Singapore-built AI platform reaches 5 million users in six months, created by an RI alum

SINGAPORE: More and more people are using AI these days, but why shouldn’t you use one that’s anchored in Singapore’s research ecosystem, and was made with Southeast Asian users, and with human connection, in mind?

Agnes AI may not be as well-known as ChatGPT, DeepSeek, or Perplexity, but since it was launched last July, it has attracted more than five million registered users, with 200,000 people using it every day. It’s also among the top 10 productivity apps in Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

The app calls itself “everyday AI for everyone” by “turning intelligence into something truly usable.”

What sets Agnes apart is that it combines conversational AI with productivity and creative tools. Importantly, the people behind Agnes recognise the importance of people-to-people interaction. The app has a group chat function called CoVibe that enables users to search, research, generate images, videos, and slides together. Its agentic memory means it remembers everything, so users never have to start from scratch.

In other words, as an all-in-one AI assistant, users can start with a question and end with a presentation using Agnes’ search, deep research, wide research, AI slides, AI design, AI Sheet, Filters, CoVibe (group chat), and Explore (News), without ever switching to another app. Best of all, Agnes was created specifically for Singaporean and Southeast Asian users.

Bruce Yang: From RI student to AI founder 

A Raffles Institution alumnus, Mr Yang went on to obtain dual degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science at UC Berkeley. There, he studied under a Turing Award–winning professor and graduated with high honours ahead of schedule.

After graduating, he worked at Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Fitbit, and in 2014, founded a social networking app called Sobrr, a 24-hour photo-sharing app widely touted as the “anti-Facebook.”

He came back to Singapore during the Covid-19 pandemic and pursued a PhD in AI at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where the seeds for Agnes were first sown.

Mr Yang went on to co-found SapiensAI in January 2025, which launched Agnes six months later, created by a team from NUS, NTU, MIT, Stanford, and UC Berkeley.

Earlier this month, in the context of Agnes’ CoVibe group chat function, Mr Yang told Digital Journal, “Most AI products today ask users to choose: productivity tools or social networks. We’re building something where both are equally native.

We want people not only to interact with AI, but also to interact with each other with AI assistance.”

Interested? Give Agnes a try here. /TISG