Claude closes in on OpenAI among Singapore startups

Aspire has published data showing Anthropic's Claude gaining on OpenAI among startups in Singapore. The findings are based on transaction analysis from more than 10,000 businesses in Singapore and Hong Kong.

A year earlier, OpenAI had more than four times as many paying startup customers as Anthropic in Singapore, but that lead has narrowed to 1.5 times, the report found. Anthropic's Claude customer base grew 258% year on year, while spending on the platform rose 17-fold over the same period. ChatGPT's customer base grew 79%.

The figures point to a broader shift in how startups are buying artificial intelligence tools. The number of Singapore startups using AI tools rose 42% year on year, while the number using three or more AI platforms at the same time more than doubled.

The pattern suggests founders are choosing combinations of tools for different tasks rather than relying on a single supplier. The analysis linked the shift to spending across coding, content creation, research, customer support and workflow automation.

Claude now accounts for 37% of all AI platform spending in the dataset despite having fewer users than ChatGPT. That suggests higher spending per customer on Anthropic's platform among the startups covered by the research.

Wider shifts

The data also tracked changes in hiring, payroll, travel and office costs, offering a view of how startup operating models are changing across the region.

Payroll activity increased across several South-East Asian markets. The Philippines grew 19% as a payroll destination and Malaysia rose 52%, while India recorded a 9% decline in the dataset.

One in five Singapore startups now pays workers on an ad hoc basis, according to the analysis. Median payroll fell year on year from USD $3,535 to USD $3,318, while pay among higher earners remained broadly unchanged.

Travel spending also rose despite pressure on costs. Singapore startup travel spend increased 11% year on year, with flight spending up 35% and accounting for nearly half of all travel expenditure.

Office spending

The report found that offices still account for a large share of startup infrastructure spending. Office-related costs made up 44% of infrastructure expenditure, exceeding spending on cloud and remote work tools combined.

Within that category, spending shifted away from fixed commitments. Lease and utility costs fell, while coworking spend nearly doubled, with IWG up 90% and WeWork up 80% in the dataset.

The results add to evidence that startups in major Asian hubs are keeping physical workspaces while seeking more flexibility in how they use them. That mirrors the data on payroll and contractor use, which points to more mixed workforce structures.

The report is based on anonymised and aggregated transaction data from more than 10,000 businesses across Singapore and Hong Kong. It compares two full fiscal years and examines spending patterns rather than fundraising activity or valuations.

Andrea Baronchelli, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Aspire, said the data captured behaviour that can signal wider business trends. "Startups often act as an early indicator of where broader business adoption is heading," Baronchelli said. "They move faster, experiment more freely and respond to economic pressure sooner than larger organisations. What's striking is how quickly these patterns are evolving. Many of the trends highlighted in this report barely existed a year ago, and by the end of this year the landscape could look very different again. What we're seeing is the emergence of a new generation of businesses that are increasingly AI-native, globally distributed and able to scale with far greater flexibility than before."