Anthropic has opened its fifth Asia-Pacific office in Singapore and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the government to deepen cooperation on AI safety, security and responsible adoption.

Singapore ranks second among 121 countries in Claude.ai usage relative to population, about six times what its size alone would predict, according to Anthropic’s Economic Index.

According to Dale Finlay, Asean General Manager of Anthropic, the local presence is about proximity to customers with demanding requirements.

“Our customers here hold AI to an extremely high standard, especially when it comes to reliability and security. Having a team on the ground means we can get even closer to the organisations putting Claude to work on their hardest problems,” he said.

AI safety and trust

Signed on the sidelines of Singapore International Cyber Week by Anthropic Co-founder Ben Mann and Ministry of Digital Development and Information Permanent Secretary Kai Fong Chng, the MOU covers AI safety, security and model evaluation; research into AI adoption and its impact; and responsible adoption in the public and private sectors.

“Singapore has been a leader in responsible AI, with a long track record of investment in model testing and evaluation,” said Mann, who added that the partnership will help ensure the transition to powerful AI goes well in Singapore and around the world.

For Singapore, the partnership is also about building institutional capacity.

“Singapore’s approach to AI has always been to enable innovation while keeping pace with its evolving risks. Trust is critical for businesses, workers and the public to use AI with confidence,” said Chng.

Under the MOU, Anthropic plans technical exchanges with Singapore’s AI safety, security and assurance institutions on model evaluation, testing standards and incident response.

It also intends to share research and data, including from its Anthropic Economic Index, and provide technical and policy expertise as Singapore develops AI rules.

PHOTO CREDIT: MDDI (Mann with MDDI Minister Josephine Teo)