MOS Rahayu Mahzam’s Keynote Address at the Opening of Plaud’s Asia-Pacific Headquarters in Singapore

Good morning, everyone.

Congratulations to the Plaud team on the opening of your Asia-Pacific headquarters here in Singapore. This is an important milestone, and I am pleased to be here to celebrate it with all of you.

Plaud makes something that many of us could use - an AI-powered system that captures, transcribes, and summarises conversations and meetings, so that the important things don't get lost.

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   Sitting at the intersection of AI, hardware and software, Plaud is a good example of how AI can be translated into practical products that are useful and easy for people to adopt.

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   With more than 2.5 million users globally, its products are already reaching users around the world.

Singapore is glad to be part of building products like these. To us, AI is a strategic opportunity - one that can strengthen the competitiveness of our economy, create new possibilities for our businesses and better opportunities for our people.

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   But we are a small country and cannot compete on scale.

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   We have to play to our strengths: staying open to global expertise and ideas, being adaptable, and steadily building deeper capabilities of our own.

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   This includes combining our growing AI capabilities with Singapore's deep engineering strengths to develop new products and solutions for the future.

That is why we are working to make Singapore a place where global companies can develop, test and scale AI products for the region and the world.

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   Supported by a trusted environment, strong connectivity, skilled talent, and close partnerships between government and industry.

Plaud's decision to establish its Asia-Pacific headquarters here is a strong vote of confidence in this vision.

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   It also adds to a growing community of AI-forward companies that are choosing to establish and expand their presence in Singapore.

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   And today, Plaud is doubling its investment commitment here to at least S$20 million, up from an earlier pledge of S$10 million.

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   This will expand engineering, product development, and regional operations in Singapore to serve 12 markets in Asia Pacific.

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   We warmly welcome this.

Singapore is also a meaningful base for the specific work that Plaud does.

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   Plaud's products must understand something deeply human: conversation. They need to work across different languages, accents, cultures, and contexts.

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   Singapore's multilingual environment, strong AI and engineering talent, and connectivity to markets across Asia make us a useful place to develop and refine products of this kind.

I am particularly encouraged that Plaud's presence here goes beyond regional operations.

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   As the company grows, its Singapore team will take on a larger role in product development, AI development and data infrastructure - contributing directly to products used by people around the world.

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   Plaud's Singapore team has grown from around 10 employees to about 100 in just nine months.

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   Hiring is under way for roles including AI engineers, AI agent architects, data scientists, backend engineers, and product marketing managers, with further interest in machine learning, speech recognition, and agentic AI systems.

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   For the people doing this work, it is a chance to work on global products, learn from colleagues around the world, engage with diverse markets, and solve problems at the frontier of AI.

This is the kind of activity we want to see more of in Singapore.

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   Because ultimately, what matters most to us is what the growth of our AI ecosystem means for our people.

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   Whether they have the opportunity to do meaningful work, develop valuable skills, and participate in building technologies that will shape the future.

This takes commitment on both sides.

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   Companies must invest in their people and create opportunities for them to grow.

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   Our workforce must lean into these opportunities, keep learning and build the skills needed for an AI-enabled economy.

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   If we can do this well, Singapore can remain open to the best ideas and companies from around the world, while also ensuring that the value created here translates into deeper capabilities and opportunities for our people.

This is the kind of AI hub we want Singapore to be.

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   A place where good companies come to do ambitious work, where innovative products are built for the region and the world, and where our people have the opportunity to grow alongside them.

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   Plaud's expansion here is a meaningful step in that direction.

So once again, congratulations to the entire Plaud team on this milestone. We are glad you have chosen to grow your presence here, and we look forward to what you will build.

Thank you.