IBM has opened an incubator which will bring together different businesses, organizations and nearly 5,000 IBM cognitive solutions professionals in the Asia Pacific region to co-create business solutions that leverage IBM's cognitive, blockchain and design capabilities.

The Watson Centre has been established at Marina Bay, Singapore, which will offer education, hackathons, and customized workshops for a broader ecosystem of innovators including software companies, startups, developers and systems integrators. IBM’s new Asia Pacific headquarters is based in the same location, in the heart of Singapore’s financial district.

IBM explains that Watson represents a new era in computing called ‘cognitive computing’, where systems are capable of understanding the world in the same way as humans do: through senses, learning, and experience. Watson continuously learns from previous interactions, gaining in value and knowledge over time. With the help of Watson, organizations are harnessing the power of cognitive computing to transform industries and help professionals to become more efficient. IBM said that DBS Bank, Parkway Pantai, ZUMATA Technologies will be using Watson technologies in their respective fields of financial services, healthcare and tourism.

"Watson and blockchain are two technologies that will rapidly change the way we live and work, and our clients in Asia Pacific are eager to lead the way in envisioning and creating that future,” said Randy Walker, Chairman and CEO, IBM Asia Pacific. “In partnership with our clients we are nurturing local talent and building an ecosystem to accelerate the development of cognitive solutions and blockchain platforms.”

To advance Watson, IBM has three dedicated business units: 

• Watson, established for the development of cloud-delivered cognitive computing technologies that represent the commercialization of artificial intelligence (AI) across various industries
   
• Watson Health, focused on improving the ability of doctors, researchers and insurers and other related health organizations to surface new insights from data to deliver personalized healthcare 
   
• Watson IoT, to make sense of data embedded in over 9 billion connected devices operating in the world today, which generate 2.5 quintillion bytes of new data daily.

In addition, IBM will help accelerate the design, development and commercialization of Singapore blockchain applications through the IBM Garage and the IBM Global Entrepreneur program.

The Watson Centre at Marina Bay will also host ‘IBM Studios – Singapore’, a new center that will blend experience design and digital expertise to support customer innovation.  With this Studio, IBM will help Asia Pacific clients analyze business challenges and develop solutions grounded in more individualized digital experiences.