Klaviyo Opens Asia HQ in Singapore as AI Reshapes Retail Marketing

The AI shopping era has a new headquarters address. Klaviyo, the US marketing-automation company that helps brands turn customer data into personalised campaigns, opened its Asia headquarters in Singapore on Thursday with backing from the Economic Development Board — its largest regional commitment to date. The move lands as retailers across Asia scramble to figure out how AI agents and automated personalisation will reshape the way people buy.

The office launches with more than 25 staff as part of a 150-strong Asia-Pacific team, and Klaviyo says it plans to push regional headcount past 175 by the end of the year. Brian Kealey, Klaviyo's Asia-Pacific managing director, pointed to Singapore's skilled talent pool, regional connectivity, and proximity to a fast-growing customer base and developing AI ecosystem as the reasons for the choice. EDB vice-president Clare Lee said the investment will create opportunities for local talent.

The company's own numbers suggest why it is betting on the region. Revenue outside the Americas grew 35 per cent year on year in the second quarter, against a global annual run rate of nearly US$1.5 billion, and APAC is one of its most active markets. Its Singapore survey of 1,000 consumers aged 21 to 60 found three in four had used AI to help find or decide on a product in the previous three months, and 51 per cent said they were open to AI agents making routine repurchases on their behalf — striking data points for any retailer watching the AI shopping shift.

There is a bigger pattern here. Klaviyo is the latest in a line of marketing and data infrastructure firms choosing Singapore as the base from which to sell AI-era tools to Asian businesses. What these companies share is a bet that the next wave of e-commerce growth will not come from more ad spend, but from software that turns first-party data into relevance — and that Singapore's neutral, well-regulated business environment is the right launchpad for it.

Why it matters for Singapore: EDB-backed headquarters wins like this are part of how Singapore compounds its position as the AI gateway for Southeast Asia — the technology may be built elsewhere, but the regional decision-making, hiring and data strategy increasingly happen here. For local businesses, Klaviyo's arrival and its consumer research are a practical reminder that AI-driven personalisation is moving from novelty to table stakes in retail marketing, and that the platforms to do it are now headquartered in their backyard.