By Kevin Shepherdson, Founder & CEO of Straits interactive
As we come to the end of another exciting year—one filled with hard work, challenges, and ambitious initiatives—I reflect on 2025 with both gratitude and conviction.
Gratitude—for the people, partners, and community who journeyed with us.
Conviction—because this year marked a clear inflection point for Straits Interactive.
For over a decade, we have been recognised as pioneers in data protection and data governance. These foundations remain non-negotiable. In fact, they matter more than ever. When COVID-19 struck, we were determined not just to survive, but to thrive. That period marked the beginning of our digital transformation journey. When ChatGPT emerged, we accelerated further—moving decisively toward full Generative AI transformation, not by abandoning our roots, but by extending them into AI governance.
Instead of starting by amplifying the risks of AI, we took a deliberate step back. We chose first to evangelise the value of Generative AI, particularly its potential to enhance productivity, before advocating the importance of managing risks and constraints. That decision marked our metamorphosis into an EdTech company focused on data protection, governance, and AI-driven transformation.
But 2025 was the year we moved from teaching about AI to enabling real AI capability—safely, securely, and sustainably.
The recognitions we received this year were not isolated wins. They were signals—validation that a long-held belief is resonating in the market:
AI transformation is not about tools or technology alone. It is about capability—people, governance, processes, and execution—working together.
Top 10 Gen AI Leaders in Singapore: A Responsibility, Not a Trophy
Being recognised among the Top 10 Gen AI Leaders in Singapore by CEO Insights Asia in early 2025 was deeply humbling—not because of personal visibility, but because of what it represents.
This recognition affirmed Straits Interactive’s stance that leadership in AI is not about speed alone, but stewardship. In a world rushing to deploy generative AI, we chose a harder path—one that integrates AI governance, data protection, and operational discipline into every stage of adoption.
Our position has always been clear:
1. AI without governance scales risk.
2. AI without capability stalls transformation.
This accolade underscored that trusted leadership in Gen AI today requires both innovation and restraint, grounded in regulatory literacy, ethical frameworks, and real-world operational experience.
Singapore Business Review: Best Use of Gen AI in Education
The Singapore Business Review Technology Excellence Award for Best Use of Gen AI (Education) was particularly meaningful, because education is where capability is forged.
This recognition was not about novelty. It was about impact—especially within education and adult learning. In 2025, we successfully incorporated AI into more than 40 of our courses.
Through Capabara and our AI-blended learning approach, we demonstrated that Generative AI can:
1. Enhance learning without replacing educators
2. Personalise capability development at scale
3. Turn domain expertise into reusable, governed AI tools
More importantly, it showed that non-technical professionals, the often-overlooked 80% of the workforce, can become confident AI creators when given the right scaffolding.
For us, education is not content delivery. It is capability transfer.
Winning Meta’s Llama Incubator: Validation of the AI Factory Vision
Winning Meta’s Llama Incubator Program was a defining—and unexpected—moment in 2025. We joined primarily for the learning experience. During the incubation period, we developed the Tool Builder Wizard, enabling non-technical professionals to create their own AI applications. We then went a step further by creating the AI Lifecycle Optimiser, allowing the same subject-matter experts to apply responsible AI practices without technical complexity.
While our project ran on just two large language models and focused on simplicity and ease of use, we were aware that other teams had far more complex and sophisticated AI implementations. Yet we emerged as winners among more than 20 startups.
This validated something we have been building quietly but deliberately:
Organisations, especially SMEs and non-tech companies, need their own AI Factory, not just another chatbot.
Our vision has never been to compete on model size or raw compute. Instead, we focus on:
1. Turning organisational knowledge into governed AI applications
2. Embedding reasoning, transparency, and lifecycle accountability
3. Allowing AI to be created, deployed, governed, and managed—not just used
Capabara embodies this vision. It is not merely a tool; it is an execution environment for Capability-as-a-Service, where learning, governance, workflows, and AI systems converge.
The Meta recognition affirmed that this approach - practical, governed, and human-centred - is not only viable, but necessary. We are grateful to Meta and the Singapore government for making this initiative possible.
SG60 Showcase: Celebrating the Human Side of Transformation
Being featured at the SG60 Showcase as one of the most celebrated speakers and trainers reinforced a simple truth:
Technology does not transform organisations. People do.
As Singapore reflects on 60 years of nation-building, this recognition highlighted the importance of inclusive transformation—especially for mid-career professionals, domain experts, educators, and leaders who may not come from technical backgrounds.
Our work has always been about enabling people to move forward with confidence, not fear. AI should not alienate. It should augment, elevate, and preserve human expertise.
My sincere thanks to Andrew Chow for initiating this project and for including me as one of the 60 speakers.
“The AI Factory”: Putting a Name to a Decade of Learning
The publication of “The AI Factory – An AI Capability Guide for SMEs” was not an academic exercise. It was a synthesis.
It represents the culmination of years of research, dialogue with leaders and clients, and hands-on learning from course participants—using the factory as a metaphor to show how organisations can convert institutional knowledge into manufactured intelligence.
The book articulates what we see repeatedly in practice:
Organisations don’t fail at AI because of technology.
They fail because capability is fragmented.
“The AI Factory” gave language to our Capability-as-a-Service model—where skills, knowledge, tools, processes, and governance are treated as a single system.
My heartfelt thanks to my co-authors, Celine Chew and Professor Jay, for making this book possible.
Capability-as-a-Service: The Thread That Connects It All
Viewed together, these recognitions tell a single story.
They are not about awards.
They are about a shift in how AI transformation is done.
Generative AI Capability-as-a-Service is our response to a world where:
1.AI adoption is accelerating faster than governance
2. Organisations are overwhelmed by tools but underprepared operationally
3. Regulators are catching up—and consequences are real
Through Capabara, AI governance frameworks, and AI-blended learning, we help organisations:
1. Move from experimentation to execution
2. Govern AI by design, not after the fact
3. Build internal AI capability that lasts beyond pilots and hype cycles
And critically, we do this without abandoning our roots.
Data protection and data governance remain the foundation—because trust is the currency of the AI economy.
A Collective Achievement
None of this was achieved alone.
These milestones belong to a collective:
1. the teams who built, tested, trained, challenged, and refined;
2. the partners who trusted us early;
3. the learners and professionals who dared to become AI creators;
4. and the broader community that believes AI should empower, not exclude.
2025 reminded us why Straits Interactive exists.
We don’t just teach.
We don’t just transform.
We enable capability so organisations can transform with confidence, integrity, and trust.
And this is only the beginning.
