Business
We (Sort Of) Missed the Mark with Digital Transformation
Digital transformation often ended up as digitising old processes rather than fundamentally reinventing them. AI-first transformation means using AI to connect all departments, data sources, and workflows into a single intelligent enterprise. We explore how and why.
Published
2 months agoon
By
AIinAsia
TL;DR – What You Need to Know in 30 Seconds
- Digital transformation often ended up as digitising old processes rather than fundamentally reinventing them.
- Research from KPMG shows 51% of companies haven’t seen performance gains from digital investments, and Gartner notes only 19% of boards are making real digital progress.
- AI-first transformation means using AI to connect all departments, data sources, and workflows into a single intelligent enterprise.
- Siloed thinking is no longer viable. AI thrives on cross-functional data and collaboration.
- AI-first companies have the chance to become the new Amazons and Ubers of the world, delivering exponential—rather than incremental—value.A truly AI-first system is more than a tool; it’s an enterprise-wide OS that learns, automates, and augments tasks and decisions in real time.
- The potential for Large Action Models (LAMs) suggests that AI could soon be doing far more than assisting with tasks—it could be acting on your behalf across the enterprise.
AI-first Business Transformation—Wht You Need to Know
Let’s have a little chat about something that’s been on the minds of everyone from the boardroom to the breakroom: transformation. But I’m not talking about the usual “digital transformation” we’ve all been hearing about for yonks. I’m talking about the next big wave that’s crashing onto our shores: AI-first business transformation. You might be thinking: “Haven’t we done this dance already? We’ve invested in digital, we’ve got shiny new software packages, we’re in the cloud… we’re modern, right?” Well, not exactly.
In truth, many of us may have got “digital transformation” a bit muddled. Rather than truly transforming our organisations, we seemed to simply digitalise them, upgrading existing processes instead of tearing them down and reimagining them from the ground up. Luckily, the rise of artificial intelligence is giving us that second shot at greatness—an opportunity to do more than just make existing models faster or better. Instead, AI lets us tackle an entirely new way of doing business, fundamentally rethinking how our enterprises operate, how our people collaborate, and how we measure success in a rapidly changing world.
Now, let’s roll up our sleeves and explore what it truly means to move from your “digital transformation” checklists to an AI-first mindset—and why this time around, we’ll actually transform.
We (Sort Of) Missed the Mark with Digital Transformation
Think about the promises made in the early days of digital transformation. We were told that new technologies would help us reinvent how businesses run. There’d be synergy, new models, dynamic reinvention of processes, cross-functional collaboration, you name it. Yet, if you look closely at what happened, we mostly digitised what we already did:
- Traditional processes got a digital facelift.
- Departments introduced new software, but largely worked the same way as before.
- Legacy mindsets remained intact, albeit with new jargon.
- Data continued to live in siloed systems designed for each function.
The result? We invested loads of money in “digital transformation” without always seeing the returns we were promised. Here’s a tidbit to put this in perspective: KPMG research reveals that 51% of companies have not seen an increase in performance or profitability from digital investments. That’s a majority who haven’t reaped the anticipated rewards. Equally sobering, Gartner found that only 19% of boards reported making progress toward achieving digital transformation goals. That’s not exactly the stuff of glowing quarterly reports, is it?
If you’re nodding in agreement (or maybe sighing in relief that you’re not the only one in this boat), you’re in good company. It seems many of us got stuck on the “digital” bit—throwing systems at old ways of working—rather than delivering true “transformation.” We reformed our businesses with technology. What we didn’t do was fundamentally reimagine them for a truly digital-first (and now AI-first) world.
Digital-First Companies Showed Us Another Way
While the majority of organisations were busy digitally updating and reformatting, a few outliers emerged, totally rethinking how their businesses should operate. Enter your classic “born-digital” or “digital-first” players:
- Amazon: Didn’t just sell books online; they transformed the entire commerce landscape to put digital at the heart of the retail experience.
- Netflix: Moved from DVD mail-outs to streaming, rethinking the very notion of consuming entertainment.
- Uber: Turned the transportation industry on its head with an on-demand, digital-first model.
- Airbnb: Revolutionised the hospitality sector without owning a single hotel.
- Twitch: Reinvented gaming by pairing it with social interactivity and live streaming.
- DoorDash: Did for delivery what Amazon did for retail, creating convenience and instant fulfilment that simply wasn’t possible in the old models.
These digital-first businesses didn’t just lob a piece of software at existing structures; they fundamentally re-engineered how those industries operated. The lesson here? If you’re going to embrace new tech, you have to also challenge conventional ways of thinking. Amazon didn’t just add a website to a bookstore; Netflix didn’t merely digitise DVDs. They scrapped legacy processes, mindsets, and assumptions—and came out on top because of it.
Now, with artificial intelligence (AI) shaking up the playing field in ways we’ve never seen before, we have a new chance to become “AI-first” enterprises—if we learn from the mistakes of the digital transformation era.
Digital Transformation Was the “How,” AI Is the “Why”
Digital transformation improved the way we do things, but often stayed stuck in departmental silos:
- HR had Workday.
- Sales had Salesforce.
- Marketing had HubSpot or Adobe solutions.
- Finance and supply chain had SAP.
But rarely did we ask: Should these processes continue to exist as they are, or could we re-engineer them completely? Instead, each group plugged in its digital solution, rarely integrating them into an overarching business framework. That, in turn, left data and workflows further fragmented, and sometimes it even added complexity.
Then along comes AI. AI doesn’t just give us a new tool; it promises a new paradigm. If used correctly, it compels us to connect the dots—across data, across workflows, across human resources, and ultimately across business units.
No more slicing and dicing by department. No more “We’ll just do the same old thing, only with AI to speed us up.” Instead, with an AI-first approach, we need to ask ourselves: How can AI help us see across the entire organisation to reimagine what’s possible? AI is the “why” we need to engage in a fundamental rethink of our operating model. Why keep HR, finance, marketing, and logistics so thoroughly compartmentalised? Why assume that the best way to manage your people, customers, and suppliers is with software that was effectively modelled after 20th-century workflows?
The Problem with Siloed Thinking
Here’s the rub with silos: work doesn’t stay in silos. Tasks and data typically move from one department to another. If you isolate improvements within a single department, you’re leaving enormous amounts of potential synergy untapped. Picture an ultra-optimised marketing CRM that can handle leads like a dream—but the supply chain can’t keep pace, the sales team has no cross-function visibility, and customer service is clueless about the marketing pipeline. You can guess how well that serves the customer or the bottom line.
We can’t just let each department run off and build its own AI tool. That might create pockets of brilliance, but it stops short of true transformation. Instead, it’s time for us to start imagining a connected enterprise that uses AI to flow insights and decisions throughout the entire organisation in real time. If your AI in customer service identifies a new product usage trend, that insight should feed into marketing, product design, logistics, you name it. Think of AI as the ultimate traffic controller: it routes the right data to the right place at the right time, helping you make sharper decisions that serve the greater good.
But let’s be clear: achieving that level of interconnectedness isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. We need new ways of structuring our businesses, new forms of collaboration between different teams, and new ways of training our workforce to think beyond their departmental boundaries. That’s the kind of stuff that terrifies many leaders, but if we’re serious about AI-first business transformation, it’s precisely where we have to go.
Shifting to an AI-First Mindset
An AI-first mindset says that if you have an HR workflow, for example, you don’t just ask how to automate or expedite it. Instead, you step back and ask: Is there an entirely new way to handle HR in the age of AI? Rather than just letting HR live in its digital system, can we integrate HR processes with other workflows—like IT provisioning, project management, or performance reviews—so that employees and managers see a single, seamless interface for all their needs?
In reality, you’ll find that no one’s job is as isolated as it might appear on an org chart. An HR leader also sits on cross-functional committees. A marketing person may weigh in on product design. A finance person is also an internal user of the IT helpdesk. When we isolate everything, we wind up making these cross-functional tasks painfully convoluted. An AI-first approach can do more than connect the dots; it can predict the best route through the entire enterprise, bridging these work streams effortlessly.
Not to be overly dramatic, but if you can harness AI to link these processes end to end, your daily workflows become the launching pad for a whole new level of productivity. No more duplicative data entry, no more emailing spreadsheets or chasing sign-offs in multiple systems. Instead, you’ll have an enterprise-wide “plumbing” that’s constantly learning and optimising itself so that the next time a similar task arises, you can handle it in half the time with half the fuss.
The Augmented Enterprise: When Everything Connects
So what does an AI-first business transformation look like in action? Once you break down silos and let AI do its thing, you get what some call the augmented enterprise. Essentially, AI augments:
- Your People: Employees are guided by AI insights, making them more efficient and creative in their roles. Repetitive tasks can be automated or partially handled by AI agents, freeing people to focus on innovation and strategic thinking.
