Artificial intelligence infrastructure company Zero Gravity has earmarked S$1 million for badminton research as part of a S$20 million investment in Singapore over the next five years.
The company announced the commitment at its 0G Dev Day event at the National Gallery Singapore on 5 October. Zero Gravity said it would establish its global headquarters in Singapore, which it intends to use as a base for AI research, talent development and taking applications into international markets.
The badminton allocation will support work with Nanyang Technological University and Y Badminton Academy. The proposed research is exploring a badminton foundation model that would bring together information on players’ movements, video, training and competitions.
Zero Gravity’s announcement places the sporting project within a wider investment programme. It said S$10 million would be used to establish its headquarters and expand its operations and team, while S$9 million would support research collaborations at institutes of higher learning. That research sum includes an existing S$5 million partnership with Nanyang Technological University announced previously, plus a further S$4 million intended for other universities and academic partners.
Badminton project remains at an early stage
Dr Maliki Osman, patron-in-chief of the Singapore Badminton Association, said AI could help coaches identify details that might otherwise be missed during conventional coaching. He suggested that data could help coaches tailor training for younger players, including by giving them a clearer view of physical limits as players develop.
Dr Maliki said badminton had been selected because it combines running and jumping with hand movement and eye coordination, creating several areas in which AI might offer insight. However, he stressed that the research was still at an early stage and that it was premature to draw conclusions from it.
He said he hoped that any applications developed through the work could eventually assist national athletes and potentially be relevant to other sports. That remains an aspiration rather than an established outcome: the announcement describes early-stage research into a foundation model.
The distinction is important for assessing the announcement. The S$1 million badminton allocation is a specific part of the company’s five-year Singapore commitment, but the evidence supplied does not establish how any tools will be deployed, which players would use them, or what performance effects they may have. The confirmed development is the announced S$1 million allocation for AI and badminton research involving NTU and Y Badminton Academy.
School participation is also under consideration
Alongside the research, Zero Gravity and Y Badminton Academy have a three-year partnership that includes plans to create more opportunities for students from neighbourhood schools to take part in badminton.
The source described a tournament and routes through which promising players are identified for further development as possible elements of the partnership.
Zero Gravity chief executive and co-founder Michael Heinrich said the company’s commitment to Singapore was intended to cover research, talent, innovation and long-term investment, rather than simply opening an office. Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Tan Kiat How said Singapore could provide a place for companies to deploy and adapt AI solutions before taking them to other markets.
For badminton, the announced work therefore combines a narrowly defined research allocation with prospective participation activity. Its competitive significance will depend on what the partners are able to develop from the movement, video, training and competition data they are seeking to bring together. For now, the confirmed step is the S$1 million commitment and the collaboration involving NTU and Y Badminton Academy.