Singapore – OpenAI, the company behind the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT, has revealed plans to open an office in Singapore later this year. This will be the company’s fourth international office and its second in Asia, following Japan

The Singapore office will act as a regional hub aimed at fostering collaboration and strengthening ties with local and regional governments, businesses, and institutions. OpenAI will also collaborate with AI Singapore, the city-state’s national AI initiative, on generative AI models tailored to the cultures and languages of Southeast Asia. 

During Singapore Tech Week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman highlighted the country’s strong history in technology leadership and its role in advancing AI to address societal challenges and boost economic growth. 

He expressed enthusiasm about partnering with the government and the country’s growing AI community as the company expands in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to OpenAI’s careers page, they are opening jobs for its sales, customer success, technical success, and security teams for the Singapore team.

It’s worth noting that this follows a slew of publisher partnerships OpenAI has, including the Associated Press, Axel Springer, The Atlantic, Dotdash Meredith, Financial Times, LeMonde, NewsCorp, Prisa Media, TIME, Vox Media, Conde Nast, and most recently HEARST.

Earlier this year, Grab and OpenAI has announced a partnership, as both companies will design and deliver enhanced experiences for Grab users, partners and employees using state-of-the-art AI capabilities.

Hong Kong – Ruder Finn, an integrated marketing and communications agency, has appointed Zack Kass, former head of go-to-market at OpenAI, to chair its global AI advisory council.

The council is newly established in the agency, tasked to develop and implement AI strategies for Ruder Finn’s clients. With Kass at the helm, the council will report to Kathy Bloomgarden, chief executive officer of Ruder Finn while operating under the leadership of CTO & Head of AI Tejas Totade and David Ko, managing director of Ruder Finn Interactive Asia.

With 14 years of experience in the field of AI, Kass is expected to bring practical applications for AI to his work.

“At Ruder Finn, we believe that a company’s approach to AI – how quickly they learn, integrate, and embrace its potential – will be a key factor in their future success,” Bloomgarden said. 

“Zack’s global perspective and deep understanding of AI will be invaluable as we empower our teams and clients around the world to leverage these transformative technologies,” Bloomgarden added.

“The future of communications is inextricably linked with AI, leading to abundant possibilities. We’re on the cusp of unlocking unprecedented creativity, efficiency, and impact in how we connect and communicate. This partnership with Ruder Finn is about empowering businesses to navigate this exciting frontier and leverage AI for meaningful and lasting success,” Kass said.

“Our firm is setting a new standard in the industry by integrating advanced AI capabilities directly into our client offerings. By transforming traditional PR with AI-driven insights and efficiencies, we’re not just enhancing campaign outcomes—we’re positioning ourselves as leaders in AI-powered communications,” Elan Shou, Ruder Finn Asia-Pacific managing director, said.

While still in the process of finalizing the new council’s list of members, Ruder Finn will announce additional members representing other regions and expertise. 

Singapore – Global artificial intelligence (AI) company OpenAI has announced a partnership with global media company Condé Nast which will allow OpenAI to display content from top publication brands like Vogue, The New Yorker, Condé Nast Traveler, GQ, Architectural Digest, Vanity Fair, Wired, Bon Appétit, amongst, within the company’s products, including ChatGPT and its SearchGPT prototype.

With the introduction of OpenAI’s SearchGPT prototype, the company is testing new search features that make finding information and reliable content sources faster and more intuitive. 

Moreover, OpenAI will be combining its conversational models with information from the web to give users timely answers with clear and relevant sources. SearchGPT offers direct links to news stories, enabling users to easily explore more in-depth content directly from the source.

OpenAI also notes that they are collaborating with their news partners to collect feedback and insights on the design and performance of SearchGPT, ensuring that these integrations enhance user experiences and inform future updates to ChatGPT.

Brad Lightcap, COO at OpenAI, said, “We’re committed to working with Condé Nast and other news publishers to ensure that as AI plays a larger role in news discovery and delivery, it maintains accuracy, integrity, and respect for quality reporting.”

Condé Nast joins a growing list of publishers including Associated Press, Axel Springer, The Atlantic, Dotdash Meredith, Financial Times, LeMonde, NewsCorp, Prisa Media, TIME, Vox Media and others, in OpenAI’s mission to integrate journalism more deeply with AI services.

