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AI in ASIA
Friday, 23 January 2026

3Before9

3 must-know AI stories before your 9am coffee

Who should pay attention

AI leaders, founders, enterprise decision-makers, and teams deploying AI across Asia.

What changes next

Regulatory expectations tighten, infrastructure buildout accelerates, and enterprise AI governance matures.

1

South Korea enacts comprehensive AI regulation under new AI Basic Act

South Korea has implemented the AI Basic Act, a broad legal framework governing artificial intelligence that mandates human oversight for high-impact applications and clear labelling for generative AI outputs, with phased enforcement and support for compliance.

Why it matters for Asia

this is one of the first complete national AI regulatory frameworks in Asia, shaping expectations around safety, accountability, and innovation for domestic and foreign tech firms.

Read more
2

Singapore unveils agentic AI governance framework at Davos

Singapore has introduced a governance guide focused on AI agents, systems capable of autonomous action, outlining responsible deployment principles and human accountability requirements to mitigate risks from independent decision-making systems.

Why it matters for Asia

this framework sets Asia’s first targeted governance expectations for agentic AI, influencing risk practices across enterprises adopting autonomous systems.

Read more
3

Alibaba plans spinoff of AI chip unit T-Head amid rising chip demand

Alibaba Group is preparing to spin off its semiconductor unit T-Head for an independent listing, capitalising on strong domestic demand for AI chips and bolstering China’s homegrown semiconductor ecosystem.

Why it matters for Asia

a separate listing for T-Head could accelerate investment into AI-focused silicon development and alter competitive dynamics among Chinese and global chip makers.

Read more

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Wednesday

1 April 2026

3 must-know AI stories before your 9am coffee. The signals that matter, delivered daily.

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Tuesday

31 March 2026

  • 1.Asia now accounts for 62 per cent of global AI hardware trade, with US tariffs shifting supply chains to Southeast Asia and India.
  • 2.Southeast Asia faces significant challenges from tropical heat and humidity as data centre demand is projected to grow 20 per cent annually.
  • 3.Singapore is investing in liquid cooling, underwater data centres, and sustainable energy to boost capacity and address environmental hurdles.
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Monday

30 March 2026

  • 1.OpenAI is discontinuing its Sora AI video generation app, approximately one year after its public release.
  • 2.Vietnam's FPT AI Factory will integrate NVIDIA HGX B300 systems, enhancing its artificial intelligence infrastructure.
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Saturday

28 March 2026

  • 1.OpenAI appoints JioStar CEO Kiran Mani as its first Asia-Pacific managing director, based in Singapore from June
  • 2.FPT AI Factory deploys NVIDIA's Blackwell HGX B300 chips across Vietnam and Japan for reasoning and agentic AI workloads
  • 3.Forrester projects 9.3% Asia-Pacific tech spending growth in 2026 but warns AI cost inflation and regulatory fragmentation will erode real value
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Thursday

26 March 2026

  • 1.OpenAI created a brand-new APAC managing director role and filled it with JioStar CEO Kiran Mani, starting June in Singapore
  • 2.Boao Forum report declares Asia is evolving from AI followers into frontrunners with full-chain industrial maturity
  • 3.SuperAI 2026 expects 10,000+ attendees at Marina Bay Sands with OpenAI, Google, and AWS confirmed
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Wednesday

25 March 2026

  • 1.Arm launches its first in-house chip, the 136-core AGI CPU, with SK Telecom, Rebellions, and Meta among launch customers for AI data centres
  • 2.SK Hynix files confidentially with the SEC for a potential $10 billion Nasdaq listing to fund AI memory chip expansion
  • 3.Boao Forum report declares Asia the new global epicentre of AI development, with China, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore leading distinct niches
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