Singapore has launched Meralion (Multimodal Empathetic Reasoning and Learning in One Network) Version 2, a multimodal, empathetic large language model (LLM) designed to understand and process Southeast Asia’s diverse languages, cultures and communication styles with advanced multilingual, code-switching and emotional intelligence capabilities
Announced by Singapore’s Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo at the Asia Tech x Singapore conference, this marks a pivotal moment for Singapore’s digital ambitions and sets a new benchmark for the global AI community.
Meralion was developed by the A*Star Institute for Infocomm Research (I²R) under Singapore’s S$70 million National Multimodal Large Language Model Programme, with support from the National Research Foundation and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).
It is one of two national LLMs — the other is Sea-lion (Southeast Asian Languages in One Network) which is designed to represent and process the linguistic and cultural diversity of Southeast Asia.
Meralion embodies Singapore’s commitment to building AI that is both technologically advanced and deeply attuned to the region’s languages, cultures and communication styles. The latest version supports a wide range of languages, including English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil, Singlish, Bahasa Indonesia, Thai, and Vietnamese. Future plans include incorporating Chinese dialects.
The model’s code-switching capabilities mirror the way Singaporeans and Southeast Asians naturally blend languages in conversation, while new emotional intelligence features allow the AI to detect tone, gender and paralinguistic cues for more nuanced, empathetic interactions.
Driving Adoption
The Meralion Consortium has been launched to accelerate real-world impact. It brings together industry and research partners such as DBS Bank, Grab, Microsoft Singapore, SPH Media, and the National Supercomputing Centre Singapore.
This collaborative platform will drive the development and deployment of culturally contextualised AI across sectors — ranging from multilingual customer support and healthcare to digital education and financial services.
The consortium’s objectives focus on pooling resources to reduce development costs, sharing domain-specific data to enhance model capabilities, and co-developing use cases that address pressing regional needs.
Early applications include emotion-aware elderly care solutions, scam call protection, real-time multilingual transcription, and empathetic digital health assistants.
Fostering a vibrant AI ecosystem
Meralion has been downloaded more than 90,000 times since its December 2024 launch, signalling the strong demand for AI that understands local nuance and context. By making the base model open source and providing a common digital infrastructure, Singapore is fostering a vibrant ecosystem for AI innovation that can be scaled across Southeast Asia and beyond.
On the international stage, Singapore’s leadership is further demonstrated through initiatives such as the AI Verify Testing Framework and the Singapore Consensus on Global AI Safety Research Priorities, which aim to align global standards for responsible AI development.
The collaborative approach, including partnerships with the US and France on AI safety and data privacy, positions Singapore as a trusted hub for AI governance and innovation.
For Singapore, Meralion is a digital extension of the nation’s multicultural identity, reinforcing its role as a leader in human-centric, responsible AI.
For the global AI community, Meralion sets a precedent for building AI systems that are not only powerful but also empathetic, inclusive and grounded in local realities.
Entelechy Asia 