Singapore, 4 September 2025 – ST Engineering held its annual InnoTech Conference 2025, bringing together industry visionaries, business leaders and government officials to shape the future with AI. Themed “AI.Innovating the Future”, the large-scale conference was graced by Guest-of-Honour Josephine Teo, Minister for Digital Development and Information, and Minister-in-charge of Cybersecurity and Smart Nation Group.
One of the conference’s highlights was the announcement of a five-year, $250 million AI Research Translation programme for Physical AI, funded and led by ST Engineering in collaboration with academic and research partners. This phased programme will advance robotics, swarm and humanoid solutions to tackle complex operational challenges, with an initial focus on enhancing teamwork with human and unmanned systems. At the conference, ST Engineering offered a first look at Manned-Unmanned Teaming Operating System (MUMTOS), a minimum viable product showcasing these capabilities in action.
MUMTOS acts as the ‘brain’ of human-machine collaboration, coordinating robots, drones, and autonomous vehicles to deliver actionable insights and faster decision-making across operations. In humanitarian missions, for instance, it uses AI to assess life-risk scoring — including oxygen levels, structural stability and the number of people detected — to prioritise rescue efforts. By providing real-time updates, precise location data and uninterrupted communications, MUMTOS helps first responders reach those in need quickly. It can also alert hospitals and coordinate ambulance dispatch, enabling faster medical response and seamless patient handovers.
“For many years, ST Engineering has applied AI across multiple domains, gaining first-hand experience of its potential and understanding its real-world challenges," said Lee Shiang Long, Group Chief Technology & Digital Officer, ST Engineering. "Building on this foundation, our focus supported by increased investment, positions us to lead the AI Research Translation programme and turn advanced AI and robotics into impactful solutions across industries."
Low Jin Phang, President, Digital Systems, ST Engineering, added, “AI enables faster, smarter decision-making by processing vast amounts of data, helping organisations and individuals navigate increasingly complex and dynamic environments. But it is no substitute for humans. We believe humans are needed to interpret insights, make nuanced choices and guide AI towards meaningful outcomes. That is why we are investing in our people, with a clear roadmap to further develop our AI-ready workforce across the Group.”
Today, ST Engineering has a 10,000-strong AI-ready workforce. Over the next few years, it targets to have 5,000 AI engineers through upskilling 4,000 engineers in training AI modules and deploying AI systems, and creating 1,000 AI specialists focused on the development of AI modules, cybersecurity for AI, and agentic AI systems. These efforts will ensure the Group has the talent to drive advanced AI capabilities and deliver transformative solutions across industries.
Other highlights at the conference included the showcase of AI innovations across unmanned ecosystems, counter-drone operations, connectivity and sensemaking. The InnoTech Conference 2025 drew nearly 2,000 participants and featured keynote speakers such as Mike Walsh, CEO of Tomorrow; Jixun Foo, Senior Managing Partner of Granite Asia; and Geoff Soon, Vice President of Revenue APAC at Mistral AI. The event included a fireside chat on leadership perspectives in “AI.Innovating the Future”, and specialised tracks covering AI in Cloud, Unmanned Ecosystems, Intelligent Connectivity, Learning, and emerging AI technologies.
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