Anthropic opens Singapore office, signs AI safety agreement with government

The agreement covers AI safety, model evaluation, responsible adoption and incident response.

(From left to right) Anthropic’s head of ASEAN Dale Finlay and co-founder of Anthropic Benjamin Mann speaking during the Anthropic Builder Summit at Capella Singapore on Oct 14, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)

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SINGAPORE: Singapore and artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic have inked an agreement on AI cooperation, as the firm behind frontier model Claude opened its Singapore office on Wednesday (Oct 14).

Among other areas, the agreement sets out how Anthropic can work with the government on matters concerning safety and security, as well as the adoption of the tech and its impact.

Speaking at the Anthropic Builder Summit at Capella Singapore on Wednesday, the firm’s co-founder Benjamin Mann said the memorandum of understanding (MOU) lays the foundation for cooperation between the frontier AI firm and the Singapore government, with safety evaluation among the most "exciting" areas.

"When we train a new model, nobody really knows exactly what its capabilities are. Working with AI safety institutes like the new one in Singapore, as well as those around the world, is very important to understanding the risks and benefits of these new models as they’re being developed,” he said, referring to the Singapore AI Safety Institute.

He added that the MOU can deepen understanding of public-private partnerships to ensure companies develop this new technology safely and responsibly, and to understand the technology's impacts on the world and the workforce.

The MOU was signed on the sidelines of the Singapore International Cyber Week (SICW) conference on Tuesday by Anthropic co-founder BenjaminMann and Mr Chng Kai Fong, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI).

Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo and Anthropic head of APAC policy Michael Sellitto witnessed the signing.

The deal comes after Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam said in an interview on Tuesday that the government hopes for “full transparency immediately” and quicker sharing of information amid rising risks from AI.

“The key ask from Singapore, as well as many of the other countries, was: when some things happen, can we have full transparency immediately?" said Mr Shanmugam, referring to the major tech firms that have opened offices in Singapore.

Apart from Anthropic, Singapore has signed several agreements earlier this year with major AI firms. In May, the country inked a deal with OpenAI – which is behind ChatGPT – to strengthen its position as a leading hub for applied, AI-native innovation.

In June, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Microsoft signed an MOU to deepen collaboration on AI safety and security, as both sides seek to address growing risks from rapidly advancing AI technologies.

Then, as part of the government's smart nation strategy and cybersecurity efforts, the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) is collaborating with artificial intelligence research laboratory Google DeepMind to develop real-time detection of scams on devices.

NEW OFFICE AT RAFFLES PLACE

As for the new Singapore office, which is located at Raffles Place, Anthropic remained coy about the Singapore team's headcount or whether it is looking to hire more people.

There are currently 12 job openings listed on Anthropic's website, with roles ranging from finance to sales.

Said Anthropic’s ASEAN general manager Dale Finlay: "The big focus for us now is very much on the ‘go-to-market’. We've got an amazing customer base here already across public sector, enterprise, digital native, startup, and so we're going to be building that team out, but we're not sharing numbers on this.”

The company said its work with Singapore goes back to 2023 when it joined an evaluation sandbox run by IMDA and the AI Verify Foundation.

Mr Mann said Anthropic worked with the Singaporean government three years ago, but the company could not do much at the time because the models were not capable enough.

"In the beginning, our models were very bad," said Mr Mann in a fireside chat moderated by Mr Finlay.

"Yet, we continued to make the case that the models would get better, that they could do things like increase state capacity and better the lives of all the citizens in Singapore and elsewhere, and eventually that vision came true."

Mr Sellitto, head of APAC policy, said one reason Anthropic is excited to work with Singapore is that the government is very "forward-leaning" about the responsible adoption, use, and regulation of technology.

"Actually, the government of Singapore was one of the first foreign governments that came to visit Anthropic in the very early days of the company," he said.

"They saw where the technology was going and really had the foresight to realise how important it was going to be to the economy and society."

