Singapore SME grants for AI & automation: a plain-English map

Every founder I talk to has heard there's "grant money for AI." They're right. The schemes are real, a lot of Singapore SMEs use them, and they can genuinely halve what an automation build costs you. They're also confusingly named, overlapping, and changing shape in the second half of 2026.

I'm going to be straight about what I am here: I'm the engineer who builds the workflow a grant funds — not a licensed grant consultant. So this is a plain-English map, not application advice. Where the grant paperwork matters, I work with a registered consultant and can point you to them. Here's how the pieces fit.

The two workhorse grants (for now)

PSG — Productivity Solutions Grant. This is the "off-the-shelf" grant. It funds up to 50% of the cost of pre-approved IT solutions and equipment, capped at S$30,000 per company per year for EnterpriseSG-supported solutions (the year runs 1 April to 31 March). You pay the vendor first, then claim the 50% back. PSG is the quickest path when what you want is a productised, already-listed tool. The catch: the solution has to be on the approved list, so a fully custom build usually isn't a PSG fit.

EDG — Enterprise Development Grant. This is the "custom project" grant. It funds up to 50% of qualifying project costs for SMEs (consultancy, software, and some internal manpower), assessed project by project — there's no fixed dollar cap, it depends on scope. EDG is the one that fits a bespoke automation build: a multi-step workflow designed around your process rather than pulled off a shelf. It's a heavier application, and crucially you apply before the work starts — you can't retro-fund something already built.

The short version: PSG for a ready-made tool, EDG for a custom build. Both run through the Business Grants Portal (BGP), and both need EnterpriseSG approval on the paperwork.

What's changing: EDGE, in 2H 2026

Here's the moving part. EnterpriseSG has said it will consolidate PSG, EDG and the Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) grant into a single grant called EDGE, launching in the second half of 2026 — the window we're in now. The stated design is one application through the BGP that recommends a funding mix, with support of up to S$100,000 per year for eligible activities per the EnterpriseSG factsheet.

Until EDGE actually goes live, PSG, EDG and MRA remain open and are still accepting applications. What I'd watch: exact co-funding rates and eligibility under EDGE weren't fully published when I wrote this, so treat "up to S$100,000" as the headline figure and confirm the details before you plan around them.

The one with a real deadline: SFEC

If there's one thing on this page to act on, it's this. The SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit (SFEC) is a one-off S$10,000 credit that offsets up to 90% of your out-of-pocket costs on supported programmes — with up to S$7,000 of it usable for enterprise (business) transformation and the rest for workforce training.

The current SFEC expires on 30 November 2026. Unused credit is forfeited — it does not roll over. For training to count, the last day of training has to fall on or before that date, so the real deadline is earlier than it looks once you account for course scheduling. A redesigned SFEC with a fresh S$10,000 tranche is expected from 1 December 2026, but anything you leave on the table before then is gone. If your company qualifies and hasn't touched its S$10,000, that's the urgent item — including for the AI-training side of an automation rollout.

The rest of the toolbox

Enterprise Innovation Scheme (EIS) — a tax scheme, not a grant. It offers enhanced tax deductions of up to 400% on qualifying innovation spend. Budget 2026 signalled an expansion to cover qualifying AI expenditure (with a per-year cap on the AI portion), but the final IRAS conditions were still being finalised when I wrote this. The important nuance: EIS is a deduction against taxable profit, not cash in hand, so it only helps if you're paying tax. Talk to your accountant, not me, on this one.

IMDA GenAI Sandbox — IMDA has run GenAI Sandboxes for SMEs that gave successful applicants up to 50% support to trial a pre-selected generative-AI solution for a few months. It's a good low-risk way to test a GenAI tool. Check IMDA directly for whether an intake is currently open, as these run in waves.

Eligibility, at a high level — the EnterpriseSG grants broadly want a business registered and operating in Singapore, with at least 30% local shareholding, in a financially viable position. SFEC has its own bar (roughly: employing a minimum of Singapore Citizens/PRs and having paid Skills Development Levy). These are simplifications — a registered consultant confirms your exact standing.

Where I fit, honestly

I'm not going to pretend to be your grant consultant. What I do is build the workflow — the WhatsApp assistant, the quote automation, the private assistant on your own docs — that a grant like EDG can co-fund. In practice the sequence that works is: we scope the build on a teardown call, and if grant support makes sense, you loop in a consultant to handle the application before work begins. I can introduce you to one. No one — me included — can promise you'll be approved; grant outcomes are the agency's call, not a vendor's.

Last reviewed 2026-07-18 — grant rules change, especially with the EDGE transition in 2H 2026. Confirm current terms, rates and deadlines with the agency (EnterpriseSG, IMDA, IRAS) or a registered grant consultant before relying on anything here. This page is general information, not official or professional advice.