01
Diagnose together
Every journey starts with a simple diagnostic. GBU targets the problems specific to your industry sector — not a generic checklist.
An ASME × ITE initiative
SME@AITE Singapore
Singapore's AI Centre of Excellence for SMEs.
A neutral, risk-free space for small and medium enterprises to experiment with AI, download vetted GenAI workflows, and tap grant-concierge support. Every workshop is free; every engagement is designed to move SMEs from talk to action.
Validated demand, first 9 months
Leadership
Joint partnership between ASME & ITE.
SME@AITE is co-led by two industry practitioners, bridging ITE's academic pipeline with ASME's enterprise demand.
Co-Director
Dr Benny Ho
Assistant Director & Head of Department, ITE College Central AI
Coordinates academia involvement and student placement. Focused on authentic career pathways for students who sustain AI-based workflows in digital transformation.
LinkedIn
Co-Director
Pulse Tan
Chairman, DAIS (Digitalisation, AI & cyberSecurity Action Group), ASME
Consolidates SME competitiveness into AI adoption pathways. Focused on creating authentic job demand for AI operators by incentivising SME AI adoption.
LinkedIn
What SMEs get
Four things, all free at the point of use.
SME@AITE is designed around the real blockers for small and micro enterprises: cost, complexity, and the fear of breaking something.
01
Hands-on sectoral workshops
Sector-specific sessions run at ITE College Central. Bring your actual workflow; leave with a working prototype and a clearer next step.
02
Vetted GenAI workflows & distilled models
Downloadable, proprietary-to-DAIS, sector-tuned. Save days of prompt engineering and avoid the usual pitfalls.
03
Grant-concierge support
Business advisors from our SME Centre walk SMEs through related schemes and supported and stay online with them through their journey.
04
An environment to break things safely
Experiment with AI tools with synthetic data & idealised workflows, not inside your production systems. Ideal for first-time AI adoption or if your current business isn't AI compatible yet.
Now live · Group-Based Upgrading
AI adoption, done as a cohort.
Launched at SME Digitalisation Day 2026, Group-Based Upgrading (GBU) takes small firms through AI adoption together — a cohort of 40 SMEs that diagnose needs, target the problems specific to their sector, and put real solutions to work, with staff trained and certified along the way. The first cohort — retail — opens in August 2026, with professional-services and logistics cohorts to follow.
02
A cohort of 40
You move through digitalisation alongside 39 other SMEs — exchanging practical experiences and sharing the real challenges of adopting AI.
03
Implement & certify
Each business puts two of three solution tracks to work — customers, service, or logistics — with staff trained and certified to operate them.
“Together, you will learn from one another, exchange practical experiences, and share perhaps some of the fears and challenges that you face in this journey.”
On the news
Full coverage: Lianhe Zaobao · 8world · Berita Mediacorp · MDDI · Jasmin Lau (LinkedIn)
Express interest in a GBU cohortBacked by up to S$10M in grants ASME is mobilising for SME AI adoption.
Solution tracks
Five solution families.
What SME@AITE builds against, horizontally, across sectors.
01
Agentic AI in Sales & Marketing
Autonomous AI agents that handle lead response, outreach, content, and pipeline hygiene.
02
AI Workflows for Productivity & Operations
Practical workflows that compress time on repetitive, day-to-day operations.
03
AI-augmented HR, Legal & Compliance
HR chatbots that integrate hiring into ATS systems for blue-collar workers with no CVs; legal and compliance assistants.
04
Cybersecurity & Data Protection
AI-augmented security posture, monitoring, and data protection for smaller firms.
05
AI in Finance, Accounting & Risk
Reconciliation, close-of-books, forecasting, fraud detection, risk modelling.
Sectoral focus
Nine sectors. Two demand sides.
The same solution families, tuned for each vertical. Workshops, vetted workflows, and pilots run across all nine.
B2CConsumer-facing
Food & Beverage
Retail, E-commerce & FMCG
Health & Wellness
B2BBusiness-facing
Creative Agencies
Management & Risk Consultancies
Accounting, Tax & Risk Advisories
Engineering & Manufacturing
Logistics & Freight Agents
Facilities Management
At the launch, 14 April 2025
“Any technology is only as powerful as the people who know how to use it.”
Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Information
Student pipeline
Structured approach with ITE students.
A real pipeline, not a hallway poster. 99% of the ITE AI cohort was placed as interns in the past 9 months.
01
Tech Partner Collaboration
Partnering with technology companies to scale solutions beyond the deployable stage.
02
Student Capstone
Students design and develop a proof-of-concept with a real SME.
03
Student Internship
Industry experience transitioning the PoC into a live, deployable solution with the host SME.
Ecosystem
Built on a strategic partnership.
SME@AITE sits inside a collaborative AI ecosystem: ITE and ASME at the core, with a widening circle of technology partners and industry volunteers.
AWSNVIDIADell TechnologiesGoogle CloudNetAppTP-LinkST EngineeringMendixOPSWATUnabizTRENDiVIZZIOSunway InGenKnovelInvigloGood BardsPilotPulse.ai91 Branding & Marketing
Non-exhaustive. Ongoing volunteer and sponsorship conversations.
Press coverage
As covered in the media.
MDDIOpening Address by Acting Minister Jasmin Lau at SME Digitalisation Day 2026Guest-of-honour address launching Group-Based Upgrading — SMEs move through AI adoption as a cohort of 40, from a shared diagnostic to sector-specific solutions, with workers trained and certified.
The Straits TimesOne-stop AI centre among key proposals to future-proof Singapore SMEsOther recommendations include training ITE and polytechnic students as 'AI super users' to help SMEs operate AI systems.
GovInsiderASME and ITE set up AI Centre of ExcellenceComplimentary workshops and resources will be offered at SME@AITE to support SMEs in adopting AI tools and workflows.