Workato Establishes Philippine Hub as Southeast Asia Competition for AI Operations Intensifies

Workato picked the Philippines as its new Southeast Asia hub after launching a local subsidiary on April 22, 2026, a move backed by plans to expand its workforce by up to 30 percent before the year ends. The company is betting on the country's large English-speaking technical talent pool and its growing role in regional AI operations.

The enterprise automation firm opened offices in Makati and Alabang and began hiring earlier in the year for product support, customer success, and AI operations teams. The Philippine unit is led by Tyrone Borromeo, previously Workato’s vice president for global solutions consulting and a former executive at MuleSoft and Salesforce.

Philippine enterprises push automation demand

Workato said major local companies are already using its platform, including Jollibee Foods Corporation, Philippine Airlines, and Prince Retail Group. Their early adoption gives Workato reference cases that matter in a market where enterprise buyers often move slowly without concrete examples.

The company’s choice of the Philippines reflects a pattern seen over the past two years. AWS and Google Cloud both expanded Manila data center operations in March 2026. Local IT and business process management firms reported 15 percent year-on-year growth in the first quarter, driven by a rise in knowledge process and automation-related work.

Government momentum adds pressure and opportunity

Public-sector activity is feeding the momentum. The Department of Information and Communications Technology rolled out its AI Roadmap 2026 to 2028 with a PHP 50 billion budget covering infrastructure, training, and new regulatory guidance. PEZA said more than 50 AI and BPM projects were approved from 2025 through early 2026.

NEDA’s Digital Economy Framework aims for digital activity to reach 20 percent of GDP by 2028. These targets, while ambitious, create an environment where multinational firms can justify expanding engineering-heavy teams in the country.

A different Southeast Asia talent equation

Multinational firms often compare the Philippines against Singapore and Vietnam when deciding where to base AI operations. Singapore offers stability but comes with steep costs. Vietnam’s talent pool is young and improving, though still uneven in enterprise workflow experience. The Philippines sits between the two: more affordable than Singapore but with a larger workforce familiar with enterprise systems and customer support.

This is the segment Workato wants to grow. The company’s regional strategy leans on partner-led deployment, which means Accenture Philippines, SGV, and smaller automation consultancies stand to gain more integration work as local enterprises roll out more complex automation.

Startups expect spillover effects

The move is already shaping expectations across the startup community. StartupBlink’s 2026 report estimated that about a quarter of Philippine startups now fall under AI or AI-enabled categories. Many founders say enterprise adoption is finally catching up to the pitch events and hackathons that once dominated the scene.

The presence of large automation players tends to create new niches. When companies adopt platforms like Workato, they usually need complementary tools, vertical SaaS systems, and custom integrations. Early-stage startups building workflow intelligence or specialized automation modules could benefit as more enterprises move beyond pilot projects.

Some founders worry about losing senior engineers to higher-paying multinational employers. A March 2026 Rappler column estimated that 10 to 15 percent of senior engineering talent could shift away from startups. The DICT argues that its training subsidies and university partnerships will expand the pipeline fast enough to offset losses, although that remains to be proven.

Investors watch enterprise AI momentum

The first quarter of 2026 saw an 18 percent rise in venture capital deployed in the Philippines, reaching an estimated USD 350 million. Much of it went to AI, fintech, and workflow automation companies. Golden Gate Ventures launched an AI-focused fund with a Manila target. Kickstart Ventures and Kaya Founders each signaled plans to back more enterprise-facing AI platforms.

Investors often want evidence that the country can support scaleups. The arrival of a global firm that depends on deep integration talent helps strengthen that narrative, at least for now.

What comes next

The next signals to watch include Workato’s hiring pace through late 2026, progress on the DICT’s AI Roadmap rollout, and whether startups in workflow automation can raise larger regional rounds on the back of increased enterprise demand.

Workato’s expansion is a strategic business move, but its broader impact falls on the Philippine position in Southeast Asia’s AI and automation race. The country has gained momentum, although the talent pressure and rising competition will test how long it can hold its edge.