AI
Payment dependability is Singapore’s next differentiator
Singapore’s digital payments market is mature. The next competitive test is whether merchants can keep checkout fast, reliable, and trusted when demand peaks.
China’s Tencent makes AI model Hy3 available globally through WorkBuddy, cloud, developer platforms
Tencent Hy3 (formerly known as Tencent Hunyuan), the latest large language model developed by China's Tencent, is now available for international access, following the model's official release on July 6.
Singapore firms eye $9.8M agentic AI returns in next 2 years, but only 2% fully prepare
Singapore businesses expect agentic AI to generate a return on investment of $9.8 million over the next two years, nearly double last year's estimate of $4.9 million, according to "The SAP Value of AI Report 2026" study conducted by Germany's software giant SAP and Oxford Economics.
China’s Alibaba launches Qwen3.8-Max AI model with 2.4T parameters, 1M token context window
China's Alibaba has launched Qwen3.8-Max, the largest AI model in its Qwen large language and multimodal model family, featuring 2.4 trillion parameters and a context window of up to 1 million tokens.
Japan’s workforce platform X Mile raises $20M Series C to expand vertical AI for non-desk workers
Tokyo-based workforce platform X Mile has raised JPY 3.17 billion ($20 million) in a Series C round led by Vertex Growth, the growth-stage platform of the Vertex global venture capital network, bringing the company's total funding to JPY6.96 billion.
Only 29% of Singapore firms can prove AI decisions, below APAC’s 38%: Sumsub
Only 29 percent of Singapore businesses can produce an audit trail to prove AI-driven decisions to regulators, shareholders, or customers, trailing the Asia-Pacific average of 38 percent who hold a tamper-proof audit trail.
Malaysia only Asian market with 100% AI investment commitment: Alibaba Cloud
Malaysia is the only market among eight surveyed in Asia where 100 percent of respondents plan to increase AI investment, according to a survey of 1,000 IT decision-makers commissioned by China's Alibaba Cloud and conducted by NielsenIQ.
Why elder care’s next phase is about AI-native devices, not just connected hardware
Connected hardware helped establish the foundation for digital elder care. The next phase will depend on AI-native devices that can understand context, respond conversationally, and support older adults and caregivers in real time.
China’s Huawei launches 4 AI data center power & cooling solutions in Malaysia
China's technology giant Huawei has launched four AI data center infrastructure solutions in Malaysia targeting power supply, power protection, energy storage, and cooling.
Vietnam’s tech giant VNG posts 86% profit jump in Q2/2026 to $18M as Zalo AI users hit 24M
Vietnam's tech giant VNG Group reported adjusted operating profit of VND467 billion ($17.8 million) for the second quarter of 2026, up 86 percent year-on-year, with post-tax profit of VND467billion compared with VND 15 billion a year earlier
