Agnes AI surpasses two million users amid rapid Southeast Asian growth

Agnes AI, a Singapore-based artificial intelligence collaboration platform, has passed two million registered users since its launch in July. Daily active users now stand at 150,000, with approximately half coming from Southeast Asia. The figures suggest a fast uptake across the region as businesses and teams seek out digital collaboration tools.

User base

The platform allows users to carry out research, create content, design presentations, and collaborate in a unified environment. Registered users can research with AI, create documents and slides, and edit work with teammates through shared workspaces. Half of the platform's daily users are based in Southeast Asia, indicating increasing traction in local markets. Users have highlighted the platform's impact on team efficiency and workflow.

"Agnes allows teams to focus on creativity and impact rather than switching between multiple apps. The speed and quality of complex tasks like slide generation, combined with collaborative tools, have improved our workflow several-fold," said a beta user.

Proprietary models

At the centre of the platform is the proprietary 7-billion-parameter Agnes-R1 AI model, developed by a team assembled from the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and researchers from overseas academic institutions. According to the company, the model has outperformed competing systems on advanced multi-hop reasoning tasks in commercial settings, while maintaining stable and efficient training processes.

The technical team opted to develop the model from scratch, rather than relying on overseas open-source frameworks. This is intended to provide the company with greater control over model advancement and deployment. The upcoming version of the model will be trained locally, utilising user data and Singaporean AI expertise, supported by strategic GPU partners within the tech infrastructure ecosystem.

Founding background

Agnes AI was founded by Bruce Yang, a Raffles Institution alumnus and AI PhD candidate at NUS. Yang previously completed dual degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley, and has held roles at Microsoft, LinkedIn, and a Silicon Valley startup with millions of downloads. He returned to Singapore during the COVID-19 pandemic to pursue his PhD and build the Agnes AI team with both local and international researchers.

"Our mission is to build AI that originates in Singapore, serves Southeast Asia, and competes on the global stage. We want to show that high-caliber AI solutions can be developed locally, leveraging Singapore's talent and infrastructure, and deliver tangible value to users worldwide," said Bruce Yang, Founder and CEO, Agnes AI.

Research focus

Beyond its core model, the company is working on multi-agent AI systems to aid team productivity, including token-efficient collaboration and agentic workspaces. Its research extends to the automated creation of marketing content, seeking to combine academic developments with practical workplace applications.

Growth plans

Agnes AI is in the process of scaling its next-generation model with local academic institutions, including NUS and NTU, and is close to finalising a multi-million-dollar funding round intended to support further model development and international expansion. Early uptake has prompted industry watchers to cite Agnes AI as a case study in Singapore's ambitions to build a strong domestic AI sector.