Singapore, 22 June, 2026 — Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) and OpenAI today announced the signing of a new strategic partnership to drive AI adoption and innovation across Southeast Asia and Brazil. Building on the companies’ deepening relationship, the agreement will focus on driving innovation in AI-powered e-commerce across key markets, expanding access to products like ChatGPT to more Shopee users and sellers, and accelerating Sea’s efforts to further engage builders with Codex.
“Sea has always focused on using technology to improve the lives of consumers and small businesses across our markets,” said Forrest Li, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sea. “Our strategic partnership with OpenAI reflects a shared commitment to making AI more accessible and meaningful for the communities we serve. By combining OpenAI’s advanced AI capabilities with Sea’s vibrant ecosystem, we hope to deliver more intuitive AI-native experiences for consumers while enabling businesses of all sizes to use AI to grow and stay competitive in the digital economy.”
“Sea has built an extraordinary ecosystem across some of the world’s most dynamic digital markets,” said Denise Dresser, Chief Revenue Officer at OpenAI. “By bringing OpenAI’s technology into the products and services people already use, we can make AI more useful and accessible in their everyday lives. This partnership will help more consumers discover new AI-powered experiences, give small businesses practical tools to grow, and enable more people to put AI to work as an operating layer across the company and the broader builder ecosystem.”
Shopee E-Commerce Platform App Now Available in ChatGPT
The Shopee App is now available in ChatGPT for users from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Brazil. This makes Shopee the first e-commerce platform of its kind to be available across Southeast Asia and Latin America in ChatGPT.
The Shopee App in ChatGPT enables users to discover products sold on Shopee through natural conversational prompts. For example, users looking for gift ideas, fashion inspiration, travel essentials, or even advice on finding very specific items can receive and interact with recommendations from Shopee directly in ChatGPT, before seamlessly continuing their shopping journey on the Shopee platform.
Expanding Consumer and Small Business Access to AI
Since 2025, Sea and OpenAI have collaborated to make ChatGPT more accessible to users through marketing promotions and the ShopeeVIP membership program. Building on this foundation, the new strategic partnership will continue broadening access to OpenAI's products and services through ShopeeVIP, while introducing new initiatives to help sellers and businesses adopt AI more effectively in their day-to-day operations.
The partnership will introduce ChatGPT for Business to Shopee's seller ecosystem, helping businesses leverage AI, such as creating product listings and marketing content, improving customer service workflows, and automating business operations. Eligible sellers will have access to ChatGPT for Business trials, supported by onboarding resources, training programs, and best-practice guides designed to accelerate AI adoption among small businesses.
This launch is another enhancement to AI-powered shopping experiences, with a focus on making product discovery more intuitive for consumers while enabling sellers to connect with customers more effectively across Shopee’s markets.
Accelerating Adoption of Codex across Asia
The strategic partnership will also support Sea’s AI adoption efforts and create new opportunities for the broader builder community to experiment with and apply advanced AI tools.
As previously announced, Sea and OpenAI jointly organized the first regional Codex Hackathon series in Asia Pacific. The initiative reflects both companies’ commitment to fostering AI innovation by creating more opportunities for hands-on learning, experimentation, and community engagement.
The series kicked off in Singapore on June 6, 2026, attracting more than 1,200 applications and culminating in a showcase featuring 40 shortlisted teams, and was also attended by David Chen, Co-Founder, Sea, and Chief Product Officer, Shopee, Oliver Jay, Managing Director for International, OpenAI, and Thibault Sottiaux, Head of Codex, OpenAI. Additional hackathons are planned for other Sea markets, including Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Malaysia, in the coming months.
