Sea donates $37.1m corporate gift to NUS School of Computing

Singapore-based tech giant Sea said it has given a corporate gift of S$50 million (US$37.1 million) to the National University of Singapore (NUS) to support initiatives by the university’s School of Computing (NUS Computing).

Photo credit: Sea Group

The funds will be used for research and education in areas such as artificial intelligence and data science, as well as strategic initiatives including seed grants for enterprising projects and outreach.

It will also go toward the recruitment and development of talent through scholarships for both undergraduate and postgraduate students, research fellowships, and visiting professorships, according to a statement.

Under the partnership, NUS and Sea aim to grow Singapore’s research and education ecosystem by leveraging technologies such as AI and helping develop local talent, create jobs, and position Singapore as a global hub for innovation and technology investment.

Sea also recently announced the establishment of Sea AI Labs in Singapore to develop AI research in the digital economy.

The US-listed company operates three core businesses: digital entertainment platform Garena, ecommerce service Shopee, and digital payments and financial services provider SeaMoney.

The company recorded US$4.4 billion in gross revenues and US$1.3 billion in gross profits last year. Sea also said it expects to grow its ecommerce segment by 112% and bookings for its digital entertainment business by 38% in 2021.

Currency converted from Singapore dollar to US dollar: US$1 = 7.04 yuan.