GITEX AI Asia Opens in Singapore as Regional AI Spend Hits $78 Billion
Asia's largest technology and AI conference kicked off at Marina Bay Sands today, drawing more than 550 enterprises and startups, 250 investors managing over $350 billion in funds, and speakers from 110 countries. The second edition of GITEX AI Asia arrives as IDC projects regional AI spending will reach $78 billion in 2026, driven by enterprise and government deployment across healthcare, finance and public services. Country pavilions from Australia, China, India, South Korea, Vietnam and 15 other nations are showcasing everything from semiconductor advances to quantum computing research, while the co-located North Star Asia startup platform features 300 startups from 50 countries including 20 unicorns.
Why it matters for Asia
Singapore is positioning itself as the gravity centre for Asia-Pacific deep tech, producing roughly 15 percent of the world's semiconductors and hosting a new quantum R&D centre launched last month. For enterprise buyers evaluating AI infrastructure partners and for startups chasing capital, the concentration of deal flow at GITEX signals that Singapore, not Silicon Valley, is where Asia's AI investment decisions are increasingly being made.
