Southeast Asia, man, is really killing it in the AI game. The market size is expected to hit a whopping US$8.9 billion, with an annual growth rate of over 27 per cent this year. That’s some serious cash flow right there! And get this, in the first half of 2024, more than US$30 billion was invested in the region for AI-related projects. Like, that’s a crazy amount of money, dude.
Some major players throwing down cash include Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Nvidia. Apple dropped US$250 million on expanding their campus in Singapore. Google threw down a cool US$2 billion to build Malaysia’s first data centre and Google Cloud region. Microsoft was like, “Hold my beer,” and invested US$1.7 billion to boost Indonesia’s cloud and AI infrastructure. And let’s not forget about Nvidia setting up shop in Vietnam for some research and development action. If all goes according to plan, AI could seriously boost the region’s GDP by 10 to 18 per cent, adding an extra US$1 trillion by 2030. That’s some major moolah right there!
But AI isn’t just about making it rain money. It’s also a game-changer when it comes to dealing with climate change. With nearly 700 natural disasters hitting Southeast Asia in the first five months of 2025 alone, the region needs all the help it can get. AI is stepping up to the plate with some next-level predictive power. In the Philippines, AI-powered weather forecasts are on point, giving detailed predictions at the neighbourhood level. Thailand’s AI Nowcast system is killing it by predicting rainfall in Bangkok three hours ahead of time, helping the city stay ahead of potential floods. And in Jakarta, one of the most polluted cities in the world, AI is being used to monitor air quality and create a healthier urban environment. AI is like the superhero we never knew we needed!
But hey, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. AI might be a game-changer, but it’s not a magic fix for all our problems. Those data centres that power AI? Yeah, they’re energy hogs, man. Not only do they guzzle energy to store, process, and send data, but they also need a ton of electricity to keep things cool. It’s like a never-ending cycle of power consumption. So, while AI is doing its thing to fight climate change, it’s also kind of making things worse. It’s a tricky balance, for sure. But hey, at least we’re trying, right? Gotta give credit where credit’s due.
