Standard Chartered (“the Bank”) and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore’s lead public sector research and development (R&D) agency, have announced a three-year partnership to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) research and innovation across the financial industry.

The strategic collaboration builds on prior successful projects between the Bank’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm, SC Ventures, and A*STAR Institute of High Performance Computing (A*STAR IHPC), leveraging A*STAR IHPC’s strength in applied AI research to advance innovation in banking and financial services.

Under the new partnership, the Bank and A*STAR IHPC will jointly commit a total investment of S$15 million towards the establishment of an AI for Banking Innovation Lab, comprising technology scientists and researchers from the two organisations. The agreement will enable the Bank to engage with A*STAR IHPC’s deep pool of AI expertise in high-performance and applied AI research, supported by a dedicated multidisciplinary team of research scientists. Significantly, the collaboration enables close, on-site engagement between A*STAR IHPC researchers and the Bank’s internal data and AI teams on ongoing projects, supporting the development of applied, client-centric AI applications.

Teams from A*STAR IHPC and Standard Chartered will explore a range of themes including portfolio optimisation, fraud detection and natural language processing. A project already underway is developing a natural-language interface for querying structured databases, enabling relationship managers to access insights without writing code, speeding up analysis and boosting productivity. In parallel, an early-stage effort in the lab is exploring new data-driven approaches to strengthen asset valuation and forecasting. Together, these initiatives apply advanced AI and machine learning to enhance operations and client experience, with successful projects potentially progressing into promising spin-offs and driving next-generation financial services.

“This partnership with A*STAR represents a significant step forward in our collaboration, as we advance the intersection of AI research and financial innovation,” said Patrick Lee, CEO, Singapore and CEO, ASEAN and South Asia. “Digital-first banking models have reshaped client expectations across all segments, underscoring the need to enable seamless connectivity with growth opportunities, while equipping our workforce with future-ready skills. By deepening the connection between research and real-world applications, we are investing in safe, responsible and scalable AI applications to deliver enhanced cross-border capabilities and affluent banking experiences for our clients and drive sustainable growth.”

Dr Su Yi, Executive Director, A*STAR IHPC, said, “This partnership reflects our shared goal to bridge advanced AI research and real-world banking impact. By working closely with Standard Chartered’s teams, we aim to translate AI innovation into deployable, responsible solutions with potential for broader application over time.”

Alex Manson, CEO, SC Ventures, said, “As we move from banks adopting AI use cases to AI-native organisations, the A*STAR-SCB partnership will leverage SC Ventures’ AI Lab to create new business models running on AI, fundamentally a different way of delivering financial services.”

For further information, please contact:

Standard Chartered

serene.chew@sc.com

Aida Mekonnen
Standard Chartered
Aida.Mekonnen@sc.com

Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

doris_yang@a-star.edu.sg