Five Nobel laureates are confirmed to speak at the inaugural Nobel Heroes Day: AI For Science Summit (AFSS) in Singapore from 5 to 11 October 2026. The event, co-hosted by Laureates City Holdings Limited and Symbiosis Science, centers on the theme "Science * Intelligence * Capital" and targets how artificial intelligence is accelerating discovery in fields like drug development, materials science, and climate technology.
The core programme includes a two-day flagship forum at Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University, an invitation-only gala dinner, closed-door leadership roundtables, and a week-long public exhibition of Nobel laureate portraits at Gardens by the Bay. Organizers expect about 500 invited participants from science, industry, government, and investment. The event follows previous editions in Hong Kong symbolizing and Guangzhou, with academic support from the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings.
"Scientific discovery no longer happens in isolation," the organizers said. "Today's most important innovations require scientists, entrepreneurs, governments and long-term capital to work together from the earliest stages of research through to global implementation."
Confirmed Nobel laureates
Five Nobel winners in economics, medicine, chemistry, and physics are scheduled to appear:
- Sir Christopher Pissarides, 2010 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, known for work on labor markets and the future of work.
- Professor Benjamin List, 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, pioneeer of sustainable cooling.
- Professor Omar M. Yaghi, 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, founder of reticular chemistry and an advocate for AI-driven discovery.
- Sir Konstantin Novoselov, 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics, co-discoverer of graphene.
- Fred Ramsdell, 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, pioneer in peripheral immune tolerance and the FOXP3 gene.
Additional international speakers from academia, industry, and government are expected to be announced in the coming months.
Five strategic themes
Summit discussions will center on five topics: AI for Science, Open Science and Global Research Collaboration, Sovereign AI and National Innovation, AI and Human Longevity, and Future Economic Growth Driven by Frontier Science. The event aims to create a platform for "patient capital" - long-term investment that can sustain research from lab discovery to commercial deployment.
Singapore was chosen as the host city because of its research ecosystem, innovation environment, and neutral global position. Representatives from universities, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and global technology companies are also expected to attend. The public exhibition runs 5-11 October at Gardens by the Bay, featuring the photography of Peter Badge, the official Nobel laureate photographer.
Why this matters for scientists and researchers
The "AI for Science" framework shifts the traditional research model where a lab publishes a paper and then seeks funding for a startup waitlist. The summit is designed to bring together a team of capital, biology, and computational scientists at one table, from the start of a project. For researchers working in drug discovery, materials science, climate tech, or drug discovery - areas where deep learning is already accelerating work across scope - the event signals that scientific output is no longer the end goal; translation into accessible technology and product is the priority, and investors are now organized around that timeline.
Your membership also unlocks:
