Circles is using AI to turn telecom support from a cost centre into a faster, more personalised growth engine
Updated
May 1, 2026 2:04 PM
A woman holding a phone while using a laptop. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK
Circles, a Singapore startup that builds software for digital telecom operators, has launched an AI concierge as part of its partnership with OpenAI. The release marks a new step in the company’s effort to modernise how telecom providers serve and retain customers. The move reflects a wider shift in the telecom sector. Many operators still rely on older support systems that can be slow, fragmented and costly to run. AI is now being tested as a way to improve service while creating new revenue opportunities.
Circles said the concierge is built on OpenAI’s API platform and sits within what it calls an AI-native telecom stack. In practical terms, the system is designed to handle customer support, account changes and personalised offers through automated interactions.
One part of the platform is called CareX. According to the company, it can deal with billing issues, service requests and network-related problems. Circles said CareX currently resolves 85% of customer queries globally without human intervention and reaches a 95% resolution rate on end-to-end tasks. That matters because customer support remains one of the larger operating costs for telecom providers. Faster automated handling could lower pressure on service teams while reducing wait times for users.
The second part of the platform is Xplore IQ, which focuses on revenue growth. The tool is designed to predict what a customer may need, recommend a suitable plan or offer and complete upgrades or downgrades automatically. Circles said the early rollout has led to a 22% rise in average revenue per user for Circles.Life Singapore. It also said personalised offers helped reduce customer churn by 9%.
"AI should empower users - not force-fit into outdated journeys. OpenAI's role has been critical in enabling Circles to scale this vision globally. With the AI concierge, we are moving beyond providing simple answers to delivering real-world outcomes, along with balancing cost and latency to maximize value for operators and customers alike", said Awais Malik, Global Chief Growth Officer at Circles.
"Circles is demonstrating how advanced AI can modernize essential industries like telecommunications at scale. By combining frontier models with multi-agent systems, they are enabling telecom operators globally to deliver faster, smarter and more personalized customer experiences. This milestone is a strong example of how AI can deliver tangible value for businesses and customers they serve", Oliver Jay, Managing Director, International for OpenAI, added.
Together, the tools are intended to connect customer service, operations and sales into one system. Rather than treating support and monetisation as separate functions, the company is combining them into a single digital layer.
Circles said the partnership will continue over the next two years as both companies work toward a more autonomous telecom model. Whether that vision is achieved remains to be seen, but the direction is clear: telecom operators are increasingly treating AI as core infrastructure rather than an optional add-on.
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A Hong Kong pilot explores how creator-led distribution could reshape livestreaming for global competitions
Updated
May 1, 2026 2:25 PM
A dance crew performs in sync on stage at World of Dance under spotlights. PHOTO: WORLD OF DANCE HONG KONG
On January 22, 2026, World of Dance Hong Kong became the first global event to pilot Mitico’s community-based livestreaming model. The idea is simple: rethink how live competitions are shared in a digital-first world.
Instead of relying on a single official broadcast, the event was produced as one centralised live feed. It was then distributed across multiple creators and influencers, each hosting the stream for their own audience.
This gave creators room to add their own commentary, adapt the language and bring in cultural context that suited their communities, while the production remained consistent behind the scenes.
“Dance is a universal language”, said David Gonzalez, President of World of Dance. “Our collaboration with Mitico to produce an international, creator-led livestream in Hong Kong allowed a regional competition to reach a global audience. With personalised commentary from hosts in different languages, we can begin to see how regional events may connect through global communities”. This approach points to a shift away from traditional broadcaster-led distribution and toward creator-led amplification.
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Mitico’s approach begins with a familiar industry challenge: the high cost of production and licensing, which often makes it difficult to livestream cultural and sports events at scale.
“Many cultural and sports competitions are never livestreamed because traditional broadcasting is too costly and complex”, said Chengcheng Li, Founder of Mitico. “By distributing a centralised production feed through creators and community hosts, regional events can reach global audiences while maintaining a unified production workflow”.
World of Dance (WOD) offered a natural test environment. It started as a global dance competition platform before entering a television partnership with NBC, which later produced four seasons of the World of Dance reality series. While the television programme concluded in 2021, the competition business has continued to expand through an international network of partners. Today, World of Dance competitions are represented in more than 72 countries, producing nearly 100 events each year, with a digital audience of more than 34 million followers across platforms
Despite that scale, many competitions are not livestreamed due to the high production costs and technical demands associated with traditional broadcasting. The Hong Kong event was selected to assess whether a community-led distribution model could offer a more scalable alternative for live coverage.
While no changes to World of Dance’s broader distribution strategy have been announced, the Hong Kong pilot offers an early indication of how global competitions may rethink livestreaming in an increasingly creator-driven media environment.