Temus, a Temasek-backed AI and digital transformation consultancy based in Singapore, today announced a strategic investment in Thinking Machines Data Science, OpenAI’s first official Services Partner in Asia Pacific.
Thinking Machines will continue to operate under its own brand and leadership as “Thinking Machines Data Science, a Temus entity”. Stephanie Sy remains Founder and CEO of Thinking Machines and joins the Temus leadership team as Managing Director, Applied AI.
The development comes as Thai organizations increasingly seek ways to reduce friction in digital onboarding, modernization, and AI deployment. In Thailand, the government has designated 2026 the “Year of Investment,” with AI capability development identified as a key driver of the country’s next phase of growth. However, many organizations continue to face challenges including talent shortages, data readiness gaps, and the need to modernize existing systems and processes before AI can be deployed at scale.
“Thai enterprises are moving from AI experimentation to AI execution — the hard part now is making it work in the real world, with messy data, real constraints, and operations that can’t afford to fail. That’s what our Bangkok team has been doing for organisations like BANPU, SET, Thaioil, UNDP and others. Being part of the Temus group extends what we can deliver, without changing who we are.” said Promphorn Chaichiwiwat, Thailand Country Manager, Thinking Machines Data Science.
Building the Foundations for AI Operations in Thailand
Thinking Machines has grown into one of Southeast Asia’s leading AI firms, helping enterprises, government agencies, and civic organizations design and deploy AI-powered systems. The company has trained more than 10,000 professionals in AI, co-developed hundreds of AI systems, and became OpenAI’s first APAC Services Partner and now awarded OpenAI advanced partner status
“The opportunity in Southeast Asia is no longer about whether organizations should adopt AI, but how quickly they can turn it into real business value.” said Stephanie Sy, Founder and CEO of Thinking Machines Data Science and incoming Managing Director, Applied AI at Temus.
“We built Thinking Machines on the belief that Southeast Asia deserves world-class AI capabilities built within the region, for the region. Joining the Temus group allows us to pursue that ambition at a much greater scale while staying true to our team, our clients, and our mission.” Stephanie added.
Through its expansion, Thinking Machines aims to help Thai organizations address business challenges by building the foundational capabilities required for successful AI deployment, from data engineering and governance to AI implementation and workforce enablement.
Accelerating production-grade AI deployment Across Southeast Asia
Temus, ~500-strong and anchored in Singapore, provides full-stack AI transformation spanning cloud and application engineering, consulting, and design. Its work spans healthcare, defence, financial services, education, and government, in line with Singapore’s Smart Nation and National AI Strategy priorities.
Clients and partners of both firms will benefit from expanded capability across the combined entity, with no disruption to existing engagements or teams.
Sutowo Wong, Managing Director, Applied AI & Data, Temus, said: “I’m glad to be working alongside Stephanie and the Thinking Machines team as we bring our two teams together. Our combined Applied AI & Data team brings together Temus’ transformation delivery capability with Thinking Machines’ decade of AI execution experience. Together, we’re able to support clients with a deeper bench across the full spectrum of AI and data work, and scale AI impact across the Southeast Asia region.”
Sng Ren Yeong, Chief Executive Officer of Temus, said: “Many Southeast Asian enterprises are navigating the challenge of running AI systems that hold up under real operating conditions: constrained data, regulatory requirements, complex workflows. That requires a different level of engineering, governance, and integration. Thinking Machines bring deep capability in that layer of the problem. This investment connects two parts of the system that need to work as one — how AI is built, and how it is made to operate at scale.”
“This investment is, at its core, a recognition of a shared mission — two teams that were each built by people who came home to build. Thinking Machines gains the reach and resources of the Temus group. Temus gains a team that has been doing serious AI delivery work for over a decade. Together, we are better placed than ever to help organisations across Southeast Asia move from AI pilots into production.” he added.
Together, Temus and Thinking Machines aim to help close AI implementation gaps by combining strategic transformation expertise with deep technical AI capabilities through building the platforms, talent, and repeatable delivery systems that allow governments and enterprises in the region to move beyond pilots and into deployment.