OpenAI sees new Singapore office supporting its fast growth in the region

OpenAI plans to open an workplace in Singapore to assist its progress and enlargement within the Asia-Pacific area. 

Slated to start working later this 12 months, the brand new outfit will facilitate rising demand for superior synthetic intelligence (AI) instruments within the area, stated OpenAI in an announcement Wednesday. It is going to function a hub to spice up relationships with native and regional governments, establishments, and companies throughout Asia-Pacific. 

The choice to find it in Singapore additionally displays the nation’s main place within the expertise and business, the AI vendor stated. 

The Asian market has seen the variety of weekly ChatGPT energetic customers double because the begin of 2024 and is dwelling to a few of the highest per capita customers of the generative AI utility. 

“Singapore, with its wealthy historical past of expertise management, has emerged as a pacesetter in AI, recognizing its potential to unravel a few of society’s hardest issues and advance financial prosperity,” stated OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. He had alluded to potential plans to arrange an area workplace throughout his go to to Singapore final 12 months. 

Its presence within the Asian market will allow the corporate to collaborate extra carefully with Singapore authorities businesses, together with Financial Improvement Board (EDB), stated OpenAI. 

Aside from new partnerships, Singapore is also hoping the brand new outfit will pull extra AI firms into the area, stated EDB’s managing director Jacqueline Poh.

OpenAI has employed Oliver Jay as its managing director for worldwide, primarily based in Singapore. Jay will drive the corporate’s international operations and progress in Singapore and area. 

It additionally introduced a $1 million funding to develop assets, together with open datasets, that purpose to make sure AI fashions are fitted for Southeast Asia’s numerous languages and cultures. The funds shall be made by means of a partnership with AI Singapore, the federal government company behind the event of Southeast Asian Languages in One Community (SEA-LION), an open-source giant language mannequin touted to be smaller, extra versatile, and quicker in comparison with others in the marketplace immediately. 

Pre-trained and instruct-tuned for Southeast Asian languages and cultures, SEA-LION has been skilled on 981 billion language tokens, together with 623 billion English tokens, 128 billion Southeast Asia tokens, and 91 billion Chinese language tokens.  

“We welcome OpenAI’s participation in our shared imaginative and prescient in enhancing Southeast Asian illustration within the international panorama of LLMs,” stated Leslie Teo, senior director of AI merchandise at AI Singapore. “This effort will enhance the supply and high quality of Southeast Asian information and encourage additional growth and adoption of AI fashions and options in our area.” 

OpenAI plans to carry its first Developer Day in Singapore on Nov. 21. 

Aside from the upcoming Singapore workplace, OpenAI additionally operates an outfit in Tokyo, which was its first in Asia when it was formally launched in April this 12 months. Companies in Japan then had been supplied early entry to a customized GPT-4 mannequin optimized for the Japanese language. 

OpenAI opened its first worldwide workplace in London in June 2023 and added Dublin to the combination in September of that 12 months.