top-up over the next five years as a global race to deploy next-generation computers heats up.

The sum will be spent on studies, grooming 100 local experts each from the PhD and master's levels, and offering grants to research efforts to build quantum computers and equipment locally.

The $295 million top-up adds to the $400 million research and development budget that the authorities have poured into quantum technology since 2002, when the National Research Foundation made its first investments.

The investment and plans for the quantum sector were announced on May 30 by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, who spoke at the Asia Tech x Summit held at Capella Singapore. The conference from May 29 to 31 gathers global tech industry players for talks and discussions on digitalisation.

Quantum computers can use the properties of light or atoms to solve problems too complex for traditional computers, and are tipped to lead to new breakthroughs in medicine, materials and better artificial intelligence (AI).