iCapital Adds Singapore Engineers Even as AI Writes Three-Quarters of Its Code

iCapital is still adding engineers and product specialists in Singapore, even though artificial intelligence now turns out roughly three-quarters of the code it produces. In an interview with The Business Times, chief executive Lawrence Calcano cast the split as a speed gain rather than a substitute for people.

The New York-headquartered firm builds software that lets advisers and their clients allocate into private markets, and it has sunk more than US$1 billion into that platform since launch. The money has gone into client education, deal access, reporting, administration and liquidity tooling.

AI handles coding, testing and quality checks at the company. Calcano argues the freed-up capacity goes into more features and easier-to-use products, which is why headcount keeps climbing. Its 2026 Asia Advisor Survey supports the logic: advisers no longer just want a door into private markets, they want portfolio construction and analysis, with risk analytics the top technology ask and compliance the fastest-growing strain.

Allocation appetite has not faded. Over a quarter of respondents intend to lift their alternatives weighting in the next 12 months, even with a dimmer view of the world economy. What they buy is shifting, though: interest in private credit slid from 71% to 48%, a 23-point drop Calcano pins on economic uncertainty and fears that AI will disrupt technology borrowers, while real assets drew more attention.

Singapore sits at the centre of the firm's plans outside America. Brooks Entwistle, newly installed as head of international, said the local office carries expertise across several functions, sales included. iCapital is also weighing annuities and insurance as new lines, and may build that capability in Singapore or Zurich; it has already teamed with Endowus to widen access for accredited investors across Singapore and Hong Kong.

Why it matters for Singapore: The city-state sells itself to financial firms on engineering talent and access to Asian wealth, and iCapital is testing both by hiring here while AI takes more of the coding load. Regional advisers are the ones demanding risk analytics and compliance help, giving Singapore-based teams a direct line to the customers shaping the roadmap. For a government chasing AI-heavy financial services investment, a firm pairing automation with local hiring is a cleaner signal than either trend alone.