MAS Commits S$100 Million to Quantum-Safe Cybersecurity and AI Risk Models Under FSTI 3.0
Additional funding under FSTI 3.0 targets co-funding for quantum security pilots and AI-driven risk management in financial institutions.
By Marcus Tan·April 20, 2026·5 min readOrionmano Industries
Additional funding under FSTI 3.0 targets co-funding for quantum security pilots and AI-driven risk management in financial institutions.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore committed an additional S$100 million under the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Grant Scheme (FSTI 3.0) on 18 July 2024 to co-fund quantum-safe cybersecurity and AI-driven risk models, directly linking to the national quantum strategy. The funding—drawn from the Financial Sector Development Fund—brings the total FSTI 3.0 commitment to S$250 million and follows the S$300 million National Quantum Strategy announced by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat at the ATxSummit on 30 May 2024. The enhanced framework positions Singapore’s financial sector to adopt post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and quantum key distribution (QKD) pilots, alongside AI risk management systems, ahead of broad quantum threats.
FSTI 3.0 Funding Boost: S$100 Million for Quantum and AI
MAS announced the additional S$100 million commitment under FSTI 3.0 on 18 July 2024, supplementing the initial S$150 million allocated when the scheme was launched in 2023. Leong Sing Chiong, deputy managing director of the markets and development group at MAS, stated at a July 18 media briefing that the sum will come from the Financial Sector Development Fund, adding that MAS is “earmarking additional funds to support both quantum and AI initiatives.” The initial FSTI 3.0 envelope of S$150 million, announced by then Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the Singapore FinTech Festival in 2022, originally covered six tracks: Centre of Excellence, Industry-Wide Projects, Innovation Acceleration, AI and Data (AIDA), RegTech, and ESG FinTech. The new quantum-dedicated track expands the scheme to seven tracks, with co-funding directed specifically at quantum technology centres, innovation grants, and security grants for PQC and QKD pilots. The S$300 million National Quantum Strategy, unveiled two months prior, provides the broader national R&D and talent pipeline that the FSTI 3.0 quantum track can leverage for industry deployment.
Exhibit
Singapore Quantum & AI Funding Commitments (S$ Million)
Comparison of FSTI 3.0 initial, additional, and national quantum strategy allocations.
Quantum Track: Co-Funding for Post-Quantum Cryptography and QKD Pilots
The quantum track under FSTI 3.0 comprises three grant types: Technology Centres, Technology Innovation, and Security. The Technology Centres Grant co-funds up to 50% of manpower and qualifying expenses—including hardware and software infrastructure, subscriptions, and licences—for 24 months, supporting the establishment of quantum computing and security innovation functions in Singapore. This enables financial institutions and global technology companies to explore and unlock opportunities arising from quantum technologies.
The Technology Innovation Grant provides up to 50% co-funding across two sub-tracks: one catalysing meaningful institutional use cases that bring significant business impact, and the other supporting strategic endeavours to solve industry-wide problem statements with quantum solutions. The Security Grant offers up to 30% co-funding for pilot projects using Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) to enhance cybersecurity readiness and safeguard firms’ critical data.
These grant structures build on earlier groundwork. In February 2024, MAS issued an advisory to all financial institutions on cybersecurity risks associated with quantum technology, recommending proof-of-concept trials with quantum security solutions. In August 2024, MAS signed a memorandum of understanding with participating banks—including DBS and HSBC Singapore—and technology partners SPTel and SpeQtral to trial QKD solutions in areas such as encryption protection for financial systems. DBS Group Chief Information Officer Eugene Huang noted that the MoU “represents a significant step forward in safeguarding Singapore’s financial sector against looming cybersecurity risks associated with quantum,” while HSBC Singapore Chief Operating Officer Tancy Tan stated that “Singapore is demonstrating once more to be forward thinking in the exploration and testing of cutting-edge technologies.”
Enhanced AI and Data Grant: Supporting Risk Models and Governance
MAS is enhancing the existing AI and Data grant scheme under FSTI 3.0 to support financial institutions in AI model-building, training, deployment for high-impact use cases, governance, and risk management. The enhancement aims to accelerate AI adoption across financial institutions with varying readiness levels, from those establishing AI innovation centres to those developing AI platforms for industry-wide use cases.
The grant support covers the full AI lifecycle: model development, training, deployment, testing, monitoring, and governance. MAS has indicated that Singapore has the potential to become a centre of excellence for anchoring AI capabilities, including developing applications and testing and deploying AI solutions for the financial sector. The enhanced scheme addresses the uneven pace of AI readiness noted by MAS, with some institutions piloting generative AI across use cases while others lag. Talent development initiatives with Institutes of Higher Learning and the Institute of Banking and Finance complement the grant support, ensuring a pipeline of skilled professionals for both quantum and AI domains.
Outlook
The enhanced FSTI 3.0 framework, combined with the S$300 million National Quantum Strategy, positions Singapore’s financial sector to adopt quantum-safe defences and AI-driven risk models ahead of broad quantum threats. The targeted co-funding structure—30% for security pilots, 50% for technology centres and innovation—provides financial institutions with explicit incentives to begin quantum transition planning now, rather than waiting for fault-tolerant quantum computers to materialise. The AI and data grant enhancement simultaneously addresses model risk governance, a prerequisite for scaling AI in regulated financial services. For institutional observers, the sequencing of the February 2024 quantum advisory, the July 2024 FSTI 3.0 expansion, and the August 2024 QKD MoU signals a deliberate, phased approach to building quantum resilience. The question is whether the co-funding thresholds and 24-month timelines are sufficient to move financial institutions from experimentation to production-grade quantum-safe systems before the cryptographic risk window narrows further.