New York, USA – OpenAI has announced a multi-year partnership with global media company TIME to bring TIME’s journalism to OpenAI’s products, including ChatGPT. The new partnership furthers TIME’s commitment to expanding global access to accurate and trusted information. 

Through this collaboration, OpenAI will gain access to current and historic content from TIME’s extensive archives from the last 101 years to enhance its products and display in response to user inquiries—featuring a citation and link back to the original source on Time.com.

The partnership will also enable TIME to gain access to OpenAI’s technology to develop new products for its audiences, along with the opportunity to provide vital feedback and share practical applications to refine and enhance the delivery of journalism in ChatGPT and other OpenAI products and shape the future of news experiences.

Mark Howard, chief operating officer at TIME, said, “Throughout our 101-year history, TIME has embraced innovation to ensure that the delivery of our trusted journalism evolves alongside technology. This partnership with OpenAI advances our mission to expand access to trusted information globally as we continue to embrace innovative new ways of bringing TIME’s journalism to audiences globally.”

Meanwhile, Brad Lightcap, chief operating officer of OpenAI, commented, “We’re partnering with TIME to make it easier for people to access news content through our AI tools, and to support reputable journalism by providing proper attribution to original sources.”

This partnership follows a slew of partnerships OpenAI had including with the Financial Times, Reddit, News Corp, and more recently with Grab.

Singapore – Grab and OpenAI has announced a partnership, as both companies will design and deliver enhanced experiences for Grab users, partners and employees using state-of-the-art AI capabilities. This marks the first time a partnership like this has happened in Southeast Asia.

This partnership uniquely combines the development of AI tools for Grab users and partners with an initial pilot deployment of ChatGPT Enterprise for Grab employees. Moreover, Grab will access OpenAI’s technical and strategic expertise to partner on solutions tailored to the specific needs of users in Southeast Asia.

In terms of accessibility, Grab will leverage the use of state-of-the-art text and voice capabilities to make Grab’s services more accessible to all users, particularly the visually impaired or elderly who may otherwise find it challenging to navigate the on-screen app interface.

Moreover, Grab will explore using AI technology to build customer support chatbots that can better understand user problems and help resolve them faster.

Lastly, Grab will seek to leverage OpenAI’s vision capabilities to enhance its map-making efforts through greater automation and higher-quality data extraction from visual images. This means GrabMaps can be updated even faster, delivering a better experience to consumers and driver-partners.

Philipp Kandal, chief product officer at Grab said, “We’ve been a pioneer of AI adoption in the region, and believe that generative AI has a lot of potential to further transform the way we solve problems for our partners and users. We’re excited to work with OpenAI as a partner to help accelerate the exploration and use of this technology within Grab. Our goal with any new technology has always been to use it to solve real problems, at scale. Equipped with the latest tools, we look forward to building novel and delightful experiences for our customers while improving the way that every Grabber works.”

In addition to developing advanced AI solutions for its users and partners, Grab also intends to deploy ChatGPT Enterprise among select employees through an initial pilot, complementing existing efforts to drive wider use of AI tools across its employee base to boost productivity. 

Meanwhile, Brad Lightcap, chief operating officer at OpenAI commented, “We’re excited to work with Grab and together explore how advanced AI can benefit Grab users, partners, and employees across Southeast Asia.”

This partnership follows a slew of partnerships OpenAI had including with the Financial Times, Reddit, and News Corp.

USA – OpenAI and News Corp, the American mass media and publishing company, have announced a multi-year agreement allowing OpenAI to display content from News Corp mastheads to help users make informed choices based on reliable information and news sources. 

Through this collaboration, OpenAI will receive access to current and archived content from News Corp’s major news and information publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, MarketWatch, Investor’s Business Daily, FN, and New York Post; The Times, The Sunday Times, and The Sun; The Australian, news.com.au, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail, The Advertiser, and Herald Sun; and others.

In addition to providing content, News Corp will share journalistic expertise to help ensure the highest journalism standards are present across OpenAI’s offering. 

OpenAI also emphasised that the partnership does not include access to content from any of News Corp’s other businesses. 

Robert Thomson, chief executive of News Corp, said, “We believe an historic agreement will set new standards for veracity, for virtue, and for value in the digital age. We are delighted to have found principled partners in Sam Altman and his trusty, talented team who understand the commercial and social significance of journalists and journalism. This landmark accord is not an end, but the beginning of a beautiful friendship in which we are jointly committed to creating and delivering insight and integrity instantaneously.”

