Manila, Philippines – Singapore-based AI and digital transformation company Temus has announced a strategic investment in Philippines-headquartered Thinking Machines Data Science (TM), a move aimed at expanding enterprise AI deployment capabilities across Southeast Asia.
Following the investment, Thinking Machines will continue operating under its existing brand and leadership as “Thinking Machines Data Science, a Temus entity.” Founder Stephanie Sy will join the Temus leadership team and co-lead the combined Applied AI & Data team as Managing Director alongside Sutowo Wong.
“The window to capture this moment in Southeast Asia is now, and you need the right partners to move at the speed the market demands,” said Stephanie Sy. “We built Thinking Machines because we believed that the region deserved world-class AI capability – built here, for here. Joining the Temus group means we can pursue that ambition at a scale we could not have reached alone. Our team, our brand, and our commitment to our clients remain unchanged. What changes is the breadth of what we can offer them.”
Founded in Manila in 2015, Thinking Machines Data Science says it has trained more than 10,000 professionals in AI and co-developed hundreds of AI systems for organisations in sectors including financial services, retail, conglomerates, and the civic sector. The company operates offices in Manila, Singapore, and Bangkok. It is also OpenAI’s first official Services Partner in the Asia-Pacific region and recently attained OpenAI advanced partner status.
Temus, which has around 500 employees and is backed by Temasek, provides AI transformation services including cloud and application engineering, consulting, and design. Its projects span sectors such as healthcare, defence, financial services, education, and government.
According to the companies, the investment combines Temus’ AI transformation capabilities, including its AI Foundry launched in May 2026, with Thinking Machines’ experience in building data platforms and enterprise AI systems. They said the combined organisation will focus on helping enterprises move from AI pilot projects to production-scale deployments across Southeast Asia.
The companies also said existing client engagements and teams will continue without disruption.
Sutowo Wong, Managing Director, Applied AI & Data, Temus, said: “I’m glad to be working alongside Stephanie and the Thinking Machines team as we bring our two teams together. Our combined Applied AI & Data team brings together Temus’ transformation delivery capability with Thinking Machines’ decade of AI execution experience. Together, we’re able to support clients with a deeper bench across the full spectrum of AI and data work, and scale AI impact across the Southeast Asia region.”
Temus Chief Executive Officer Sng Ren Yeong said the investment reflects growing demand for enterprise AI systems that can operate under real-world conditions.
“Many enterprises are navigating the challenge of running AI systems that hold up under real operating conditions – constrained data, regulatory requirements, complex workflows. That requires a different level of engineering, governance, and integration. Thinking Machines brings deep capability in that layer of the problem. This investment connects two parts of the system that need to work as one: how AI is built, and how it is made to operate at scale.”
He added: “This investment is a recognition of a shared mission – two teams that were each built by people who came home to build. Thinking Machines gains the reach and resources of the Temus group. Temus gains a team that has been doing serious AI delivery work for over a decade. Together, we are better placed than ever to help organisations move from AI pilots into production, for Singapore and beyond.”
