QuikBot names Howie Lau as Board Adviser for strategy

QuikBot Technologies has appointed Howie Lau as Board Advisor for Strategy, Government and Ecosystem, adding a senior Singapore technology executive to its advisory team.

Lau is the former Managing Partner for Corporate Development and Partnerships at NCS Group and has held senior roles across technology, telecommunications and media. At QuikBot, he is expected to advise on government relationships, enterprise partnerships, regional expansion, industry standards and alliances tied to the company's QuikSync platform and autonomous delivery business.

The appointment comes as QuikBot seeks to position itself in what it calls trust infrastructure for physical artificial intelligence, focused on how autonomous systems gain access to and operate in buildings and other real-world settings. The Singapore startup says its software is designed to govern interactions between robots, facilities and organisations, with early use cases in facility management and urban logistics.

Lau's career spans more than three decades. Before joining NCS, he was Assistant Chief Executive of the Media and Innovation Group at the Infocomm Media Development Authority, where he oversaw the development of Singapore's technology, telecommunications and media industries.

Earlier, he was Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Consumer Business at StarHub, as well as Vice President of Corporate Development at Lenovo. He also worked across Asia Pacific, China, India and Latin America in roles at Lenovo and IBM.

The appointment gives QuikBot an adviser with experience across both the corporate and public sectors at a time when many robotics and automation companies are navigating regulatory concerns, procurement cycles and integration with existing building systems. For younger companies in the sector, access to government networks and industry bodies can be as important as technical development when moving from pilots to broader commercial deployment.

Advisory role

Lau's remit includes supporting ecosystem development around QuikSync and AFMD PaaS, QuikBot's Autonomous Final Mile Delivery Platform as a Service. The company presents QuikSync as the software layer behind its broader approach to managing permissions and trust for autonomous systems operating in the built environment.

QuikBot describes AFMD PaaS as the first production application of that model, initially aimed at facility management and later urban logistics. It also says AFMD Enterprise serves sites including hospitals, hotels and shopping malls.

The business was founded in Singapore in late 2021. It says it has developed an "Ambient Permission Plane", or AmbPP, as a framework for controlling how autonomous systems access and function inside physical spaces.

The language reflects a broader trend among robotics and AI companies seeking to define categories beyond the machines themselves. Rather than selling only robots or delivery services, many are increasingly presenting their offering as a control layer that connects devices, locations and operators while managing safety, access and operational rules.

QuikBot says it has commercial projects in Singapore and the UAE, with pilot projects planned in Japan. Its listed partners include Mitsubishi Elevator, ST Engineering and Republic Polytechnic.

Sector backdrop

Interest in physical AI has grown as advances in software models have begun to filter into robotics, logistics and building operations. The term is commonly used to describe AI systems that interact directly with the physical world through machines, sensors and automated workflows.

For companies in that market, one of the main commercial questions is not just whether robots can complete tasks, but whether they can do so inside complex environments such as offices, hospitals, transport hubs and residential developments. That requires integration with lifts, doors, security protocols and operational teams, areas that often involve fragmented ownership and regulation.

Singapore has been one of the more active markets for testing automation in urban infrastructure and public services, giving domestic startups an opportunity to trial systems in dense, highly managed environments. Executives with experience in both policy and industry have therefore become sought-after advisers and board members for emerging firms in the space.

Lau has also served on boards and councils including the Singapore Institute of Directors Governing Council, Science Centre Singapore and the Nanyang Polytechnic Board of Governors, where he was also Chairman of the School of IT. He is a past President of the Singapore Computer Society and was named IT Leader of the Year 2020 by the society.

Alan Ng, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of QuikBot Technologies, commented on the rationale for the appointment.

"As physical AI moves from pilots to critical infrastructure, trusted coordination between governments, enterprises and autonomous systems becomes essential. Howie's experience building national technology ecosystems will help accelerate QuikBot's mission to establish the Ambient Permission Plane as foundational infrastructure for the physical AI economy," said Ng.

Lau said the company was working in an area that could become central to the next phase of applied AI.

"Physical AI has the potential to become one of the defining technology platforms of the coming decade. Building trusted infrastructure that allows autonomous systems to integrate safely with our built environment is fundamental to realising that future. I look forward to supporting QuikBot as it helps shape this emerging global category," he said.