Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (right), South Korea President Lee Jae Myung (left), HTX Chief Executive Chan Tsan (second from right) and NIPA President Park Yun Kyu at the MOU signing ceremony on 2 March 2026. (Photo: Ministry of Digital Development and Information)
HTX’s international collaborations on artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies to force multiply the Home Team have taken a significant step forward with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with South Korea’s National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA).
NIPA is a non-profit governmental organisation under South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT (information and communication technology). It plays a key role in promoting international cooperation in ICT.
The MOU was signed by HTX Chief Executive Chan Tsan and NIPA President Park Yun Kyu and was witnessed by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung on 2 March 2026.
The MOU was signed as part of a broader slate of agreements – five other MOUs were concluded between Singapore and South Korean entities that same day.
The signings build on the upgrading of relations between Singapore and South Korea to a Strategic Partnership in November 2025, reflecting both countries’ shared commitment to deepen cooperation in innovation, technology and security.
According to the HTX-NIPA MOU, both parties will work together in four key areas:
- Explore areas of mutual interest in innovation for public safety – such as company/technology matching, and curation of technology domains related to public safety, including AI and digital applications.
- Leverage programmes to enhance international collaboration in public safety innovation using emerging technologies such as AI.
- Support each other to grow the innovation ecosystem (including the public safety industry) and explore dual-use technologies with promising companies (startups and industry partners).
- Facilitate effective knowledge, expertise or innovation exchanges in the form of workshops, technical seminars and other cooperative activities such as conferences, events and festivals.
As part of the collaboration, Hatch, HTX’s innovation centre, will work closely with NIPA to drive participation in its flagship innovation programmes, including DimensionX. DimensionX is Hatch’s global open innovation challenge that crowdsources dual-use innovations to bolster public safety.
Through this MOU, HTX and NIPA will explore how NIPA’s innovation grants and services, particularly in the AI and ICT, could be leveraged to connect South Korean startup companies with Hatch’s innovation programmes.
