Big tech’s global aspirations take root in Asia

When ChatGPT first burst onto the scene in 2022, it was easy to see it as a singular milestone. Few could have predicted the central role that the company behind it—OpenAI—would come to play in the world of artificial intelligence (AI). Yet, just four years on, the company has established itself as a key player at the frontier of AI innovation.

In November 2024, OpenAI launched its regional hub office in Singapore, making the city-state what was at the time its fourth outpost worldwide and only its second in Asia-Pacific. According to Oliver Jay, OpenAI Managing Director for International, the company wants to deepen its presence in the region’s fast-growing markets where AI adoption is outpacing many Western markets. When it began looking for a base in Asia-Pacific, Singapore “stood out quickly”, says Mr Jay.

“We'd been looking at adoption patterns across the region, and Singapore consistently ranked as one of the highest per capita ChatGPT usage globally. The level of adoption reflected a genuine openness and interest in what AI can unlock.”
 

It also reflects a broader shift. Global AI leaders are moving closer to emerging centres of growth in Asia-Pacific and tailoring their solutions for local languages, industries and regulations. This is giving rise to regional AI hubs—Mr Jay identifies markets like Singapore, Seoul, New Delhi and Sydney—that bring frontier firms closer to developers, customers, researchers and policymakers.

From experimentation to execution

Singapore’s market access and predictable regulatory environment may have been the initial attractions for tech firms, but the city-state is increasingly viewed as a pivotal centre for technological innovation and commercialisation.

Legacy firms and startups alike have set up research and product development operations in Singapore. Google, Microsoft and Nvidia are all collaborating with Singapore’s first-rate academic and research institutions to lay the foundations for frontier research into AI and cultivate a new generation of tech talent.

These partnerships have yielded groundbreaking results and illustrate how Singapore is a live testing ground for globally relevant products. For example, researchers at Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and the National Neuroscience Institute are using Google’s predictive software AlphaFold to model a protein linked to Parkinson’s disease, which is helping scientists explore earlier diagnosis and improved treatments. Google is similarly venturing into precision nutrition with Amili, a Singapore health-tech startup, to provide people with personalised lifestyle and nutrition guidance.
 

OpenAI has been working closely with local businesses to roll out and refine its tools in real-world settings, moving early-stage pilots to enterprise-wide deployments. With Southeast Asian ride-hailing and delivery super-app Grab, for example, OpenAI is automating mapmaking and boosting the app’s navigational capabilities. Singapore Airlines is using OpenAI’s technology to improve its existing AI-powered virtual assistant on its website, as well as improving operational efficiencies.

Beyond the labs and new tools, leading technology firms are playing an active role in shaping AI governance. Google, Meta, Microsoft and AWS are partnering with Singapore regulators to develop AI testing frameworks and safety standards that could eventually become global blueprints. Even Google’s secure, air-gapped cloud is being used by the government to test “agentic” AI—autonomous systems that act on a user’s behalf—in a controlled environment.
 

This collaborative approach to regulation is matched by robust investments in human capital. Tech titans are increasingly underwriting the future of Singapore’s workforce, embedding their expertise and proprietary curricula into classrooms. Nvidia, a leading chipmaker, will co-supervise a new Centre for AI with the Singapore Institute of Technology to train the next generation of specialists on advanced computing software. Google, in partnership with the National University of Singapore (NUS), will fund AI-training programmes and a sponsored professorship to strengthen academic leadership in AI-related fields, while OpenAI is also working with NUS to expand the use of AI to all computing students.
 

Big tech thinks globally

As competition in AI intensifies, OpenAI’s expansion into Singapore reflects a more distributed approach to innovation and commercialisation. The city is both a base for frontier research and a regional springboard to drive adoption of its AI tools by businesses and consumers across Asia-Pacific.

As Mr Jay puts it, the region approaches AI with “practical optimism”, a willingness to deploy new tools rather than debate them. That attitude feeds directly into how firms like OpenAI are approaching product development. “Having Singapore as our Asia-Pacific hub helps us move at the pace the region demands,” says Mr Jay. “Economic gains come from scaled use, not invention alone.”

Backed by strong research institutions, a supportive policy environment and a skilled workforce, Singapore allows technology companies to develop and implement AI at the pace that Asia-Pacific’s markets demand. These ingredients have never been more essential amid mounting regional demand for cutting-edge innovation and the prospect of widespread adoption.

“Singapore is central to our mission to close the gap between what AI can do and how effectively it’s actually being used,” says Mr Jay. “By expanding here, we’re getting a real understanding of how to build solutions that scale beyond a single market.”