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SINGAPORE – HCL Technologies (HCLTech), one of India’s top software and IT services firms, said it will open an artificial intelligence laboratory here in 2025. It will offer the company’s latest GenAI products to help accelerate AI initiatives of its clients across South-east Asia.
The company also signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) pacts with Nanyang Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic to teach young talent and mid-career individuals skills in AI.
The AI Lab was announced by HCLTech chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra on Oct 4, at Manulife Tower in downtown Singapore, the company’s regional headquarters.
The lab here, supported by Singapore’s Economic Development Board, will be HCLTech’s fifth in its global network of such facilities, which the company currently has in the United Sates, Britain, India and Germany.
Its establishment in Singapore will need 20 to 25 experienced engineers and technicians, Ms Malhotra told The Straits Times in an interview after the ceremony. But the company will hire more people later on, and the MOUs with the polytechnics will come in handy in that regard, she added.
“Technology moves fast, and you are always playing catch-up with the kind of talent and skills you need,” she said.
Ms Malhotra said the company will continue to hire software engineers but will be seeking many more diploma holders and experienced hands that have gone through mid-career upskill or reskill programmes.
She said that with engineers in short supply worldwide, companies like HCLTech will have to tweak their talent mix and hire more diploma holders.
The event’s guest of honour, Mr Tan Kiat How, who is Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information, said Singapore wants to build a tech ecosystem that can accommodate the next generation of talent and workforce, but also mid-career job seekers.
“I am very happy to hear that HCLTech has committed to partner with our local polytechnics to train and eventually hire 50 first-year students and mid-career talents over the next few years,” said Mr Tan, who is also the Senior Minister of State for National Development.
“There are also opportunities for our educators and trainers to be exposed to industry trends and understand what is happening out there beyond the classroom.”
The minister said that not many of the global multinational corporations (MNCs) here have looked at hiring polytechnic students, perhaps because many of them are more familiar with Singapore’s universities.
Mr Tan said: “All those are very good universities. But I would say that our polytechnic students are very good as well, and some of them are on par or even better in terms of technical skills, such as coding, and in terms of thinking about solving real-world problems.
“So, I hope that these MOUs will be the start of a partnership in which many of our global MNCs based in Singapore will also start looking at our polytechnic students.”
Mr Vijay Guntur, chief technology officer and head of ecosystems at HCLTech, said the lab in Singapore will assist companies here and in the region to accelerate their AI initiatives through HCLTech’s AI and GenAI offerings.
“Our labs are a conducive starting point for enterprises that want to embark on a collaborative journey to develop blueprints for AI and GenAI-led efficiencies, new business capabilities, skilling road maps and overall organisational competitive advantage with a pragmatic approach,” he said.
“We are very excited to add Singapore to our network, which will go a long way in further strengthening Singapore’s position as a regional hub for AI innovation,” he added.
India-listed HCLTech has a market capitalisation of about US$55 billion (S$72.5 billion) and employs 218,000 people across 60 countries. The company, which will be half a century old in 2026, has been operating in Singapore for over four decades.
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