The short answer
The six largest software and IT companies headquartered in Singapore, ranked by reported number of employees, are NCS Group, Grab, Sea Limited, Lazada, Traveloka and Carousell. NCS Group is the largest, with about 13,000 employees (2024). We could verify six companies meeting our criteria, so this list is shorter than ten rather than padded with unverified names.
The six companies at a glance
| # | Company | Headquarters | Founded | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NCS Group | Singapore | 1981 | 13,000 (2024) |
| 2 | Grab | Singapore | 2012 | 11,000 (2025) |
| 3 | Sea Limited | Singapore | 2009 | Not stated |
| 4 | Lazada | Singapore | 2012 | Not stated |
| 5 | Traveloka | Singapore (operations in Jakarta) | 2012 | Not stated |
| 6 | Carousell | Singapore | Not stated | Not stated |
Ranked by the most recent employee count stated on each company’s Wikipedia article or official website, checked 24 October 2026. Years in brackets show when that figure applies; companies without a stated figure are listed last.
The companies in detail
1NCS Group
SingaporeA multinational IT services company that began in 1981 as a Singapore government agency and now delivers digital, cloud and systems integration work across Asia-Pacific.
- Headquarters
- Singapore
- Founded
- 1981
- Employees
- 13,000 (2024)
- Ownership
- Subsidiary of Singtel
2Grab
SingaporeRuns a Southeast Asian super-app for ride-hailing, food delivery and digital payments; it began in Kuala Lumpur as MyTeksi.
- Headquarters
- Singapore
- Founded
- 2012
- Employees
- 11,000 (2025)
- Ownership
- Public company (Nasdaq: GRAB)
3Sea Limited
SingaporeThe technology group behind Shopee, Southeast Asia’s largest e-commerce platform, the Garena games business (Free Fire) and the Monee digital finance arm.
- Headquarters
- Singapore
- Founded
- 2009
- Employees
- Not stated
- Ownership
- Public company (NYSE: SE)
4Lazada
SingaporeOne of Southeast Asia’s largest e-commerce platforms, operating marketplaces across the region.
- Headquarters
- Singapore
- Founded
- 2012
- Employees
- Not stated
- Ownership
- Subsidiary of Alibaba Group
5Traveloka
Singapore (operations in Jakarta)An online travel platform for flights, hotels and attractions in Southeast Asia, Australia and Japan, also offering credit and PayLater products.
- Headquarters
- Singapore (operations in Jakarta)
- Founded
- 2012
- Employees
- Not stated
- Ownership
- Private
6Carousell
SingaporeA Singaporean online marketplace for buying and selling new and second-hand goods.
- Headquarters
- Singapore
- Founded
- Not stated
- Employees
- Not stated
- Ownership
- Private
What this list tells us about Singapore’s software industry
- Singapore is the main hub. 5 of the six companies on this list are headquartered there, with others in Singapore (operations in Jakarta).
- A long track record. The oldest company here, NCS Group, was founded in 1981; the youngest, Grab, in 2012.
- Founding wave. More companies on this list were founded in the 2010s (3) than in any other decade.
- Ownership mix. 2 of the six are publicly listed and 2 are subsidiaries of, or majority-owned by, other groups; the rest are independent private companies, cooperatives or state-linked organisations.
Singapore at a glance
- Capital
- Singapore (city-state)
- Official languages
- English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil
- Currency
- Singapore dollar (SGD)
- Population
- 6.1 million (2025 est.)
- GDP per capita (nominal)
- $107,758 (2026 est.)
Economy. A major aviation, financial and maritime shipping hub.
Country figures from Wikipedia’s article on Singapore, checked 24 October 2026. Estimates are rounded and dated as stated there.
Working with software companies in Singapore
- Time zone. Singapore uses UTC+08:00 all year, with no daylight saving time. Agree overlap hours in writing before a project starts.
- Data protection. Check which data protection law applies to any personal data you share, and put the obligations into your contract.
- Due diligence. Large companies on this list mostly sell their own products or enterprise services. If you need a development partner for a specific project, ask for case studies, interview the engineers and start with a short paid trial. Our guide on how to choose an IT staff augmentation company includes a free vendor scorecard.
- Budget. Typical 2026 hourly rates by region are in our IT staff augmentation cost and rates guide.
How we built this list
- Candidates. We started from Wikipedia’s list of companies of Singapore, the country’s best-known technology firms and companies regularly named in the local and international business press.
- Scope. We kept companies whose main business is software, IT services or a software-based platform, and that are headquartered in Singapore. Telecom operators, banks and hardware makers were left out, as were local offices of foreign groups. Companies founded in Singapore but now headquartered abroad are listed separately when relevant.
- Verification. For every company we checked headquarters, founding year, ownership, size and whether it is still active against its Wikipedia article or, where none exists, its own official website, on 24 October 2026. Each entry links to the page we checked.
- Ranking. Companies are ranked by their most recently stated number of employees, the most comparable size measure available for public and private firms alike.
- No payments. No company paid or was asked to appear. iCreativez Technologies is itself a software and IT services company, so we do not include or rank ourselves on country lists.
Employee figures come from different years, are sometimes self-reported on company websites and sometimes count a whole group rather than one company, so treat the ranking as a guide to scale rather than an exact league table.
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Software companies in nearby countries
Frequently asked questions
What is the largest software company in Singapore?
By reported number of employees, NCS Group is the largest software and IT company headquartered in Singapore, with about 13,000 employees (2024). It a multinational IT services company that began in 1981 as a Singapore government agency and now delivers digital, cloud and systems integration work across Asia-Pacific.
Which city is the main software hub in Singapore?
Among the companies on this list, Singapore is home to the most: 5 of the six are headquartered there.
What is the oldest software company in Singapore on this list?
NCS Group, founded in 1981 and headquartered in Singapore.
How did you choose the software companies in Singapore?
We considered the best-known companies headquartered in Singapore whose main business is software or IT services. We verified each one against its Wikipedia article or official website and ranked them by reported number of employees. No company paid to be included.
Why are there fewer than 10 companies for Singapore?
We only list companies we could verify. Rather than pad the list with names we cannot confirm, we show six verified companies and suggest nearby markets.
What is the economy of Singapore based on?
A major aviation, financial and maritime shipping hub.
What languages and currency are used for business in Singapore?
The official languages are English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil, and the currency is the Singapore dollar (SGD).
Can I hire software developers to work with a team in Singapore?
Yes. Many businesses combine local partners with remote developers. iCreativez Technologies provides dedicated developers and offshore teams that can work your hours; see our dedicated developers page or contact us.
Sources
All company details were checked on 24 October 2026 against these pages:
- Wikipedia: List of companies of Singapore
- NCS Group: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCS_Group
- Grab: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grab_Holdings
- Sea Limited: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Limited
- Lazada: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazada_Group
- Traveloka: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveloka
- Carousell: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carousell
- Wikipedia: Singapore (country profile)
If you represent a company on this page and a detail has changed, contact us and we will review it. Related guides: top IT staff augmentation companies 2026 · staff augmentation vs outsourcing vs managed services.