Huawei is ramping up its efforts in cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) with the launch of a lab in Singapore and new partnerships in the region to jointly develop applications in these two areas. The Chinese vendor says the new Cloud & AI Innovation Lab aims to build local AI talents and offer resources to help universities and enterprises conduct research and build cloud and AI applications.

The facility would provide Huawei's AI services such as research and development robots, development toolkits, and Traffic Intelligent Twins, which taps AI, cloud computing, big data, Internet of Things, and edge computing to help better manage cities, including traffic, emergency response, and public water systems. The lab aimed to cultivate AI talent and "incubate" AI applications, the Chinese vendor said.

Noting that Huawei had been operating in Singapore for 19 years, Huawei International CEO Nicholas Ma said the lab's objectives were in line with the country's smart nation initiatives and the company would offer technologies such as 5G, AI, and cloud to drive innovation here.

"Our purpose is to help enterprises grow with intelligence and bring digital to every person, home, and organisation for a fully connected, intelligent Singapore," Ma said at the Huawei Cloud Summit held on Wednesday in the city-state.

The tech giant also inked agreements with various companies at the summit to deepen collaboration in cloud computing and AI in Asia-Pacific, which included Thai carrier CAT, mobile advertising and analytics platform Mobvista, data management vendor Veritas Technologies, AI-based data vendor ADVANCE.AI, and retail data platform 2D Fire.

Huawei in February opened a cloud region in Singapore with plans to develop the site into "one of its largest" outside its domestic Chinese market. The facility would offer the vendor's full cloud stack and AI capabilities aimed at helping startups and key vertical industries in the region. Huawei currently operates cloud regions in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Latin America, including Hong Kong, Thailand, Russia, South Africa, and three Chinese cities Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing. Worldwide, it has 40 availability zones across 23 regions.

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