Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX), a statutory board under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of Singapore, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Google Cloud to enhance the agency’s AI capabilities.

Since the launch of its HTxAI initiative in June 2024, HTX has focused on recruiting AI professionals to become an AI-first agency supporting a technology-enabled Home Team.

Among its AI developments is Phoenix, a collection of large language models (LLMs) trained on Home Team data to boost the accuracy and efficiency of data analysis and information processing tasks.

The MoU extends the existing partnership between HTX and Google Cloud, with a focus on collaborative research in AI security and cybersecurity research; implementation of cloud platform, infrastructure and services; AI model development; AI-enabled software solutions; as well as AI governance and training.

In 2025, HTX plans to implement Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) Air-Gapped to support the cloud platform, infrastructure, and service needs of Home Team agencies.

GDC Air-Gapped is a fully managed solution designed for organisations requiring complete data isolation to comply with strict sovereignty and regulatory standards.

The partnership will also involve joint exploration of AI governance frameworks for public safety, particularly in areas such as explainable AI, robust AI, and AI safety.

Google Cloud Asia Pacific president Karan Bajwa said: “AI is poised to become a cornerstone of public sector operations, transforming how government agencies serve their constituents and make decisions.

“Our expanded partnership with HTX sees us working together to develop and deploy advanced AI and cloud solutions in the public safety domain in Singapore, and can serve as a model for governments around the world.”

Additionally, the two organisations will assess the development of a GenAI Solution Accelerator for deployment in GDC Air-Gapped, and the use of Google’s AI models on Vertex AI for applications in agentic AI, robotics, and embodied AI.

As part of the collaboration on model development, Google Cloud will assist HTX in training and fine-tuning its advanced AI models to further support the agency’s operational objectives.

HTX Digital and Enterprise chief AI officer and assistant chief executive Ang Chee Wee said: “As HTX builds up our 500-strong AI workforce, we will work with partners to bring in best-in-class AI tools, platform and infrastructure.

“We are confident that this collaboration with Google Cloud will propel HTX’s efforts to develop AI innovations for the Home Team to the next level, which would in turn bolster the safety of the public in Singapore.”