The AI agent market in Singapore: Claude is closing in on ChatGPT, with the gap narrowing to a minimum.
The Singapore startup market is showing a rapid shift in interest toward alternative AI platforms. While a year ago OpenAI's dominance was unquestionable — the number of paying ChatGPT customers among local startups was four times higher than the comparable figure for Anthropic's Claude — the situation has now changed dramatically.
According to the latest data from fintech platform Aspire, over the past 12 months, the number of paying Claude users among Singapore startups has soared by 258%. Spending on this platform has increased 17-fold. As a result, the gap between the two giants has narrowed to 1.5 times, and Claude's share of total AI tool spending has reached 37%.
Startups vote with their wallets: multi-platform usage becomes the norm
The overall market picture is also impressive: the number of startups actively using AI solutions has increased by 42%. Meanwhile, the number of companies working with three or more platforms simultaneously has more than doubled. This indicates market maturity — entrepreneurs are no longer tied to a single vendor but are diversifying risks and choosing the best tools for specific tasks.
My comment: Claude's growth in Singapore is not just a statistic but a clear signal for the entire industry. Anthropic has managed to carve out a niche by offering safer and more interpretable models, which is critically important for fintech startups and companies handling sensitive data. If this trend continues, we could see parity between Claude and ChatGPT in Southeast Asia by the end of the year, which would reshape the balance of power in the global AI agent market.