AI heavyweights including Anthropic and Open AI are putting pressure on office rents in Singapore as they expand in response to government efforts to make the city-state a global AI hub. Open AI has committed over S$300mn (US$237mn) to its first applied AI lab outside the US, plans to hire over 200 staff, and is in talks to lease 100,000 sq ft of space across five floors in a central tower. Anthropic, backed by GIC, will open a city-centre office in October.

Google Deep Mind, Plaud, Mistral, and Databricks are also expanding, with Databricks planning to quadruple its footprint to 32,000 sq ft. This surge is straining a tight market: vacancy for premium units is at a 13-year low of 3.1%, per Savills, with rents predicted to rise up to 10% in the next year. Lawrence Tan of Brilliance Capital warned of a real crunch in 12–18 months.

Companies cite strong network connections, security, and central location as key needs, competing for scarce top-end offices.