Ant International and NTU Singapore Partner to Advance Privacy-Enhancing Technologies in Digital Age

Ant International and NTU Singapore Partner to Advance Privacy-Enhancing Technologies in Digital Age

Ant International and Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) have formed a partnership to drive advancements in Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs). Leveraging Ant International's industry expertise and NTU Singapore's research capabilities, the collaboration aims to develop cutting-edge solutions for safeguarding individual privacy over the next five years.

Jerry Yin, Chief Technology Officer of Ant International, expressed enthusiasm for this extended collaboration: “Ant International is pleased to expand our collaboration with NTU. As a global digital payment and financial technology provider, data privacy is crucial to our business. By leveraging NTU’s academic expertise and our industry experience, we aim to advance privacy-enhancing technologies with innovations that address real business needs.”

The Master Research Collaboration Agreement (MRCA) was signed on July 16 during Singapore's Personal Data Protection Week. The agreement was witnessed by Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How from the Ministry of Digital Development and Information, with Jerry Yin and Professor Lam Khin Yong, Vice President (Industry) at NTU Singapore, as signatories.

Under the MRCA, Ant International will collaborate with NTU Singapore’s Digital Trust Centre to develop PETs focused on AI, enhancing digital trust and security. This partnership will help businesses derive more value from their data while ensuring data privacy. Senior Minister Tan Kiat How emphasized the importance of data protection for Singapore’s digital economy and praised the collaboration between companies and Institutes of Higher Learning in developing PETs.

Ant International will invest up to S$20 million over five years to support PET research, including S$5 million for the MRCA partnership until July 2029 and an additional S$15 million to enhance its research capacity in PETs. The collaboration will give researchers access to real-life use cases from Ant International, focusing on advancing tools for machine learning and secure data sharing using technologies like zero-knowledge proofs and federated learning.

The partnership will also explore privacy-preserving techniques for large language models (LLMs). A joint research committee, co-chaired by Dr. Duan Pu from Ant International and Professor Lam Kwok Yan from NTU Singapore, will oversee the projects under the agreement.

This MRCA builds on a previous collaboration between NTU Singapore and Ant Group, which developed a Private Set Intersection (PSI) protocol, enabling businesses to conduct joint database analysis while maintaining data privacy. Professor Lam Khin Yong highlighted NTU Singapore’s commitment to practical applications of research, emphasizing the collaboration's goal to pioneer innovative solutions that strengthen digital trust and security, empowering businesses to responsibly leverage data for transformative outcomes.