Commenting on the deal, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, also shared, “Our partnership with News Corp is a proud moment for journalism and technology. We greatly value News Corp’s history as a leader in reporting breaking news around the world and are excited to enhance our users’ access to its high-quality reporting. Together, we are setting the foundation for a future where AI deeply respects, enhances, and upholds the standards of world-class journalism.”

Tokyo , Japan – AI research organisation OpenAI has announced the establishment of a new office in Tokyo, Japan. This marks the first time OpenAI has opened an office in the Asian region. Moreover, it is also announced that they are releasing a GPT-4 custom model optimised for the Japanese language.

In a blog post by the company, it said that they are committed to collaborating with the Japanese government, local businesses, and research institutions in order to develop safe AI tools that serve Japan’s unique needs and to unlock new opportunities.

“We’re excited to be in Japan which has a rich history of people and technology coming together to do more. We believe AI will accelerate work by empowering people to be more creative and productive, while also delivering broad value to current and new industries that have yet to be imagined,” Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said.

As part of its Japan office opening, it has appointed Tadao Nagasaki as president of OpenAI Japan. In this new role, Nagasaki will lead the company’s commercial and market engagement efforts and help build its local team that will advance global affairs, go-to-market, communications, operations and other functions in serving Japan. 

“Our new local presence also gets us closer to leading businesses like Daikin, Rakuten, and TOYOTA Connected who are using ChatGPT Enterprise to automate complex business processes, assist in data analysis, and optimize internal reporting. ChatGPT also helps accelerate the efforts of local governments, such as Yokosuka City, which is leveraging the technology to improve the efficiency of public services in Japan,” the company said.

Singapore – The National Library Board has teamed up with LePub APAC to launch an innovative project called ‘Playbrary’ that turns books into games with the aim of reviving reading. 

In this game-changing initiative, books are literally transformed into interactive text adventure games, blending the timeless charm of storytelling with the engagement of digital gameplay. 

Through cutting-edge AI technology, Playbrary transforms conventional books into captivating text-based adventure games. Staying true to the book’s original storyline, these games offer dynamic interaction, enabling players to shape the narrative’s direction. Beyond adapting to player choices, the AI enriches the experience by generating vivid images to complement the text, resulting in a fully immersive and multisensory experience.

Playbrary is in partnership with OpenAI, integrating it seamlessly with ChatGPT and allowing users to engage with these literary adventures directly through the platform. 

Furthermore, Playbrary offers a free prompt generator, ensuring that everyone can enjoy the fusion of reading and gaming. Once kids ‘play’ a story, they can borrow the original from the National  Library Board, Singapore’s catalogue of books and eBooks. 

The Playbrary was born out of the challenge libraries globally face, which is keeping books relevant in an age dominated by digital distractions. More than just a digital library, Playbrary is an interactive journey through literature, where stories are not merely read but experienced. 

Moreover, beyond just entertainment, the initiative will also serve as an accessible educational tool for many. By gamifying the reading process, it presents a novel solution to the dwindling interest in traditional reading among younger generations. 

The National Library Board’s initiative hopes to solve the issue of younger generations losing interest in traditional reading.

Playbrary has the ability to turn any book in the public domain into a game since AI has read all of them already. With this, more than 1,000 classic books will be playable at launch, and LePub APAC is also inviting authors and publishers to add their books to Playbrary. 

Ng Cher Pong, chief executive officer of the National Library Board Singapore, said, “This is part of NLB’s ongoing efforts to make generative AI accessible to all. Our partnership with LePub APAC opens new, innovative ways for more people to read and learn. Through the gamification experience of Playbrary, we hope to encourage more Singaporeans to read these classics after playing the game. We also invite like-minded partners onboard to explore emerging technologies that inspire new ways of interaction with NLB’s resources, such as through GenAI.” 

Meanwhile, Cyril Louis, executive creative director at LePub APAC, shared, “As Playbrary begins its journey, it stands as a testament to Singapore’s innovative spirit and a potential beacon for the future of libraries in the digital age. Playbrary celebrates books through the lens of technology, inviting a new generation to rediscover the magic of stories in a format that resonates with their digital-first lifestyle. Once they’ve ‘played’ a story on Playbrary, many kids will be curious to read the original.” 

