Dell Technologies is based on the $50 million investment it launched in Singapore to speed up AI adoption by businesses and governments across the Asia-Pacific region, and to bring global innovation capabilities in 2021.
Announced today at the Dell Technologies Forum in Singapore, the new hub is an extension of the company's global innovation hub in city-states, focusing on three key pillars: AI transformation, AI enablement and AI leadership.
In today's media briefing, Andy Sim, Singapore's Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Dell Technologies, said the new hub aims to bridge the gap between the organization's AI ambitions and successful deployment. According to Sim, a key challenge is that many companies lack a data strategy to support AI initiatives.
“There's a data strategy, then an AI strategy,” Sim said. “If you don't have a data strategy, you have a lot of data. And look at garbage. Look at garbage. You'll have problems when you try to create and retrieve inferences from your data.”
Dell's AI Innovation Hub is designed to help organizations address this and other challenges. It provides a platform (POC) for examining expertise and use cases, prototypes, and implementing concepts.
So far, the HUB team has developed around 50 AI engineering solution prototypes and conducted over 100 POCs, workshops and demonstrations for businesses across the region. Ng Nam Guan, senior director of AI Innovation Hub, said the work has already reached its peak in real-life applications.
Examples include energy sector projects to enhance resilience of critical infrastructure, empowering education providers of AI and cloud technology to help telephone companies improve AI development across the infrastructure and strengthen education capabilities.
When working with customers, Dell said it provides an open ecosystem and is supported by cloud-native principles, working with a variety of semiconductor suppliers, independent software vendors (ISVs) and cloud providers.
The second pillar of the hub, AI Enablement, focuses on addressing the technical skills gap in the region. Noting that 47% of Singapore's organizations report a lack of local AI talent, Dell said it is partnering with 10 local higher education institutions to integrate AI skills into the curriculum.
The company aims to train approximately 10,000 students and mid-term professionals through the hub by the end of 2025, covering areas such as AI engineering, machine learning operations (MLOPS), and cloud-native architecture.
The final pillar, AI Leadership, confirms that Dell is participating in Singapore's Technology Governance Initiative. The company is a founding member of the AI Verification Foundation, which promotes responsible AI, and is involved in the IT Standards Committee (ITSC) to shape national IT standards.
The launch is consistent with Singapore's national AI strategy and aims to enable individuals and industries to use AI with confidence and trust.
Peter Mars, President of the Asia-Pacific and Japan, and President of China of Dell Technologies, said: “Singapore's 60th birthday marks decades of progress and innovation. The new hub strengthens our commitment to filling the gap between AI aspirations and real-world applications.”