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Anthropic’s Chris Ciauri, co-found of Anthropic Benjamin Mann, Michael Sellitto, and Dale Finlay at the media roundtable and question and answer session at Capella Singapore on Oct 14, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)

HOW SINGAPORE USES CLAUDE

The firm’s co-founder Mr Mann said it is “inevitable” that there will be large job displacements caused by AI, though Anthropic has yet to see that happening.

"We think that this will happen, and our efforts on the Anthropic Economic Index help both us and governments to understand how these things are happening," said Mr Mann.

The Anthropic Economic Index is a public research initiative by Anthropic that analyses real-world data from anonymised Claude conversations to measure how artificial intelligence is being used across jobs, industries, and daily tasks.

Its most recent index ranked Singapore second out of 121 countries in Claude.ai usage relative to population. Usage is 5.81 times higher than would be expected based on the size of its population.

The company said in a statement that more than 1,500 GovTech engineers and technical staff have adopted Claude Code – Anthropic’s agentic coding tool – to modernise government systems and speed up software delivery.

“This has helped GovTech Singapore teams build, maintain and enhance digital services more efficiently at national scale,” the firm said.

In the private sector, Anthropic noted the use of Claude by various financial institutions, including sovereign wealth fund GIC.

GIC is a major investor in Anthropic, participating in several rounds of fundraising for the AI firm amid talk of a highly anticipated initial public offering sometime this year.

Said Mr Mann: "I think because we sort of had this consistent narrative throughout the years, that's led a lot of governments to trust us.

"Keeping your eye on that long-term mission, even when it's difficult, will make things easier later on. Because it might be hard in the beginning, but then it'll be easier. Whereas the flip side, as you get bigger, if you don't have that mission, then it's hard to remain differentiated."

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该协议涵盖人工智能安全、模型评估、负责任的应用和事件响应。

（从左至右）Anthropic东盟区负责人Dale Finlay和Anthropic联合创始人Benjamin Mann于2026年10月14日在新加坡嘉佩乐酒店举行的Anthropic Builder峰会上发表讲话。（图片：CNA/Jeremy Long）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

新加坡：新加坡和人工智能 (AI) 公司 Anthropic 签署了一项人工智能合作协议，这家开发出前沿模型 Claude 的公司于周三（10 月 14 日）在新加坡开设了办事处。

该协议除其他领域外，还规定了 Anthropic 如何与政府合作处理安全保障相关事宜，以及该技术的应用及其影响。

该公司联合创始人本杰明·曼恩周三在新加坡嘉佩乐酒店举行的“人类建造者峰会”上表示，该谅解备忘录为这家前沿人工智能公司与新加坡政府之间的合作奠定了基础，其中安全评估是最“令人兴奋”的领域之一。

“当我们训练一个新模型时，没有人真正确切地知道它的能力是什么。与新加坡新成立的人工智能安全研究所等机构以及世界各地的其他机构合作，对于了解这些新模型在开发过程中存在的风险和益处至关重要，”他指的是新加坡人工智能安全研究所。

他还补充说，该谅解备忘录可以加深对公私合作关系的理解，以确保企业安全负责地开发这项新技术，并了解该技术对世界和劳动力的影响。

该谅解备忘录于周二在新加坡国际网络周 (SICW) 会议期间由 Anthropic 联合创始人 Benjamin Mann 和新加坡数码发展与新闻部 (MDDI) 常任秘书 Chng Kai Fong 先生签署。

数字发展及新闻部长杨莉明和人道组织亚太区政策负责人迈克尔·塞利托见证了签约仪式。

此前，高级部长兼国家安全统筹部长尚穆根周二在接受采访时表示，鉴于人工智能带来的风险日益增加，政府希望“立即实现完全透明”并加快信息共享。

尚穆根先生在谈到已在新加坡开设办事处的大型科技公司时表示：“新加坡以及许多其他国家的主要诉求是：当某些事情发生时，我们能否立即获得完全透明的信息？”

除了 Anthropic 之外，新加坡今年早些时候还与多家大型人工智能公司签署了协议。5 月，新加坡与 ChatGPT 的开发商 OpenAI 达成合作，旨在巩固其作为应用型人工智能原生创新领先中心的地位。

