AI in ASIA
Thursday, 5 February 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

KKR and Singtel complete major data-centre acquisition in Asia

A consortium led by private equity firm KKR and Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) has agreed to acquire the remaining 82 per cent stake in ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) for S$6.6 billion (about US$5.2 billion), valuing the digital infrastructure provider at S$13.8 billion.

Why it matters for Asia

building and owning data-centre capacity is crucial for AI and cloud growth in Asia, and this large-scale acquisition shows how investors are treating AI infrastructure as a core strategic asset.

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2

Alibaba triples spending to promote its Qwen AI ahead of Chinese New Year

China’s Alibaba Group plans to spend three billion yuan (about US$431 million) to attract users to its Qwen AI app during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, significantly higher than rival incentives from Tencent and Baidu.

Why it matters for Asia

heavy subsidy campaigns reflect intensifying competition among China’s biggest tech firms for AI market share, shaping usage patterns and accelerating consumer adoption of large-language-model services across Asia.

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3

Global AI investment surpasses US$500bn but accountability gaps remain

Global investment in artificial intelligence technologies is expected to exceed US$500 billion this year, yet analysts warn that corporate boards are not keeping pace with accountability measures, leaving risk and governance frameworks lagging behind growth.

Why it matters for Asia

rapid capital flows into AI heighten competitive pressure on Asia’s tech and corporate sectors, but insufficient oversight could expose enterprises and regulators to strategic and operational risks as AI expands across industries.

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Wednesday

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Monday

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Saturday

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Thursday

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  • 1.OpenAI created a brand-new APAC managing director role and filled it with JioStar CEO Kiran Mani, starting June in Singapore
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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
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