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Nvidia, the world leader in artificial intelligence chips, will launch a new research center in Singapore, one of a number of new AI-related measures the city-state announced on Wednesday.
Nvidia’s new research center will be its first research hub in Singapore and its second in the Asia-Pacific region. The company has increasingly focused on implementing embodied AI in recent years, launching models, systems and chips for robotics. The new lab will work with university researchers, industry partners, and government agencies to focus on advancing embodied AI and improving the efficiency of AI infrastructure.
The move by US-based Nvidia comes as Singapore touts itself as a regional AI hub, ideal for real-world development, testing and deployment of AI solutions, despite the city-state’s relatively small size.
The city-state appears to have a particular focus on embodied AI, a category that includes robots, autonomous vehicles, and drones, and is widely seen as an important next frontier in AI development that could enable breakthroughs and expansion across the service sector and manufacturing.
Also on Wednesday, Singapore announced that it will launch a testbed later this year to help private companies co-design, deploy, test and validate commercially viable AI robotics technologies. Industry leaders such as Certis, DHL, Grab, and QuikBot are expected to be among the first to use this testbed.
The government will also collaborate with AI robotics companies such as Slamtec, Unitree, and QuikBot to pilot specific AI use cases through the new Intelligent Robotics Center. Tests include using AI robots for food and package deliveries, cleaning and security patrols to complement existing human tasks.
The announcement was made on the first day of Singapore’s ATxSummit, a technology conference focused on AI adoption this year.
