Yiliang Zhao, Ph.D
Director, Head of Data Science @ Openspace Capital
About
As Director of Data Science at Openspace, I bridge cutting-edge AI innovation with Southeast Asia’s thriving tech ecosystem, empowering early and mid-stage startups to scale smarter, faster, and bolder. With a decade of experience architecting end-to-end machine learning solutions, I helm a team that transforms raw data into strategic fuel—driving growth for portfolio companies, optimizing investment decisions, and unlocking $100M+ in operational value across industries like fintech, e-commerce, and healthtech. My playbook merges technical mastery—predictive modeling, NLP, computer vision, and distributed big data systems—with venture-scale execution. A PhD in Computer Science (National University of Singapore) and Executive MBA (Quantic) ground my dual lens as both technologist and strategist. Recognized for pioneering research, I’ve authored 15+ papers and won awards for applying AI in healthcare diagnostics and fraud detection, while certifications in Spark, Scala, and ML engineering keep my toolkit razor-sharp. Beyond building businesses, I shape minds as an adjunct faculty member at Singapore Management University and NUS, designing courses on applied ML, deep learning, and data engineering. My classrooms are launchpads—over 1000+ students trained, many now leading AI teams at Fortune 500s and unicorns. I live at the intersection of profit and purpose: deploying machine learning to democratize digital transformation across Southeast Asia’s underserved markets. Whether optimizing supply chains for rural e-commerce or combatting financial fraud with neural networks, I’m obsessed with scaling solutions that create measurable economic and social impact. Always hungry for moonshot challenges, I collaborate with founders, engineers, and policymakers who dare to reimagine industries. Let’s connect if you’re building the AI-first future.
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Singapore
Venture Capital & Private Equity
C++, Computer Science, Machine Learning, C, Artificial Intelligence, Python, Java, LaTeX, Data Mining, Image Processing, Matlab, Information Retrieval, MySQL, Algorithms, MongoDB, Natural Language Processing, Bayesian networks, Neo4j, Deep Learning, Linux
Experience
Director, Head of Data Science
Openspace Capital
Singapore
Vice President, Head of Data Science
Openspace Capital
Singapore
Adjunct Faculty - Master of IT in Business (AI Track)
Singapore Management University
Singapore
- Develop and teach the modules CS610: Applied Machine Learning and CS604: Deep Learning for Visual Recognition for the Master of IT in Business offered by the School of Computing and Information Systems. - Supervise capstone projects
Adjunct Faculty - School of Computing
National University of Singapore
Singapore
- Module coordinator and lecturer of BT4222 (Mining Web Data for Business Insights: Applied Machine Learning) IS3107 (Data Engineering) and BT4012 (Fraud Analytics) at the School of Computing. - Nominated for Teaching Awards every semester.
AI Coach for Google AI Impact Challenge
Singapore
Mentoring startups selected as part of Google.org's AI Impact Challenge program.
J/APAC Machine Learning Practice Lead
Singapore
Lead the Machine Learning Practice in Google Professional Services in J/APAC
Machine Learning Engineer
Singapore
Deliver Machine Learning solutions and solve complex technical customer challenges
Senior Data Scientist
Shopee
Singapore
One of the first few data scientists in the team. Develop end-to-end machine learning solutions for various prediction/classification problems in e-commerce domain, including but not limited to spam detection (deployed and runs in production, supports real time requests), category recommendation (deployed and runs in production, supports high concurrent and real time requests), customer retention, etc.
Data Scientist, Tech Lead
GovTech Singapore
Singapore
Analyzing/solving complex diverse problems using advanced machine learning/big data techniques on heterogeneous data sets from various government sectors. Technics and tools being used include regression/classification, clustering/community detection, anomaly detection and I play with spark with graphframes, MLib for big data analytics and airflow/docker for application deployment. As a tech lead, I gave technical directions on possible solutions for various projects in terms of both algorithms/frameworks and infrastructures.
Assistant Professor
DigiPen Institute of Technology
Singapore
Designed and taught computer science modules, including but not limited to: Computer Environment, C/C++ programming, Data Structures, Operating Systems, Algorithms, Image Processing, Machine Learning and Artificial Intellegence
Researcher
National University of Singapore
Singapore
Education
National University of Singapore
Computer Science
Quantic School of Business and Technology
Strategic Thinking, Advanced Corporate-Level Strategy, Data Analysis
The Executive MBA by Quantic combines the award-winning MBA curriculum with added courses designed for mid-career professionals and entrepreneurs. With more group projects and exclusive access to global networking events, the EMBA connects learning to alumni and career opportunities.
Nanyang Technological University Singapore
Computer Engineering
Admitted in the Accelerated Master Program (top 5%).
Yiliang Zhao, Ph.D's Contact Information
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