{
  "id": 19445906,
  "title": "Singapore is paying startups to secure the AI agents it is racing to deploy",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/11/singapore-is-paying-startups-to-secure-the-ai-agents-it-is-racing-to",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-11-11T04:33:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "e27",
    "slug": "e27",
    "url": "https://e27.co/singapore-is-paying-startups-to-secure-the-ai-agents-it-is-racing-to-deploy-20261111/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Singapore's cyber agency has unveiled plans to fund 13 startups with SGD5.6 million (approximately US$4.3 million) to develop tools against AI-enabled and quantum risks. The funds, allocated under CyberCall 2025, aim to bring research from the lab to practical, paying users. The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) also relaunched a directory of local security vendors and formed an advisory committee of chief information security officers (CISOs). The money awarded to each company is relatively modest, with an average of SGD430,000 per recipient, akin to many seed rounds.\n\nThe primary focus of the funded projects is to secure AI systems themselves, as attackers discover new entry points when autonomous agents are integrated into workflows. CloudsineAI will develop a threat attack graph platform for multi-agent AI systems, while Flexxon is pairing a software gateway with secure SSD hardware to inspect traffic over the Model Context Protocol (MCP). IdentityPlane seeks to create a single identity platform that governs both human staff and AI agents. Other companies, like Amaris.AI and Protos Labs, are building platforms to scan for emerging AI risks and develop threat-intelligence investigations, respectively.\n\nQuantum threats are also a priority, with two awardees targeting this risk. pQCee will build a quantum red-teaming toolchain, and ST Engineering D’Crypt will develop a quantum-ready encryptor for industrial control systems. Privacy technology is also part of the mix, with Silence Laboratories deploying an encrypted compute layer, Veridico building Singpass-linked digital signing with blockchain-anchored audit trails, and BlackScore developing a sovereign platform for multi-agency cryptocurrency investigations.\n\nA recurring theme among the projects is the concept of a \"sovereign\" AI system that can be operated on local infrastructure. The funding targets various aspects of cybersecurity, including AI for security, quantum-safe systems, OT, IoT, cloud, and privacy technology. The most notable innovation may come from StrongKeep Cybersecurity, a company founded in 2025 that aims to provide a virtual CISO for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using agentic AI. The agency's CyberCall 2026 programme also includes a user-driven challenge to help SMEs resolve security issues quickly on their own.",
  "summary": "Singapore’s cyber agency has a new worry list, and it reads like the agenda of every AI conference this year: agents talking to other agents, quantum computers that don’t yet exist, and small firms with nobody watching the network. On Tuesday, at CyberSG Innovation Day 2026, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) named 13 […] The post Singapore is paying startups to secure the AI agents it…",
  "key_points": [
    "Singapore funds 13 startups with SGD5.6 million for AI and quantum security tools",
    "Projects focus on securing AI systems and defending against quantum threats",
    "Sovereign AI systems and SME-focused cybersecurity solutions highlighted"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}