Hanh Kanssen, managing director at LePub APAC, also added, “Playbrary is an exciting project for LePub, which not only helps to rekindle a love for reading in young adults but is also a great educational resource. I am very proud of our great creative team behind this creation, who helped to make this project happen at the speed of light so that people all over the world can discover the joy of reading.” 

Singapore – Online fashion and lifestyle retail company Zalora, a part of Global Fashion Group (GFG), is adopting generative AI technology with the launch of its proprietary platform-as-a-service integration (PaaS) of OpenAI, TITAN. 

TITAN is used to drive new efficiencies in operations, improve online fashion customer experiences, and unlock growth opportunities for the company. It will also create more immersive and conversational online shopping experiences and data-driven recommendations for customers. 

Among the areas being powered by TITAN is its smart search discovery to handle a wider array of spelling variations and errors and better identify, present, and sort customers’ results, reducing the chances of experiencing zero search results. 

TITAN also powers their conversational shopping assistant, which includes smart prompts and improved real-time interactive features; their production automation to unlock automation across different functions and improve employee productivity gains; and their internal chatbots, which improve employee experience and productivity. 

Gunjan Soni, Zalora CEO and Global Fashion Group COO, said, “With a history of innovations under our belt, we are excited to embrace the future with Generative AI and leverage it to deliver the best ‘tailored for fashion’ e-commerce experience for our customers both during and post-purchase.With TITAN we will once again be the first in the region to offer these innovations to our growing loyal base.” 

Zalora’s drive to innovate is paired with the responsibility to safeguard the millions of customers it serves as well as their personal data. The company is committed to using AI and TITAN in a responsible way, having developed a series of principles to guide responsible innovation, and implementing several measures to protect customers’ data. 

Meanwhile, Sumit Jain, Chief Technology Officer at Zalora, also shared, “ZALORA is excited to leverage the potential of OpenAI via TITAN, our AI platform, to reimagine eCommerce and create a truly ‘wow’ customer experience. The future of retail will be driven by technology innovation, and the extent to which we prioritise ensuring a safe and seamless experience for customers.” 

“By building on OpenAI technology through our proprietary platform, TITAN, we intend to lead Fashion E-commerce innovation in maintaining a safe and seamless experience for customers and taking the online shopping experience to the next level,” he added. 

Zalora’s introduction of TITAN, its proprietary integration of OpenAI technology into its platform, comes alongside a series of new tech advancements the company plans to roll out this year. This includes the development of their conversational shopping assistant and Warehouse Management System (WMS), both of which are still in the early phases of development. 

TITAN will also serve as a gateway for ZALORA and its parent company, Global Fashion Group, to scale new heights in Southeast Asia and replicate this technology across the Group’s different regions, including Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand.

Singapore – Customer engagement platform Twilio announced that it will enable companies to create personalized, customer-aware experiences powered by OpenAI.

Through this integration, Twilio clients will be able to use OpenAI’s GPT-4 model to fuel new generative capabilities in ‘Twilio Engage’, the company’s multichannel marketing solution built on the segment customer data platform, as a result of this integration. 

This collaboration with OpenAI will formalize opportunities that many in Twilio’s community of more than 10 million developers have already been experimenting with. For instance, it’s possible to build a ChatGPT plugin for Twilio, which gives users the ability to access Twilio directly from ChatGPT’s interface, creating a new channel for brands to serve their customers better.

Furthermore, developers can create voice-activated chatbots, and feature capabilities can even range to build  serverless SMS chatbots. These builds validate the potential of OpenAI and Twilio’s ongoing and aligned efforts, and the value it can bring to customers looking to enhance customer engagement strategies.

Talking about the integration, Jeff Lawson, CEO of Twilio, said, “Experiences like ChatGPT are coming to the enterprise to power groundbreaking experiences in sales, service, content, marketing and more. Twilio CustomerAI enables companies to build customer-aware interactions – giving the language models context about the customer they’re helping. Without customer-awareness, any ChatGPT-like experiences would be generic and unhelpful. But with CustomerAI, companies can transform LLMs into the most helpful, knowledgeable agent imaginable at scale.”

Meanwhile, Brad Lightcap, COO of OpenAI, commented, “As AI drives down the cost of intelligence, it is increasingly possible for companies to deliver a deeply personalized experience for every customer. We know how much people want this, and we’re happy to be working with Twilio to bring it to the world. Twilio’s customer data platform will enable today’s and tomorrow’s large language models to unlock deep personalization at scale for every business.”