Temus, a Singapore-based AI and digital transformation company established by Temasek, has made a strategic investment in Thinking Machines Data Science, a Filipina-founded AI and data company headquartered in the Philippines.
Thinking Machines will continue to operate under its own brand and leadership as Thinking Machines Data Science, a Temus entity. Founder and CEO Stephanie Sy will remain at the helm of the company while joining the Temus leadership team as managing director for applied AI and data.
The investment is intended to expand Thinking Machines’ regional reach while giving Temus access to a team with a decade of experience in data platforms, AI implementation, and enterprise AI delivery across Southeast Asia.
Bringing enterprise AI into real workflows
Across the region, companies are moving from AI experimentation toward implementation, but many continue to face fragmented data, legacy systems, complex workflows, regulatory requirements, and shortages of specialized talent.
The partnership brings together capabilities spanning data engineering, governance, workflow integration, AI deployment, executive enablement, and workforce capability building. Thinking Machines contributes specialist AI and data expertise, regional delivery experience, and OpenAI-enabled services, while Temus adds enterprise reach, transformation infrastructure, and experience working with public- and private-sector organizations.
Together, the companies aim to help enterprises move beyond isolated pilot projects and integrate AI into real business processes that deliver measurable operational value.
“We built Thinking Machines on the belief that the Philippines can build up and scale world-class AI capability,” said Stephanie Sy, founder and CEO of Thinking Machines Data Science and managing director for applied AI and data at Temus. “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.”
A decade of Philippine-built AI expertise
Thinking Machines was founded in Manila in 2015 and has since expanded to Singapore and Bangkok. Over the past decade, the company has trained more than 10,000 professionals in AI and deployed hundreds of AI systems into production across financial services, retail, conglomerates, and the civic sector.
The company has also served more than 110 clients and was recognized as OpenAI’s first official Services Partner in Asia Pacific. It has since received OpenAI advanced partner status, reflecting its experience in deploying AI systems across varied operating environments.
According to the companies, the investment signals growing confidence in Philippine-built AI talent and opens opportunities for local enterprises to access more advanced support for data foundations, workflow transformation, AI deployment, and organizational adoption.
Scaling production-grade AI across the region
Temus has approximately 500 employees and provides AI transformation services spanning cloud and application engineering, consulting, and design. Its work supports Singapore’s Smart Nation and National AI Strategy priorities and covers sectors including healthcare, financial services, education, government, and defense.
By combining Temus’ transformation delivery infrastructure with Thinking Machines’ experience in building data platforms and deploying enterprise AI systems, the two companies aim to help organizations establish the foundations, talent, and repeatable delivery systems needed to operate AI at scale.
“Many enterprises are navigating the challenge of running AI systems that hold up under real operating conditions, including constrained data, regulatory requirements, and complex workflows,” said Sng Ren Yeong, chief executive officer of Temus. “That requires a different level of engineering, governance, and integration. Thinking Machines brings 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,” he added.
Thinking Machines will retain its identity, team, and client relationships while gaining access to Temus’ regional resources and enterprise delivery capabilities. The partnership positions both companies to support organizations seeking to move AI initiatives from experimentation into sustained production use.
In Summary
Temus’ investment gives Thinking Machines greater regional reach while preserving its brand and leadership. The partnership combines Philippine-built AI and data expertise with enterprise transformation infrastructure, with the goal of helping organizations move from AI pilots to secure, production-grade deployments across Southeast Asia.