Sea Opens AI Hub in Singapore, Creating 100 Tech Jobs

A major tech company is betting big on Singapore's AI future, and it's bringing hundreds of jobs along with it.

Sea Limited announced the creation of an Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence in Singapore, backed by government support through Digital Industry Singapore. The initiative will focus on developing AI technologies specifically designed for Southeast Asian languages and businesses.

The centre plans to create at least 100 new positions over the next three years, spanning AI research, engineering, and product development. These aren't just any tech jobs—they're roles that will shape how millions of people across Southeast Asia shop, communicate, and do business online.

At the heart of the project is Compass Max v3.5, a massive 245-billion-parameter language model built specifically for Southeast Asian languages and e-commerce. It's already powering features on Shopee, Sea's e-commerce platform, helping the site respond faster and work more efficiently for users across the region.

"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," said Forrest Li, Sea's CEO. The company views this investment as a long-term commitment to building homegrown AI talent in Singapore.

The timing aligns perfectly with Singapore's National AI Strategy 2.0 and recent budget priorities focused on becoming a global AI leader. By developing AI tools tailored for Southeast Asia's diverse languages and markets, Sea is filling a gap that generic Western AI models can't address.

The Ripple Effect

This investment does more than create jobs at one company. It strengthens Singapore's entire AI ecosystem, attracting more talent and investment to the region. As Philbert Gomez from Digital Industry Singapore noted, these roles give Singaporeans the chance to create AI products with global reach, not just use technology built elsewhere.

The centre will develop evaluation frameworks and tools to help deploy AI sustainably at scale, ensuring the technology grows responsibly. This focus on building infrastructure, not just flashy applications, creates a foundation that other companies and researchers can build upon.

For job seekers in AI, this opens doors to work on real-world problems affecting hundreds of millions of users across one of the world's fastest-growing digital markets.

Southeast Asia is proving it doesn't just consume technology—it creates it too.