Heineken launches global GenAI Lab in Singapore

• Partners with AI Singapore to become a global connected brewer
• By late 2025, the lab plans to build a specialised full-time expert team

The Heineken Company has announced the launch of its first global generative AI lab in Singapore. In a statement, the company said this initiative aims to transform how GenAI enhances growth, productivity, and customer engagement across its global operations. Established in collaboration with AI Singapore, the Heineken GenAI Lab marks a significant milestone in the company’s journey to becoming the world’s connected brewer.

Ronald den Elzen, chief digital and technology officer, Heineken, said: "Heineken aims to be the world’s best-connected brewer. GenAI will play an increasingly important role in understanding consumer needs, enhancing customer engagement, and improving productivity throughout the company. The establishment of the global GenAI lab marks a significant milestone in Heineken’s digital transformation journey, highlighting our strategic focus on advanced GenAI technologies as essential drivers for growth, efficiency, and innovation."

Meanwhile, Kenneth Choo, managing director, APAC, Heineken, said: “We are pleased to announce our global GenAI lab in partnership with AI Singapore. This 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. 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 GenAI 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 said its approach combines human expertise with AI capabilities to ensure its 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, AI innovation, AI Singapore, said: “We are partnering with Heineken on this long-term strategic collaboration, marking them as 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.”

Chan Ih-Ming, executive vice president, EDB, said: "Singapore welcomes the opening of Heineken’s global GenAI lab, which capitalises on Singapore’s position as a talent and innovation hub for companies to pioneer AI solutions. 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.”

According to Heineken, the GenAI lab builds on its proven track record of successful GenAI implementations, including its financial insights platform that provides instant access to a decade of financial data, and its innovative knowledge and insight management solution, which revolutionises how its marketing teams access consumer and market insights. These successes demonstrate the company’s commitment to GenAI-powered innovation and set the stage for the lab's ambitious research agenda.