Anthropic will open its Singapore office in October, chasing OpenAI for Southeast Asia’s AI market

Anthropic is set to open its first office in Southeast Asia, in Singapore, in October, as the city aims to become a hub for the rapidly growing AI market. The announcement was made on September 16, with Chris Ciauri, Anthropic's international managing director, stating that the location was chosen due to its high usage of Anthropic's AI system, Claude.

Singapore currently ranks second in Claude usage out of 121 countries, surpassed only by Australia. The regional expansion of Anthropic will be led by Dale Finlay, who recently moved from OpenAI, where he held the position of regional go-to-market head. Finlay emphasized that trust is crucial for AI adoption in the region. Anthropic's move to Singapore comes after rival OpenAI opened its Asia headquarters in the city in late 2024, and follows the growing trend of AI companies establishing a presence in the "port of entry" nation.

OpenAI is also planning to lease 100,000 square feet of new office space in the city, while Meta recently appointed a head for the ASEAN and Australia region. Singapore, known for its stable political environment and business-friendly policies, has already attracted AI companies like Cognition and Sierra, who have chosen the city as their headquarters.

Plaud, an AI-powered note-taker manufacturer, also opened its regional headquarters in Singapore on September 16, aiming to accelerate engineering and product development in the country.