Singapore – Sea Limited has announced the creation of an AI Centre of Excellence in Singapore, supported by Digital Industry Singapore, a collaborative office involving the Singapore Economic Development Board, Enterprise Singapore, and the Infocomm Media Development Authority.
The new centre is intended to strengthen the company’s investment in its internal technology infrastructure while advancing its transition towards an AI-focused operating model.
“As AI continues to evolve, we see it as a foundational capability that strengthens how we build innovative products, operate at a global scale, and create value for the countless communities we serve,” Forrest Li, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Sea, stated.
“Such homegrown AI capabilities also contribute to the wider AI ecosystem in Singapore, which we are excited to partner with the government on growing and developing.”
Structured around a technology-led innovation strategy, the facility will support ongoing progress in both artificial intelligence research and its commercial applications, alongside efforts to build strategic capabilities across several areas.
These include the development of foundational AI technologies, such as large-scale models, evaluation systems, and internal platforms designed to keep pace with developments at the forefront of the field.
The centre will also focus on translating research outputs into scalable, production-ready solutions aimed at improving user experience, operational efficiency, and measurable business outcomes. In addition, it will support the cultivation of specialised AI talent and explore new organisational approaches enabled by AI.
“The new AI CoE will create new innovation roles in areas such as AI engineering and product development, providing Singaporeans an opportunity to create AI products with a global reach,” Philbert Gomez, Senior Vice President, Executive Director and Head at Digital Industry Singapore, commented.
“We look forward to the cutting-edge work that will emerge from Sea’s Centre of Excellence in Singapore.”
Over the next three years, the initiative is expected to generate demand for at least 100 roles in Singapore focused on research, engineering, and product development.
Continued investment in advanced research is also intended to enhance the performance and application of the company’s expanding portfolio of proprietary AI systems, including internally developed foundation models such as Compass Max v3.5, a large-scale language model designed for Southeast Asian languages and e-commerce use cases.
These models are currently deployed across the Shopee platform, supporting various AI-driven features with improved responsiveness and cost efficiency compared with other commercially available alternatives.
The establishment of the centre is expected to contribute to the development of domestic AI capabilities, support broader enterprise adoption of AI, and help build a workforce equipped with AI-related expertise.