- Your Processes: Workflows are streamlined and connected across departments. AI not only speeds them up but also surfaces predictive insights, letting you solve issues before they snowball.
- Your Data: No more data living in locked compartments. An AI-first approach unifies data so that it can be analysed holistically—ensuring you spot patterns that were previously invisible.
Eventually, we might even see Large Language Models (LLMs) morph into something like Large Action Models (LAMs)—where AI doesn’t just summarise text or produce content, but actually takes actions on your behalf, in line with the business’s strategic goals. That’s an entire shift to AI as agent rather than AI as tool.
Is it futuristic? Sure. But it’s closer than you think. The more we interconnect these systems, the more potential there is for AI to genuinely run certain processes autonomously, or at least semi-autonomously. And that’s where transformation stops being linear and becomes exponential.
AI-First Companies: The Next Generation
If you missed the boat on being “digital-first,” don’t fret. Right now, there’s an opportunity to be among the first wave of “AI-first” organisations. The possibilities are massive:
- Product Development: AI can shorten product lifecycles by analysing performance data, testing new features through simulation, and even generating prototypes.
- Customer Experience: AI can unify your CRM, chatbots, and call centre workflows, ensuring you respond to queries with instant knowledge of the customer’s history, preferences, and future needs.
- Supply Chain Management: AI can predict demand surges, optimise shipping routes, and even manage inventory in real time, preventing bottlenecks that cost you money and customers.
- Finance & Accounting: Automated processes for invoicing, expense management, and forecasting. Your finance team becomes data-driven analysts, leaving behind laborious manual tasks.
- Human Resources: AI can screen applicants, highlight training needs, and pinpoint cultural or engagement issues before they turn into full-blown crises.
In a few years, people might talk about the big AI-first successes the same way they talk about Amazon or Netflix today. If you seize the day, your company could be among them. As Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, quipped: “This is the most interesting year in human history, except for all future years.” That’s quite the statement—and it’s a reminder that we’re just at the beginning of what AI can accomplish.
Designing an Intelligent Enterprise Operating System
Picture an enterprise-wide system of intelligence—a single, integrated platform that links up every function, every data source, and every person:
- Unified Data Layer: All your data from across departments is fed into a single AI backbone. This is crucial because AI needs vast, high-quality datasets to produce its best insights.
- AI Agents Everywhere: Intelligent virtual assistants embedded in each department, not just to execute tasks but to interpret them, predict outcomes, and suggest next steps.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration by Design: No more departmental silos because your system fundamentally disallows them. Project creation, resource allocation, and approvals all happen within the same architecture, with AI facilitating smooth transitions.
- Continuous Improvement: As the system runs, it gathers more data about how tasks are accomplished and outcomes achieved. AI uses this to refine its own recommendations—compounding your improvements exponentially rather than linearly.
- Focus on Innovation: When day-to-day tasks get automated or augmented, you free human capital. These employees can then channel their creativity into new revenue streams, product ideas, or strategic initiatives.
That, my friends, is what an AI-first business transformation boils down to: not merely accelerating old processes but reimagining the entire way you do business, top to bottom, front to back.
The Future Is Exponential
We’re standing on the cusp of a new era, one where “digital transformation” might look like a quaint stepping stone. AI has the potential to create the sort of exponential leaps that 20th-century businesses could only dream of. If we seize the opportunity, we won’t just see incremental gains; we’ll witness leaps in productivity, the birth of entirely new business models, and a surge in personalised, data-driven solutions that deliver value for everyone—customers, employees, and stakeholders alike.
As the world keeps shifting under our feet, one thing remains crystal clear: standing still is not an option. Doing nothing, or doing the bare minimum, risks being left behind by those who adopt AI-first strategies early and wholeheartedly. And if we learned anything from the digital-first revolution, it’s that latecomers can catch up, but it’s a much harder road.
So, here’s your rallying cry: challenge every assumption, connect every silo, unify every dataset, and bring in AI not just as another tool, but as a co-creator of your future enterprise. The age of linear growth and departmental thinking is drawing to a close. The time of interconnected, exponentially enabled businesses is here.
What Do YOU Think?
Will you settle for being a digital dinosaur stuck in the old ways, or will you harness AI to boldly redefine your organisation for a future where transformation is continuous, interconnected, and exponentially powerful? Let us know in the comments below!
Let’s Talk AI!
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Will AI Take Your Job—or Supercharge Your Career?
AI-driven job disruption is already here. Discover practical steps for workers in Asia to stay employable, relevant, and ready for the future.