6 月，新加坡资讯通信媒体发展局 (IMDA) 与微软签署了一份谅解备忘录，旨在深化在人工智能安全保障方面的合作，双方都希望解决快速发展的人工智能技术带来的日益增长的风险。

然后，作为政府智慧国家战略和网络安全工作的一部分，新加坡政府科技局（GovTech）正与人工智能研究实验室谷歌DeepMind合作，开发对设备上的诈骗进行实时检测的技术。

莱佛士坊新办公室

至于位于莱佛士坊的新新加坡办事处，Anthropic 对新加坡团队的员工人数以及是否计划招聘更多员工仍保持缄默。

Anthropic 网站上目前列出了 12 个职位空缺，职位范围从财务到销售。

Anthropic东盟区总经理Dale Finlay表示：“我们现在的重点是‘市场拓展’。我们已经在公共部门、企业、数字原生企业和初创公司等领域拥有庞大的客户群，因此我们将扩充团队，但目前我们不便透露具体数字。”

该公司表示，其与新加坡的合作可以追溯到 2023 年，当时该公司加入了由 IMDA 和 AI Verify 基金会运营的评估沙箱。

曼恩先生表示，三年前 Anthropic 曾与新加坡政府合作，但当时该公司能做的并不多，因为模型的功能还不够强大。

“一开始，我们的模型非常糟糕，”曼恩先生在芬利先生主持的炉边谈话中说道。

“然而，我们一直坚持认为这些模型会越来越好，它们可以提高国家能力，改善新加坡和其他地方所有公民的生活，最终这一愿景实现了。”

亚太区政策主管 Sellitto 先生表示，Anthropic 很高兴与新加坡合作的原因之一是，新加坡政府在负责任地采用、使用和监管技术方面非常“积极进取”。

“事实上，新加坡政府是安人创公司成立初期最早前来参观的外国政府之一，”他说。

“他们看到了这项技术的发展方向，并且极具远见，认识到它对经济和社会的重要性。”

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2026年10月14日，Anthropic的Chris Ciauri、联合创始人Benjamin Mann、Michael Sellitto和Dale Finlay在新加坡嘉佩乐酒店举行的媒体圆桌会议及问答环节中。（图片：CNA/Jeremy Long）

新加坡如何使用克劳德

该公司联合创始人曼恩先生表示，人工智能造成大规模失业是“不可避免的”，但 Anthropic 尚未看到这种情况发生。

曼恩先生说：“我们认为这种情况将会发生，我们在人类经济指数方面的努力有助于我们和各国政府了解这些事情是如何发生的。”

Anthropic 经济指数是 Anthropic 发起的一项公共研究计划，它分析来自匿名 Claude 对话的真实世界数据，以衡量人工智能在工作、行业和日常任务中的应用情况。

根据其最新指数，新加坡在121个国家中，按人口比例计算的Claude.ai使用率排名第二。其使用率比根据人口规模预期使用率高出5.81倍。

该公司在一份声明中表示，超过 1500 名 GovTech 工程师和技术人员采用了 Claude Code（Anthropic 的智能体编码工具）来实现政府系统的现代化并加快软件交付速度。

该公司表示：“这有助于新加坡政府科技局团队在全国范围内更高效地构建、维护和增强数字服务。”

在私营部门，Anthropic 注意到包括主权财富基金 GIC 在内的各种金融机构都在使用 Claude。

GIC 是 Anthropic 的主要投资者，参与了这家人工智能公司多轮融资，此前有传言称该公司将于今年某个时候进行备受期待的首次公开募股。

曼恩先生说：“我认为，正是因为我们多年来一直坚持这种前后一致的叙事方式，才使得许多政府信任我们。”

“即使困难重重，也要始终牢记长远目标，这会让以后的事情变得更容易。因为一开始可能会很艰难，但之后就会容易得多。反之，随着公司规模的扩大，如果没有这个目标，就很难保持差异化优势。”

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