Singapore companies are moving faster than global peers to adopt artificial intelligence (AI), but gaps in governance and data foundations risk limiting returns, according to PwC’s new study.
The Global AI performance study reveals that 67% of Singapore respondents reported a higher risk appetite for AI investment, compared with 41% globally.
A further 43% are using AI to compete beyond their core industries, more than double the global figure of 20%. The survey polled 1,217 senior executives between July and September 2025, including 30 respondents from Singapore-listed firms with revenue above US$100 million.
Singapore businesses are also ahead in deploying AI in more sophisticated ways, such as autonomous and self-optimising ways, at 17% compared to 8% globally.
However, the data points to a widening gap between ambition and outcomes. PwC identifies a group it terms “AI leaders” — the top 20% of companies by AI-driven performance — that generate 7.2 times more revenue and efficiency gains than peers on an industry-adjusted basis. By that measure, Singapore’s corporate sector has yet to translate adoption into comparable returns.
The shortfall is most evident in governance and data readiness. Just 53% of Singapore firms report having robust, up-to-date security for data and AI models, compared with 69% among AI leaders.
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Fewer than half have formal responsible AI frameworks or cross-functional governance boards, versus roughly two-thirds of top performers. Only 37% maintain a single trusted record of critical data, and 40% rely on structured datasets, which is well below the roughly 60% benchmark among AI leaders.
Moreover, only 37% of Singapore businesses have redesigned workflows to embed AI rather than simply bolting tools onto existing processes, compared with 56% of AI leaders.
Anthony Dias, AI Hub Leader at PwC Singapore, says the distinction among top performers comes down to deliberate operation rather than scale of spending. "The companies achieving the highest AI-driven returns globally are distinguished not by how much they spend, but by how deliberately they operate," he says, pointing to governance as the area where Singapore firms should focus first. "It is foundational to sustained AI performance, and an area where local businesses currently trail their global peers."
