Google DeepMind has announced that it will open a new artificial intelligence research lab in Singapore, marking its first such facility in Southeast Asia, an official news release stated.
The company said Singapore’s strong policies, talent pool and long-term plans for digital transformation made it the right place to expand its presence in the region.
The Asia-Pacific region is home to more than half the world’s population, and Google DeepMind said it is expecting major growth in the coming years. Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0, Smart Nation 2.0 vision and its openness to global talent were highlighted as key reasons behind the decision.
This move follows a significant rise in Google DeepMind’s operations in the region. The company said its APAC team has more than doubled in size over the past year.
Focus on AI, Gemini
The new Singapore lab will include research scientists, software engineers, operations staff and AI impact experts. Their work will support the development of Google’s Gemini models and other frontier AI research with a special focus on Asia-Pacific needs.
According to Google, the Singapore-based team will work closely with governments, businesses, civil society groups and top academic institutions across the region. A major part of the focus will be on linguistic and cultural inclusivity for Asian languages.
Google DeepMind’s Chief Operating Officer Lila Ibrahim said the country was the right choice for this expansion. “Singapore’s forward-looking approach and unique position make it the ideal place for our new Google DeepMind AI research lab. We are here to harness the region’s exceptional talent, drive purposeful research, and build the essential partnerships to advance AI responsibly and deliver tangible, global impact,” Ibrahim said.
Jermaine Loy, Managing Director at Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB), welcomed the decision, saying it would help strengthen the country’s AI ecosystem. “We welcome Google DeepMind’s decision to establish its first research lab in Southeast Asia in Singapore — an important addition to Singapore’s efforts to build a hub for AI innovation across Asia Pacific. Partnering with DeepMind will help to advance impactful and innovative solutions to global challenges in areas such as healthcare, energy, and climate,” the EDB MD said.
“This collaboration will also create new opportunities for Singapore’s talent and research community, providing them with access to world-class AI tools for scientific research and discovery,” Loy added.
Sanjay Gupta, President of Google Asia Pacific, said the move reflects the growing importance of the region. Gupta said that Google has been a part of the Singapore story for close to two decades, as home to its Asia-Pacific headquarters.
“The new Google DeepMind research lab in Singapore is a strong signal of the importance of this region and will help to ensure Asia Pacific – which is home to more than half the world’s population – is not just consuming AI, but is an architect and developer of this transformative technology,” he said.
Dr. Leslie Teo from AI Singapore said the presence of Google DeepMind will help build AI models that better represent the region.
“A Google DeepMind presence in Southeast Asia is a broader recognition of the region’s AI vibrancy, and the need for systems that account for cultural and linguistic contexts we operate in. We are excited to leverage the team’s expertise to accelerate our work to build LLMs that are more representative of the region’s context and perspectives, and we believe it will build further inroads towards bringing more impactful AI solutions that work for the millions of people – regardless of where they live and the language they speak,” Teo said.
Google’s local impact
Google DeepMind pointed to several examples from Singapore that show how the company’s AI tools are already being used for research, public services and education.
It stated that a team from A*STAR and the National Neuroscience Institute used AlphaFold to make a major discovery related to Parkinson’s disease, while agencies like GovTech, CSA and IMDA have partnered with Google to create an AI agent sandbox for testing safe autonomous solutions for the public sector.
Listing more achievements, the Mountain View-based company said it worked with AI Singapore on Project Aquarium, an open data platform for Southeast Asian languages, and on the SEA-LION family of models, including the new SEA-LION v4.
Google said that students in Singapore are being given one-year access to the Google AI Pro Plan, and Gemini Academy has been introduced to expand AI literacy. It also listed its support for local startups through the Google for Startups initiative.
Looking ahead, Google DeepMind said its aim is to make sure the benefits of AI reach communities across Asia-Pacific. According to the company, the new lab is expected to deepen collaborations across the region and support research that can help address challenges in areas such as health, climate, energy and public services.
