SINGAPORE – Singapore’s family offices are eager to invest in artificial intelligence (AI), but many remain on the sidelines as limited access to deals and a lack of technical expertise hinder capital deployment.
Interest in AI has been fuelled by soaring valuations and record fundraising rounds, with investors tracking potential listings of firms such as OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX.
“Many family offices are watching the potential IPO (initial public offering) of OpenAI as a bellwether,” said Grace Tang, CEO and managing director of Phillip Private Equity.
She added, however, that local investors are becoming more selective. “They are shifting towards a more cautious stance, analysing when the company is going to break even.”
In its 2026 Global Family Office Report, JP Morgan Private Bank noted that 65 per cent of family offices globally aim to prioritise AI, yet over half lack exposure to the growth equity and venture capital firms driving the sector’s innovation.
This is equally evident in Singapore.
Natacha Minniti, global co-head of the family office practice at JP Morgan Private Bank, described the gap as “one of the clearest patterns emerging today”.
“The excitement around AI is undeniable, but accessing early-stage opportunities remains a real challenge,” she said.
A separate Ocorian survey of 25 Singapore-based family offices, published in March, similarly found that despite 96 per cent of family offices deploying AI tools for operations and data management, none are currently investing in the technology.
Though based on a small sample size, the contrast points to a broader trend where operational adoption is running well ahead of investment exposure.
Part of the challenge lies in the concentration of opportunities around a handful of closely held private companies.
SpaceX is reportedly preparing for an IPO in mid-2026, while Anthropic and OpenAI could have their listings in late 2026 to 2027.
Kelvin Lee, co-founder and chief executive officer of Alta, said that despite the anticipation among investors, access to these high-quality names is “genuinely restrictive and participation tends to be relationship-driven”.
“Evaluating these companies requires a level of technical understanding across subjects that can be a meaningful barrier towards deployment with conviction.”
Lim Leong Guan, global head of the investment solutions group at Bank of Singapore (BOS), noted that the buzz surrounding the US$852 billion (S$1.09 trillion) valuation of OpenAI in its latest funding round adds to an “already crowded space in media headlines and investor interest”.
That said, he cautioned that family offices are subjected to a “trilogy of considerations” which include valuation concerns, illiquidity, and choice of which company to invest in.
JP Morgan Private Bank’s Ms Minniti added that many families are still building the networks and expertise needed to invest with confidence in these areas.
“Early-stage vehicles tend to be opaque and illiquid, requiring resources and infrastructure that not every family office possesses,” she added.
But Phillip Private Equity’s Ms Tang pointed to a distinction between large and small family offices in access and expertise. “Larger family offices tend to have more direct exposure to deal flow and have their own investment team for due diligence.”
Meanwhile, smaller single-family offices tend to get exposure “more indirectly through private equity and venture capital deals or via public equity allocations”, she added.
Beyond headline names, family offices are also largely absent from the quieter but equally consequential part of the AI economy: the infrastructure layer that underpins the technology.
JP Morgan Private Bank found that 79 per cent of family offices have zero per cent allocation to infrastructure – including data centres, power grids and connectivity networks – despite its role as the physical backbone of AI.
A Singapore-based family office adviser who declined to be named said that smaller teams tend to lack the bandwidth to assess the deeper infrastructure of AI as it cuts across semiconductors, platforms and data.
Many are invested only in specific AI-themed listed names on the public equity market, either through stocks or exchange-traded funds, as they lack access to private deals.
Ms Tang noted that the risk profiles of data centre and infrastructure deals are very different from what family offices traditionally invest in, such as real estate.
“Giant institutional players such as GIC, Temasek and Blackstone dominate the space; this leaves little room for family offices to enter the market,” she said.
“Singapore’s family offices are betting on the apps and brains (layer), while leaving the bricks and power to sovereign wealth funds and global infrastructure giants.”
With persistent access and expertise constraints, bankers are urging a disciplined approach for family offices looking to invest.
BOS’ Mr Lim said that clients should “take a highly diversified approach, think carefully through the trilogy of considerations and ensure they have access to good advice”.
Ms Minniti said that to broaden their access, family offices should consider multiple entry points, such as working with specialist growth and venture funds, co-investing alongside trusted partners, and even looking at secondaries for vintage diversification.
Secondaries, or secondary transactions, are the purchase and sale of existing, seasoned private market assets from other investors, rather than from the original fund issuers.
“Risk controls are non-negotiable,” Ms Minniti added.
That means staged capital deployment, disciplined due diligence, and thoughtful position-sizing aligned with liquidity needs and return goals, she explained.
“Patience and diversification aren’t just prudent; they are fundamental.” THE BUSINESS TIMES
