Global AI Firms Race to Hire in Singapore as OpenAI, Plaud and Mistral Expand
Source: Tech in Asia
OpenAI has surged to 37 open roles in Singapore—a 68% increase in one month—while Plaud, Mistral, and ElevenLabs add dozens of positions, cementing the city-state's status as Asia's leading AI talent hub. Singapore's ~US$780 million AI commitment and new startup cluster are drawing frontier labs and buzzy startups alike.
Global AI companies are accelerating their hiring in Singapore at a pace that underscores the city-state's emergence as Asia's definitive AI talent hub. OpenAI has more than doubled its local recruiting push to 37 open positions, while US-based AI note-taking startup Plaud is advertising 26 roles, naming Singapore as its key R&D hub. European labs Mistral and ElevenLabs are also among the top recruiters expanding their Singapore footprints.
The numbers tell a striking story of concentration. Among the world's 250 most valuable AI firms tracked by Tracxn, 30 are actively hiring in Singapore as of mid-June, according to Tech in Asia's weekly tracker. OpenAI's headcount push marks the most aggressive—37 roles versus 22 in mid-May, a 68% jump in just one month. The company's COO Brad Lightcap previously signalled plans to grow the Singapore team to approximately 50 people, suggesting more openings are still to come.
Plaud, the US-based startup behind AI note-taking devices and valued at US$2 billion, is staffing 26 positions from Singapore, which founder Nathan Xu confirmed at the SuperAI 2026 conference is the company's primary R&D base. European contenders are equally active: Mistral, the continent's most valuable AI model builder, and UK-based voice AI firm ElevenLabs are both recruiting locally, alongside autonomous vehicle company Motional and market intelligence platform AlphaSense.
Why it matters for Singapore: The hiring surge signals that frontier AI labs see Singapore not just as a sales outpost but as a genuine R&D and engineering hub. Singapore's ~US$780 million commitment to AI research under the National AI Strategy 2.0, plus the planned Block71-style AI startup cluster, are directly translating into skilled jobs. For local talent, the message is clear: the world's most valuable AI companies are competing to hire here, driving up salary benchmarks and creating career pathways that didn't exist two years ago. The competition for AI engineers in Singapore is no longer regional—it is global.