SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 15 May 2026 - Sea Limited (“Sea”) and OpenAI today announced the launch of the Sea x OpenAI Codex Hackathon in Singapore on 6 June 2026. The initiative marks a deepening collaboration between Sea and OpenAI to support AI innovation and developer communities across Asia Pacific, while bringing together developers, students, startups, and technology builders to learn, experiment, and harness the potential of AI.

The regional kickoff hackathon in Singapore is expected to bring together more than 150 developers and AI builders, who will work on over 40 projects exploring practical AI applications and solutions. The initiative also reflects Sea's ongoing efforts to contribute to Southeast Asia's growing AI and developer ecosystem by creating more avenues for hands-on learning, experimentation, and community engagement.

The collaboration builds on Sea's broader adoption of AI technologies across its engineering and development workflows. Through the regional hackathon series, participants will use Codex, a leading AI-powered coding solution, to explore how emerging AI tools can help developers experiment more quickly, improve workflows, and turn ideas into practical solutions for real-world needs.

Beginning in Singapore, the regional series will expand to additional markets across the region, including Indonesia, Taiwan, and Vietnam, bringing together local developer communities to explore practical applications of AI using OpenAI technologies.

“At Sea, we believe innovation grows stronger when communities can learn, experiment, and build together,” said David Chen, Chief Product Officer at Shopee. “As AI continues to shape the future of technology, it is important that more people across the region gain hands-on experience and contribute to how these technologies are applied to address real-world needs. By bringing together developers, ideas, and communities, initiatives like this can help nurture the growing AI ecosystem. It also provides a platform to bridge the gap between the potential of AI and practical solutions that create meaningful impact in people's everyday lives.”

“Sea is one of Singapore's leading global technology companies and one of our largest Codex customers in Asia. By adopting Codex across its internal software development workflows, Sea is putting AI-native engineering into practice at scale. That commitment, combined with our shared belief in Asia's role in shaping the future of software development, creates a strong foundation for broader ecosystem impact. We're excited to work alongside Sea for our first regional hackathon series to expand access to Codex across APAC and support the next generation of developers and builders in the region,” said Thibault Sottiaux, Head of Codex, OpenAI.

The hackathon series builds on Sea's adoption of Codex across its engineering organization. Through this regional series, Sea and OpenAI will extend that hands-on experience to more developers across APAC, helping them explore AI-native engineering in practical ways.

The Sea x OpenAI Codex Hackathon will feature onsite support and guidance from global experts at OpenAI, as well as project showcases. Participants will work in teams to develop AI-driven applications and solutions addressing real-world needs across industries and communities. Winning teams will receive up to US$30,000 in OpenAI API credits, with additional prizes including ChatGPT Pro subscriptions for members of the top five teams.

Event Details:

Date: 6 June 2026

Time: 8:30am to 9:00pm

Venue: Shopee Building, 5 Science Park Drive, Singapore 118265

Registrations are now open and closes 28 May 2026, Thursday.

Sea and OpenAI invite developers, students, entrepreneurs, and AI enthusiasts to participate and contribute ideas that can help shape the future of AI-enabled innovation.