oogle wants to study abroad.
On Wednesday, the company announced that it will open a research lab in Singapore, following more than doubling Google DeepMind’s team in the Asia Pacific region over the past year. In the announcement, Google said the research lab would focus on direct collaboration with government, businesses and academic institutions across the region.
And Google isn’t the only company taking an interest in the region.
- OpenAI opened a Singapore office at the end of 2024 and plans to expand the headcount to 50 by the end of this year.
- Anthropic plans to open an office in Seoul, South Korea, early next year, with COO Paul Smith telling Reuters that “Out of the top five (Anthropic) users globally, three are in Asia: Korea, Japan, and India.”
- Data center development is ramping up in the region, too, with Microsoft, Google and OpenAI developing AI infrastructure in Asian countries.
There are a few advantages to tech companies shoring up their AI influence in the Asia Pacific region. For one, AI optimism is higher in countries Thailand, Indonesia and China, according to Stanford University’s 2025 AI Index Report.
These countries are also “proving grounds” for applied AI, Charles Wong, co-founder and CEO of Bifrost AI, told The Deep View. “For companies like DeepMind, the draw isn’t just about talent, but rather, it’s the opportunity to build systems against edge-case complexity you simply don’t see in the United States or Europe,” said Wong.
Moves in the Asia Pacific region may also reflect a broader desire for international dominance in the AI space. With the market in the US growing increasingly crowded, setting up shop anywhere abroad could be part of a larger strategy to find a bigger audience and start reeling in higher returns.