The Dutch brewing company Heineken has launched its first Global Generative AI Lab in Singapore, in collaboration with the national programme AI Singapore.
This initiative aims to transform how generative AI enhances growth, productivity and customer engagement across the company’s global operations.
Ronald den Elzen, chief digital and technology officer at Heineken said generative AI will play an increasingly important role in understanding consumer needs, enhancing customer engagement, and improving productivity throughout the company.
“The establishment of the Global Generative AI Lab marks a significant milestone in Heineken’s digital transformation journey, highlighting our strategic focus on advanced generative AI technologies as essential drivers for growth, efficiency, and innovation,” said den Elzen.
Kenneth Choo, managing director of Heineken in the Asia-Pacific region, said the Lab will serve as a global centre of expertise, driving AI innovation at a local level while enhancing our operations on a global scale.
“By taking this significant step, Heineken is strategically positioning ourselves for a resilient and thriving future, reaffirming our commitment to Singapore and the Asia Pacific region,” said Choo.
“By harnessing Singapore’s exceptional AI ecosystem, skilled talent and supportive government policies, we are excited to drive the development of innovative solutions that will transform the beverage industry for years to come,” he added.
The Lab will lead the development of advanced scalable generative AI solutions across critical business areas, including sophisticated agentic systems that can autonomously solve complex problems—from automated marketing content creation to intelligent financial reporting and next-generation customer support and knowledge management systems.
Heineken’s approach combines human expertise with AI capabilities to ensure our practices are responsible while creating standardised solutions for global implementation.
The Lab is uniquely established as an ongoing collaboration between Heineken and AI Singapore, fostering continuous knowledge transfer and talent sharing.
By the end of 2025, the Lab aims to assemble a highly specialised full-time team of experts.
This team will integrate Heineken’s digital and technology specialists with talent recruited from AI Singapore.
Additionally, this core team will have access to AI Singapore’s talent pool, enabling them to connect with top AI professionals and leverage the most innovative approaches in the field.
Laurence Liew, director of AI innovation at AI Singapore said Heineken is the first organisation to work with AI Singapore in building an AI lab and centre of expertise for AI innovation.
By combining Heineken’s industry expertise with AI Singapore’s cutting-edge AI capabilities and talent, we are creating a powerful model for how private and public sector collaboration can drive innovative solutions with real-world impact,” said Liew.
”This initiative will allow Heineken to unlock new business value from Singapore, while concurrently serving as a valuable platform to level up on AI talent and capabilities,” said Chan Ih-Ming, EVP at EDB.
