Google Cloud expands Gemini AI & data residency in Singapore

Google Cloud has announced the expansion of its Gemini AI models and supporting infrastructure in Singapore, providing public and private sector organisations with new capabilities for data residency, security, and advanced machine learning.

Through enhanced data residency guarantees in its Singapore cloud region, Google Cloud is enabling organisations to not only store their data locally but also process AI workloads, including training and inference, entirely within Singapore. This expanded capability is now available for high-demand services such as Gemini 2.5 Flash, Vertex AI Search, and NotebookLM Enterprise.

The company also introduced the availability of Gemini models on Google Distributed Cloud (GDC), supporting both air-gapped and connected configurations. This solution targets organisations with requirements for data sovereignty, low latency, or high-volume data, allowing them to retain sensitive information within on-premises data centres, separate from the public internet.

Singapore public sector agencies, including the Centre for Strategic Infocomm Technologies (CSIT), the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech Singapore), and the Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX), will be among the first globally to access Gemini on GDC air-gapped. This deployment will facilitate the development and deployment of multimodal AI agents for national security and policy applications.

Thomas Kurian, Chief Executive Officer, Google Cloud, commented on Singapore's role in the company's AI initiatives:

Singapore is the launchpad for AI in Asia, and today we're making Google's most capable models and AI tools available here. By bringing Gemini everywhere – in the public cloud with data residency guarantees, in on-premises or disconnected environments, and at the edge – we are unleashing a wave of innovation for both public sector organizations and businesses across industries. With AI, we are providing a potent catalyst for transformation and creating new economic opportunities.

Public sector adoption

The integration of Gemini with GDC has been developed in collaboration with local agencies. Loh Chee Kin, Deputy Chief Executive, Centre for Strategic Infocomm Technologies, described how this has helped shape GDC's development:

As a key GDC collaboration partner in shaping the GDC air-gapped product roadmap and validating the deployment solutions, we're delighted that this pioneering role has helped us grow our cutting-edge capabilities and establish a proven deployment blueprint that will benefit other agencies with similar requirements. We're excited about the availability of Gemini on GDC, and we look forward to building on our partnership to develop and deploy agentic AI applications for our national security mission.

Ang Chee Wee, Chief AI Officer, Home Team Science and Technology Agency, outlined the role of AI in supporting public safety:

HTX is scaling our development of innovative AI solutions for the Home Team. GDC's secure, managed platform is one of the key solutions HTX is leveraging to address evolving challenges in the realm of public safety, without compromising our strict data residency and compliance requirements. This will include fine-tuning Gemini models on GDC for Home Team-specific use cases.

GovTech Singapore is also leveraging these new guarantees to expand AI-driven capabilities on its Government on Commercial Cloud platform. The agency will allow government entities to use Gemini 2.5 Flash and Vertex AI Search to build secure, confidential applications. A select group of public officers will gain access to Google Agentspace, offering tools for intranet search, custom AI agent creation, and workflow automation.

The safe deployment of autonomous AI agents will be developed further in a proposed sandbox environment overseen by Google, GovTech Singapore, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore, and the Infocomm Media Development Authority, where robust evaluation and recommendations for public sector use will be conducted.

Goh Wei Boon, Chief Executive, GovTech Singapore, commented:

One of our priorities is to harness the potential of AI while ensuring that our systems and the services citizens and businesses rely on remain secure. Google Cloud has demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting the public sector with initiatives that enable the agile and responsible adoption of AI. We look forward to working more closely with Google Cloud to deliver technology for the public good.

Expanding enterprise capabilities

The Gemini-based Customer Engagement Suite, now available across Asia Pacific, combines advanced conversational AI tools with contact centre operations aimed at improving customer experience. According to Google Cloud, organisations using the Suite have reported reductions in call handling times and increases in calls managed by AI-powered agents.

In partnership with Digital Industry Singapore, Google Cloud is expanding the AI Cloud Takeoff programme (AI CTO) to help Asian enterprises with international compliance requirements. Participants will receive support packages valued at up to SGD $500,000, including Google Cloud credits and partner consultancy. This support aims to help companies establish compliant data boundaries and expand globally.

Applied AI in finance and retail

Singapore's DBS Bank is utilising Google Cloud's Vertex AI platform to support automation and scaling of its AI use cases via its self-service data platform ADA. Nimish Panchmatia, Chief Data and Transformation Officer, DBS Bank, said:

At DBS, we strongly believe in the transformative power of AI and the profound impact it will have on banking. We expect more than SG$1 billion in economic value from our AI initiatives this year. Central to this is our strong investment in AI and working with leading technology partners like Google Cloud to industrialize its use and further unlock the potential of generative AI for our employees and customers.

FairPrice Group (FPG) is extending its Store of Tomorrow programme with AI-driven shopping solutions developed using Google Cloud's Agent Development Kit. The Punggol Digital District store now features AI assistants for smart carts, wellness, and wine recommendations. FPG is also deploying Google Agentspace to support employees and utilising generative models such as Imagen 4 and Veo 3 to automate advertising campaigns.

Vipul Chawla, Group Chief Executive Officer, FairPrice Group, said:

At FairPrice Group, our purpose is simple: to make every day a little better for our customers. Our collaboration with Google Cloud and the launch of our Store of Tomorrow are testament to this commitment. The new AI-powered tools, from the smart shopping assistant to the personalized wellness assistant, are designed to make a shopper's journey more seamless and intuitive. These innovations don't just 'wow' our shoppers, they also empower our employees to work more efficiently, so as to uphold our promise of providing affordable daily essentials for all. We believe technology should work for the good of our customers and we're excited to use it to bring shoppers an even better experience at what we consider to be a first-of-its-kind store in Southeast Asia, with Google Cloud's partnership and technology as a powerful enabler.

Beyond finance and retail, local enterprises such as Carousell, PropertyGuru, Grab and others are also adopting Google Cloud AI services to enhance productivity, customer engagement, and innovation across a range of sectors.