Southeast Asia Chief Investment Officers (CIOs) have turned to low-code and artificial intelligence (AI) to power rapid digital growth, Kissflow report showed Wednesday.

In its latest CIO Low-Code Strategy Pulse Report 2025, the highlighted a major trend sweeping Southeast Asia – the rise of AI-powered low-code platforms to fuel the region’s fast-growing digital economies.

This shift is taking place as ASEAN’s digital industries are projected to grow from $300 billion to as much as $1 trillion by 2030, with AI adoption alone expected to contribute between 13 percent and 18 percent to regional gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of the decade.

With digital-first mandates rising in both the public and private sectors, the report reveals that 86 percent of CIOs globally are now using low-code tools to accelerate delivery and reduce dependency on traditional developers.

As Southeast Asia advances national and enterprise-wide digital transformation agendas alongside rising AI adoption, the demand for information and communication technology (ICT) talent is outpacing the region’s current supply.

Kissflow’s report also highlights that most organizations are under pressure to deliver more applications in less time, amid talent shortages and mounting information technology (IT) backlogs.

Over half of CIOs (55 percent) believe AI will dramatically increase the number of applications developed, underscoring the technology’s role as a catalyst for accelerating development.

“Southeast Asia is at the digital frontier. Low-code and AI together give CIOs in the region a way to scale innovation and localize rapidly—without waiting for limited technical talent,” said Rakesh Nandakumar, AVP, APAC of Kissflow.

The report also showed strong low-code momentum in banking, government, and logistics.

Multiple entity operations, compliance complexity, and service-delivery expectations are accelerating the shift away from traditional development models.

Business teams are increasingly participating in app creation via no-code tools.

The survey shows that operations (33 percent), finance (25 percent) and human resource (23 percent) are already creating applications with minimal IT assistance.

This rise of citizen development signals a deliberate shift toward business-led innovation at the edge of the organization, where speed matters most.

AI is also seen as a force multiplier, especially in multi-country operations with localized compliance needs.

34 percent of CIOs globally now consider AI capabilities a core differentiator when selecting a low-code platform.

Besides, AI is no longer just reshaping development speed, but technology buying decisions in itself.

Meanwhile, Southeast Asian organizations now recognize low-code as a strategic tool to bridge talent gaps and support regional expansion, said the report.

As CIOs look ahead, low-code provides a way to deliver new services faster while building a workforce that can keep pace as digital transformation accelerates.

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