OpenAI has appointed Oliver Jay as MD (International) who will be based in Singapore
ChatGPT’s parent, OpenAI, has established a presence in Singapore and plans to open an office later this year to capitalise on the growing demand for advanced artificial intelligence tools in the Asia Pacific.
Singaporeans are some of the highest per capita users of ChatGPT worldwide, with the number of weekly active users doubling since the beginning of the year.
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The tech giant has already started building a team in the city-state to support customers and partners throughout the region and strengthen relationships with local and regional governments, businesses, and institutions. As part of the plans, it has appointed Oliver Jay as Managing Director for International. Based in Singapore, Jay will oversee OpenAI’s international operations and global expansion.
OpenAI will work closely with Singapore government partners, such as the Economic Development Board (EDB), to support the country’s local AI ecosystem and help shape an AI-powered future that benefits everyone.
As a first step in that commitment, OpenAI has partnered with AI Singapore to make advanced AI more widely accessible across Southeast Asia.
Through the partnership, OpenAI will provide up to US$1 million to help develop resources, including open datasets, to ensure AI models are better suited to Southeast Asia’s diverse languages and cultures.
“Singapore, with its rich history of technology leadership, has emerged as a leader in AI, recognising its potential to solve some of society’s hardest problems and advance economic prosperity. We’re excited to partner with the government and the country’s thriving AI ecosystem as we expand into the APAC region,” CEO Sam Altman said.
“OpenAI’s decision to establish a presence in Singapore, its hub in APAC, underscores the strength of our growing AI ecosystem, fuelled by the government’s investments in AI talent, AI compute and AI demand by enterprises. As part of Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0, Digital Industry Singapore (EDB, ESG and IMDA) fosters collaboration between AI innovators and Singapore-based enterprises so that they can harness innovation for productivity and growth. We look forward to the multiplier effects of this move, sparking new collaborations and bringing more leading-edge AI companies to our region,” said Jacqueline Poh, MD of the EDB.
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On November 21 this year, OpenAI will host its first Developer Day in Singapore, bringing together the region’s flourishing community of developers and startups building AI’s future.
Last week, OpenAI raised US$6.6 billion from investors, including Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures, Microsoft, Nvidia, and SoftBank, at a US$157 billion valuation.
The New York Times recently reported that OpenAI is planning to raise the price of individual ChatGPT subscriptions from US$20 per month to US$22 by the end of the year. A steeper increase will come over the next five years; by 2029, OpenAI expects it’ll charge $44 per month for ChatGPT Plus.
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