Google DeepMind opens new AI research lab in Singapore

Google DeepMind is expanding its footprint in Asia Pacific with a new AI research lab in Singapore, a move that builds on the government’s push to accelerate AI adoption through its National AI Strategy 2.0 and Smart Nation 2.0 plans.

The lab marks a deeper investment in the region after the company more than doubled its APAC team over the past year.

Google DeepMind said its Singapore-based team will comprise research scientists, software engineers, operations specialists and AI impact experts. The team will focus on advancing core capabilities for Gemini and applying its latest models across Google’s products and Cloud customers, with an emphasis on linguistic and cultural inclusivity for Asia Pacific.

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The lab will also serve as a collaboration hub as the company works with government agencies, businesses, civil society and academic institutions across the region.

Singapore organisations are already tapping Google’s AI tools across several sectors. A*STAR and the National Neuroscience Institute used AlphaFold to support new research on Parkinson’s disease. GovTech, the Cyber Security Agency, the Infocomm Media Development Authority and Google recently launched an AI agent sandbox to test autonomous solutions for public-sector use.

Google DeepMind also worked with AI Singapore on Project Aquarium, an open data platform for Southeast Asian languages, and expanded the partnership to support SEA-LION, a family of LLMs tuned to regional cultural and linguistic contexts. This enabled the launch of SEA-LION v4, built on Gemma 3’s multimodal capabilities.

In education, students in Singapore are receiving one-year free access to the Google AI Pro Plan, while the company introduced Gemini Academy to IMDA’s Singapore Digital Office to broaden AI literacy beyond schools. For startups, the Google for Startups: AI First accelerator is supporting local founders using generative AI to solve economic, societal and environmental challenges.

Google DeepMind said these initiatives reflect the potential of combining frontier research with Singapore’s innovation ecosystem. The company added that its new lab will continue strengthening partnerships across Asia Pacific to scale the impact of AI for communities in the region.

“Google has been a part of the Singapore story for close to two decades, as home to our Asia-Pacific headquarters. The new Google DeepMind research lab in Singapore is a strong signal of the importance of this region and will help to ensure Asia Pacific - which is home to more than half the world’s population, is not just consuming AI, but is an architect and developer of this transformative technology,” said Sanjay Gupta, president, Google Asia Pacific.

In tandem, Lila Ibrahim, COO at Google DeepMind said, "Singapore’s forward-looking approach and unique position make it the ideal place for our new Google DeepMind AI research lab. We are here to harness the region’s exceptional talent, drive purposeful research, and build the essential partnerships to advance AI responsibly and deliver tangible, global impact." 

Jermaine Loy, managing director at EDB, said Google DeepMind’s decision to set up its first Southeast Asian research lab in Singapore strengthens the country’s push to build an AI innovation hub for the region.

She added that the collaboration will help advance solutions in areas such as healthcare, energy and climate, while creating opportunities for Singapore’s talent and research community through access to advanced AI tools.

The expansion comes as Google steps up broader efforts around online safety in Singapore. In October, the company unveiled that it will roll out age assurance solutions across its products in the first quarter of 2026 to provide more age-appropriate experiences for users under 18. The move follows rising parental concerns about online risks and a survey by the Ministry of Digital Development and Information calling for stronger support in managing children’s digital activities.

Google’s age assurance technology uses a machine learning model to estimate a user’s age based on signals such as search activity and YouTube viewing categories. Safeguards for those identified as under 18 include default SafeSearch filters, restricted access to adult apps on Google Play, disabled Timeline features on Google Maps, and content limits on YouTube.

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