Singapore Commits $37 Billion to Research, Designates Quantum Technology as Strategic Priority
Singapore unveiled a $37 billion Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2030 plan, marking a 32% increase over the previous budget. Quantum technology was identified as a strategic pillar, with the country set to host Quantinuum's most powerful quantum computer outside the U.S.
On February 12, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong unveiled the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2030 plan, committing a record S$37 billion (approximately US$29.3 billion) over the next five years. The investment represents a 32% increase over the previous RIE 2025 budget and maintains Singapore's R&D spending at approximately 1% of its GDP. The Prime Minister identified quantum technology as a primary growth area where the Republic aims to build global leadership, citing it as an "early and deliberate bet" that is now moving rapidly from theory to commercial reality.
A major highlight of the announcement is Singapore's selection as the first country outside the United States to host Quantinuum's most powerful quantum computer. The Helios system, a state-of-the-art trapped-ion processor, is expected to complete installation in Singapore by late 2026. This deployment is a cornerstone of a strategic partnership between Quantinuum and Singapore's National Quantum Office (NQO). It will provide local researchers, homegrown startups, and industry players—particularly in finance, drug discovery, and materials science—with direct, on-shore access to high-fidelity quantum compute.
The Prime Minister also highlighted a high-profile collaboration with Qolab, a quantum hardware startup co-founded by Nobel laureate John Martinis (formerly of Google). Qolab is working with local researchers to develop novel superconducting qubit components, specifically leveraging Singapore's existing world-class semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging capabilities. This partnership underscores Singapore's strategy to marry its legacy strengths in hardware fabrication with frontier quantum research to solve scaling and coherence challenges in superconducting systems.
The $37 billion package, first announced in December 2025, marks the largest injection into research, innovation and enterprise since 1991. Today, quantum computing is moving "rapidly from theory to reality," with potential implications for finance, logistics, drug discovery and cybersecurity. In 2007, Singapore established the Centre for Quantum Technologies at the National University of Singapore, when much of the work in the field remained theoretical.
The Prime Minister framed quantum as part of a broader effort to anchor critical segments of global supply chains in the city-state. Because Singapore's research and development spending will remain modest compared with larger economies, investments must be "disciplined, focused and strategic," directed at areas where the country has clear strengths and can make a measurable impact. The government plans to maintain annual public research spending at roughly 1 percent of gross domestic product through 2030, putting Singapore on par with other small advanced economies such as Sweden and Denmark.
The largest share of the RIE 2030 funding—29 percent, or $10.8 billion—will be directed into four domains that remain unchanged from the prior plan: human health and potential; manufacturing, trade and connectivity; urban solutions and sustainability; and smart nation and the digital economy. Quantum research is expected to intersect with several of these domains, particularly manufacturing and digital infrastructure.