Southeast Asia's largest telco SingTel has partnered software provider Amdocs to open a development center in Israel as part of its investment in research and new technology.
In a statement Sunday, SingTel said it will focus on reaching out to the local community of entrepreneurs to develop capabilities in key areas as well as conduct proof of concepts, and eventually help them commercialize them.
Allen Lew, CEO of group digital life at SingTel, said the company has been extremely satisfied with the wealth of talent in Israel, after investing in two Israeli startups last year and acquiring mobile advertising company Amobee which has a technology center there.
"This has propelled us to open this new development center to scout for new growth engines for SingTel," said Lew.
The CEO said it will invest in local start-ups, fund academic and research institutes and work with incubators and angel investors to uncover interesting technologies.
SingTel's initial focus will be on voice and facial recognition as well as technologies that enable mobile and Wi-Fi networks to work more efficiently and seamlessly.
The center is the third such facility by SingTel, which calls them LifeLabs, joining the other two in Singapore and Boston.
The news comes half a year after the telco highlighted Israel as an important part of its "golden plans" for the digital space, and where it would be making strategic acquisitions and partnering with companies.