This is the first local AI company to be listed list on the NASDAQ

Earlier this week, an AI company based in Singapore, Helport AI Limited, was listed on the NASDAQ. Though not the first Singapore company to be listed, Helport is the first AI technology company to do so. This likely underscores Helports intentions to scale and develop, with the aid of a larger market.

Quick profile

Helport was founded in 2020, and is an AI that mainly targets the customer service industry. The AI helps aid the performance of workers in this industry by providing remote assistance for employees and aiding companies manage their operations. 

In their correspondence with clients, customer service professionals will receive guidance and recommendations from Helports AI to help them better tailor their responses. Simultaneously, managers are able to monitor their team’s work and receive data that helps them analyse their overall performance. 

Trade-offs 

Presently, Helport has over 100, 000 registered users across the world. Implicitly, this seems to indicate that Helport has a considerable international profile, with operations in China, the Phillippines, the United States, and of course, it’s native Singapore. 

This more international profile might explain why the company opted to list on the NASDAQ index, instead of Singapore’s local index. By listing, Helport will have access to a more international investor pool, which would greatly aid their intentions to grow and develop. 

However, not all companies who have made their jump abroad have necessarily succeeded; local ride hailing company, Grab, was listed in 2021, but presently, their stocks are valued at less than half of their opening price. Furthermore, investors have been increasingly selling off their shares in technology companies. According to Bloomberg, the NASDAQ 100 lost US$1 trillion in market value during last month’s selloff.

Given this, Helport’s listing might not necessarily indicate a larger success for the company. It merely points to the company’s intentions to scale internationally with non-Singaporean investors.

Playing on multiple courts

Simultaneously, Helport is also likely to benefit from Singapore’s developmental decisions. 

During this year’s National Day Rally, Singapore’s new Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong shared that Singapore will invest over SG$1 billion into AI development over the next five years, as part of its larger goal to become a leader in the field of AI. This aligns with the updated National AI Strategy (NAIS 2.0) that was announced last year, which aims to develop AI for the public good, implicitly trying to develop it as a tool and not replacement for people to use.

As a result, Helport’s AI, which works alongside employees, is likely to be well received by the local government. It also sets the company apart from some of its contemporaries

“Singapore is in a good position right now to build a holistic, and sustainable foundational framework for AI integration,” said Helport’s CEO, Guanghai Li. 

“While other AI companies are focused on replacing human roles in customer service, we strongly believe that AI cannot replace skilled professionals and our model of having the right balance of humans working alongside AI will be a standard for other industries to follow.”