Salesforce has opened its first artificial intelligence research hub in Singapore – the first outside of the US. The founding Managing Director of this AI R&D Centre is Steven Hoi, an AI & Machine Learning expert, who was an Associate Professor of Information Systems at SMU before taking on this role. As part of their AI R&D efforts, the firm will be training students from SMU, NUS and NTU from August this year. Students will be trained in areas that include deep learning, machine learning, and natural language processing. The Salesforce-SMU Talent Programme, supported by the Economic Development Board’s Industrial PhD Programme, aims to train PhD candidates in AI and AI-related areas. SMU graduates can apply to join this program which will give them the chance to work on research projects at Salesforce while pursuing their PhD degree at SMU.