PwC Global AI performance study: Singapore’s AI momentum puts it on track for hub status

Key findings

• Singapore businesses report stronger AI confidence than the global average: 67% have a higher risk appetite for AI investment (vs 41% globally), and 63% allocate people and funding based on AI opportunities (compared to 51%).
• Singapore is moving faster on AI adoption and modernisation: 43% use AI to compete beyond their sector (vs 20% globally), and 30% have eliminated outdated IT infrastructure (vs 18%).
• Globally, ‘AI leaders’ (top 20% by AI-driven performance) deliver 7.2x more AI-driven revenue and efficiency gains than peers—showing that returns depend on strong foundations and execution, not just AI pilots.
• Singapore businesses can bridge gaps with AI leaders in governance and risk management, data, workflow redesign, and utilising AI and data to unlock new business value.

For immediate release, SINGAPORE, 13 APRIL 2026 – Singapore businesses are embracing AI with greater confidence than their global counterparts, according to PwC’s Global AI performance study. Singapore businesses (67%) are more willing to take risks when investing in AI compared to those in other countries (41%). Meanwhile, 63% of Singapore respondents surveyed reported that they are able to make key decisions regarding financial and human resources on the basis of AI opportunities, higher than the 51% in other countries.

The study, conducted between July and September 2025, polled more than 1,200 senior executives primarily from large corporations worldwide. Of these, 30 respondents are based in Singapore, representing publicly listed companies with revenues exceeding US$100 million in their last financial year. Banking and capital markets, technology hardware, and technology software are the three most represented industries among Singapore respondents, together accounting for four in ten of the local sample.

The study data shows that Singapore businesses significantly outperform the global average across several dimensions of AI adoption. In particular, 43% of Singapore respondents reported using AI to compete with companies outside their own sectors, compared with 20% globally. Singapore businesses are also investing in and piloting AI at above-average rates compared with global peers. In addition, 30% of Singapore respondents said their organisations have eliminated outdated IT infrastructure, ahead of the 18% recorded among respondents globally.

The global study also found that organisations in many countries are still using AI for less advanced tasks such as analysis, prediction and recommendation (37% globally) compared to just 20% in Singapore. In contrast, Singapore businesses are ahead in deploying AI in more sophisticated ways, such as autonomous and self-optimising ways at 17% compared to only 8% globally.

Active on AI, but gaps remain

When measured against AI leaders, Singapore's overall standing trails in the following areas:

• Governance and risk management: Over half of Singapore businesses surveyed (53%) have robust, up-to-date security in place to protect data, AI models and underlying infrastructure, compared to 69% amongAI leaders. Additionally, 47% in Singapore have a documented responsible AI framework, and 43% have a cross-functional AI governance board, versus 63% and 64% among AI leaders, respectively.
• Data: About four in 10 respondents in Singapore reported maintaining a single, trusted record of critical data (37%), and using structured data (40%). This compares with about six in 10 AI leaders for the same measures (59% and 60%, respectively).
• Workflow redesign: In Singapore, 37% of businesses surveyed have redesigned workflows to integrate AI, rather than simply adding AI tools, compared with 56% of AI leaders.
• Unlocking new value: Among the Singapore businesses surveyed, 37% use AI to identify emerging value pools, and 43% create new value through data, compared to 60% and 63% of AI leaders, respectively.

The findings come as Singapore accelerates its national AI momentum. In 2025, IMDA and the AI Verify Foundation advanced efforts to operationalise trust in GenAI through initiatives such as the Global AI Assurance Pilot, enabling organisations to test applications and strengthen assurance at scale. More recently, Budget 2026 added further momentum with the announcement of a National AI Council and National AI Missions across four priority sectors—advanced manufacturing, connectivity, finance and healthcare—alongside regulatory sandboxes and enhanced tax incentives. Against this backdrop, the study affirms Singapore’s strategic intent while highlighting where execution must now accelerate.

Anthony Dias, AI Hub Leader, PwC Singapore, said:

“The companies achieving the highest AI-driven returns globally are distinguished not by how much they spend, but by how deliberately they operate: making targeted choices about where AI creates value, embedding it into core workflows, and scaling what works consistently across the enterprise. Trust is a critical enabler in this equation, and organisations that establish strong governance, transparency and accountability frameworks are better positioned to deploy AI with confidence and at scale. Singapore businesses can start by looking at the governance and risk dimension first. It is foundational to sustained AI performance, and an area where local businesses currently trail their global peers. The national environment is becoming more supportive, but the onus remains on organisations to act on what the data shows.”

What separates the highest AI performer

Among the more than 1,200 companies surveyed, those in the top quintile of AI-driven performance (which the study terms 'AI leaders') achieve 7.2x more revenue and efficiency gains than peers on an industry-adjusted basis. The study also found that AI leaders invest 2.5x more than other companies and are 2.4x more likely to maintain reusable AI components across their organisation. They are also 1.7x more likely to ensure the right high-quality data is readily available for priority AI applications.

Top performers are also distinguished by how they deploy AI. They are roughly twice as likely to apply AI across the full breadth of business functions, including corporate strategy, supply chain management, and front and back-office operations, and nearly twice as likely to operate AI at higher sophistication levels, including autonomous operation. They are also 1.5x more likely to use AI to develop new business models, and 1.2x more likely to use it to drive revenue growth, rather than focusing solely on efficiency gains.

For more information or to access the full global findings, please visit the webpage here.

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Notes to the editor

About the Global AI Survey

PwC's Global AI Survey 2026 was conducted between July and September 2025. A total of 1,217 respondents at director level or above, primarily from large corporations worldwide, participated in the survey. Respondents were asked about their financial and operational AI outcomes, their foundational AI practices, and the nature of their AI use.

The Singapore cohort comprises 30 respondents, all from publicly listed companies with revenues exceeding US$100 million in the last financial year. The top three industries among Singapore respondents, collectively accounting for 40% of the cohort, are banking and capital markets, technology (hardware), and technology (software).

About AI-driven performance

AI-driven performance is a composite measure combining AI-driven revenue and AI-driven efficiency and cost gains relative to sector medians. Efficiency from AI represents the average between efficiency gains and cost reductions attributable to AI.

About AI leaders

AI leaders are defined as those whose average AI-driven performance places them in the top quintile among all survey respondents.