Anthropic is hot on the heels of OpenAI: Claude's growth in Singapore breaks records
The market for AI solutions for businesses in Southeast Asia is undergoing tectonic shifts. Anthropic's Claude is experiencing explosive growth among Singaporean startups, significantly narrowing the gap with the dominant ChatGPT.
Over the past year, the number of paying Claude customers in Singapore has grown by 258%, and their spending on the platform has increased 17-fold. For comparison, a year ago, OpenAI had more than four times as many paying startup clients. Today, this gap has narrowed to 1.5 times, and Claude's share of total AI platform spending has reached an impressive 37%.
This dynamic is no coincidence. Anthropic has bet on model safety and transparency, which is especially valuable for startups working with sensitive data. Singapore, as a key technology hub in the region, has become an ideal battleground for this rivalry.
The overall trend is also impressive: the number of Singaporean startups using AI tools has grown by 42%. Meanwhile, the number of companies working with three or more platforms simultaneously has more than doubled. This indicates market maturity — businesses are no longer choosing a single vendor and are actively diversifying their AI resources.
My analysis: Claude's growth is just the beginning. If Anthropic continues to increase its market share at this pace, we could see parity between the two giants in the region as early as next year. This is good news for startups: competition lowers prices and stimulates innovation. I recommend that Singaporean teams start testing Claude now for tasks where security and explainability of decisions are critical — this is its main advantage over ChatGPT.