SINGAPORE – Anthropic is the latest major artificial intelligence lab to plan a home in Singapore, following similar moves by rivals OpenAI and Google DeepMind.
Over the past two years, many companies have established AI centers of excellence in Singapore to accelerate the use of the technology in various sectors. To date, there are more than 70 such centers of excellence.
These are in addition to a $1 billion national plan to boost AI research in the public sector. The five-year plan to 2030 envisages the creation of centers of excellence to complement the current network of more than 70 AI centers of excellence.
The opening of these centers is part of the National AI Strategy 2.0 to position Singapore as a global hub where the use of AI in practice is showcased. Let’s take a look at some important openings here.
1.Open AI
In May, OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, committed more than $300 million to establish its first applied AI lab outside the United States in Singapore. This lab will focus on the use of AI in public services, finance, healthcare, and digital infrastructure. No deadline was given for the $300 million pledge.
As part of the agreement with the Ministry of Digital Development and Information, it will also launch a forward deployment engineer training program that will create more than 200 Singapore-based engineering jobs over the next few years.
Forward Deployment Engineer is a hybrid business and technical role for a software engineer. These engineers work directly with companies on real-world business problems to solve problems and unlock new sources of value.
2. Nvidia
In May, the US-based chipmaker announced plans to establish its first laboratory in Singapore and its second in the Asia-Pacific region. The lab will focus on developing body-based AI such as robots and self-driving cars. We will also focus on reducing computing costs and improving energy efficiency for large-scale AI infrastructure.
Nvidia’s lab will work with a multi-operator robot testbed in Singapore’s Punggol Digital District, where companies such as Grab, DHL and Certis are already testing robots for security, cleaning and delivery.
3. Thames
In May, Temasek-backed digital services company Tems set up a local foundry to bridge the gap between AI experimentation and actual production. The company is hiring and training 50 AI experts to work with Singapore companies to accelerate enterprise AI adoption in areas such as precision medicine and financial services.
Early projects include an agent AI assistant for investment firms and an AI-powered lead management system for telecommunications providers.
4.KPMG
In May, KPMG launched the Trusted Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence, where all products are developed and tested before being delivered to clients.
Supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board, the center aims to help businesses scale their AI deployments with confidence. It comes with Trusted AI Assurance, an assessment tool to help businesses decide when and if they should use AI.
Jasmine Lau, Minister for Digital Development and Information, looks at an interactive board at the launch of the KPMG Trusted AI Center of Excellence on May 25.
(St. Photo: Jason Quah)
5. Mastercard
In April, Mastercard announced plans to open a regional AI center of excellence in Singapore by the end of the year. This will be the largest innovation space in the Asia-Pacific region.
One of the key programs is Mastercard Agent Pay, which was announced at the same time. This protects users by ensuring that purchases made by the AI agent are verified through biometrics.
The Singapore AI Center aims to develop innovations in payments, fraud detection, cybersecurity and real-time risk management.
6. Umi Group
The multinational technology conglomerate, whose brands include Shopee and Garena, announced in April that it would launch an AI center of excellence in Singapore, with support from Digital Industry Singapore.
The company’s priorities include improving AI models for e-commerce applications in Southeast Asian languages. The center is expected to create demand for at least 100 roles in Singapore, with activities spanning AI research, engineering and product development.
7. Singtel
In February, Singtel announced the launch of an Applied AI Center of Excellence in collaboration with Nvidia to test AI solutions in real-world environments. This is part of the company’s goal to build a trusted AI ecosystem in Singapore.
The center aims to enable organizations and government agencies to move from trials to large-scale deployment through the use of Nvidia’s infrastructure and Singtel’s AI cloud.
8. Jaffa
Under its Center of Excellence in AI and Quantum Computing, launched in October 2025, the agriculture and food company aims to work with higher institutions and start-ups to address challenges in livestock and food production.
The company has several agreements in place, including a collaboration with the Singapore Institute of Technology to support quality inspection in food processing using computer vision. The company will also work with Nanyo Riko to develop AI prototype solutions and provide training for developing digital human resources.
These partnerships will build on the company’s growing use of AI in the region, including test pilots in Indonesia and Vietnam that use AI to monitor farm operations in real time.
9. Google Deep Mind
The US tech giant aims to improve the ability of AI models in understanding regional languages, cultural nuances, and culture-related visual cues through a new AI research lab established in November 2025.
The company is collaborating with AI Singapore on Project Aquarium, a platform for sourcing data for Southeast Asian languages. This is expected to power Singapore’s homegrown AI model Sea-Lion, which recognizes 13 regional languages including Malay, Tamil, Thai and Vietnamese.
Google’s core AI research team will also partner with local institutions and academic institutions to improve the inference capabilities of the AI model Gemini and create solutions to tackle global issues such as energy, healthcare, and climate.
10. Razor
The homegrown gaming company announced plans to establish an AI Center of Excellence at its Southeast Asia headquarters in August 2025 and hire 150 engineers, data scientists and game developers to help implement AI in its core operations.
The center aims to create more tools to engage gamers and help developers automate using AI, and these 150 hires are expected to be skilled in these tasks.
Razer QA Companion was created to find bugs in your games and reduce development time.
(Photo: SPH Media)
One of our existing AI tools, Razer QA Companion, provides quality assurance testing and bug detection to reduce production costs and cut the time needed to bring games to market in half. The tool was in beta testing with over 50 unknown game studios and independent studios.
The company will also collaborate with AI Singapore and higher education institutions to provide hands-on training in AI and machine learning through internships and assignments.
11.Microsoft Research Asia
Microsoft’s first research center in Southeast Asia was established in July 2025. The institute aims to create AI models that will help local manufacturers manage increased costs associated with things like supply chain disruptions. The institute is staffed by a team of newly hired researchers at the company’s offices on Cecil Street.
The company will also seek local collaborators to apply advanced AI technology to other key sectors such as finance and healthcare. For example, we want to incorporate news insights and company earnings reports to create an AI model that can more accurately predict the direction the market will take.
12. Grab
The ride-hailing company announced plans to launch an AI Center of Excellence at its OneNorth headquarters in May 2025 and hire at least 50 product, engineering, data science and analytics professionals by the end of 2025.
So far, Grab has integrated AI voice assistant capabilities to allow visually impaired users to book rides using voice commands. The tool uses OpenAI’s large-scale language model, fine-tuned with audio samples provided by local employees to understand Singaporean accents and pronunciations.
Another tool in the pipeline includes data collection from in-vehicle dashcams that can capture the presence of flooding, heavy rain, and traffic conditions, allowing drivers to receive accurate flood warnings. This will help minimize traffic disruption during heavy rain.
13. SIT x Nvidia AI Center
Founded by SIT and chip manufacturing giant Nvidia, the center has worked with 70 companies to develop 50 AI solutions in the manufacturing, healthcare and transportation sectors since its opening in 2024.
In October 2025, we also launched an initiative to train more than 200 new graduates and mid-career professionals as AI practitioners over the next three years.
Participants will gain skills in developing AI applications using AI tools, libraries, and algorithms. We will also work with industry partners on projects that use AI to solve real-world business problems under the supervision of instructors and experts at the Center and SIT.
14.UBS
Singapore is home to the Swiss bank’s largest and first AI and transformation factory, launched in November 2024. With over 150 employees comprising programmers, data scientists and product managers, the factory is one of over 70 AI Centers of Excellence established in Singapore.
Products developed in-house include AI-powered tools that perform background checks on wealth management customers. This tool reduced the time required for a manual process that could take up to two weeks.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction
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