Published
1 week agoon
April 9, 2025By
AIinAsia
TL;DR – What You Need to Know in 30 Seconds
- Generative AI is already reshaping careers, causing job losses in industries from finance to creative roles.
- Workers must continually upskill, strategically plan career moves, and focus on roles AI complements rather than replaces.
- Companies and governments must significantly increase retraining efforts to help workers adapt effectively.
Is AI About to Steal Your Job? Here’s How to Stay Ahead in Asia
For many, AI started as a helpful assistant for menial tasks, quick research, or even generating funny memes. But today, it’s taking a serious turn, reshaping industries, displacing jobs, and changing careers overnight.
Just ask Jacky Tan. After thriving for over 15 years as a freelance marketing consultant in Singapore, Jacky found his livelihood disrupted—not just by the pandemic—but by generative AI tools like ChatGPT, which empowered his clients to produce their own content. The result? Jacky, along with countless others, faced a stark choice: adapt quickly or risk becoming obsolete.
Jacky pivoted completely, leaving marketing to open a successful home-based food business, CheekyDon, specialising in Japanese rice bowls. But not everyone can—or will—reinvent themselves so easily. As AI continues to infiltrate the workforce, what can you do to ensure you’re prepared?
Job Disruption: More Real Than Ever
It’s no longer theoretical. Meta, ByteDance, DBS Bank, Grab, and Morgan Stanley have all announced layoffs or workforce reshuffling directly linked to AI-driven efficiencies. Analysts predict as many as 200,000 banking jobs globally could vanish within five years due to AI, highlighting sectors like finance, customer service, risk management, and tech as especially vulnerable.
The numbers don’t lie: The World Economic Forum anticipates 11 million new AI-related jobs globally by 2030—but 9 million existing roles will disappear. And the shift won’t just hit repetitive tasks. Highly skilled roles like writers, programmers, PR professionals, and even legal experts face substantial disruption.
Why AI Displaces Jobs—and Creates New Ones
Here’s the paradox: while AI promises increased productivity, it often leads to job losses because current skills don’t match the needs of new AI-augmented roles. Retraining existing workers is crucial but challenging. In places like Singapore, where skilled workers are scarce, companies struggle to balance the speed of AI integration with retaining talent.
The good news? Jobs involving deep human interactions, emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, or managing AI tools themselves remain safer—for now.
How to Stay Relevant in an AI-Dominated Market
So, how can you protect your career from being displaced by AI? Here are actionable steps tailored for the rapidly shifting Asian job market:
1. Continuous Upskilling Is Non-Negotiable
The days of one-off training are over. Commit to lifelong learning by acquiring skills in AI-related fields, from data analytics to AI management tools. Invest in soft skills—like critical thinking, empathy, and strategic communication—which AI struggles to replicate effectively.
2. Proactively Plan Your Next Career Move
Ask yourself, as EY’s Samir Bedi suggests: “What am I upskilling for?” Plan two or three career steps ahead, not just for immediate skill gaps. Explore lateral career transitions that diversify your skillset, making you versatile across industries.
3. Look for Roles Complemented by AI, Not Replaced by It
Jobs with tasks AI can augment rather than entirely replace—like managing automated systems, strategic marketing, or roles that require significant human touchpoints—are safer bets.
Employers Must Step Up, Too
The responsibility doesn’t rest solely on workers. Companies must actively retrain employees to handle AI disruptions effectively. Currently, only around half of Singaporean workers feel their employers provide sufficient training opportunities. Organisations that actively support their teams through retraining will reap long-term rewards, maintaining both institutional knowledge and market reputation.
Asia’s Workforce at the Crossroads
We’re facing nothing less than the Fourth Industrial Revolution, driven by generative AI. Unlike previous waves of automation, AI can replace tasks once thought too complex or creative for machines. But remember, while AI might take your current role, it also opens doors to entirely new career paths—provided you’re ready to step through them.
Are you prepared to let AI shape your future—or will you shape your own future with AI? Let us know in the comments below!
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The Three AI Markets Shaping Asia’s Future
Explore the three interconnected AI markets shaping Asia’s technological landscape—traditional AI, training infrastructure, and enterprise solutions—and discover how each drives innovation.
Published
2 weeks agoon
April 6, 2025By
AIinAsia
TL;DR – What You Need to Know in 30 Seconds
- AI isn’t one monolithic market—it’s three interconnected segments:
- 1. Pre-GenAI (traditional AI): Fundamental techniques that underpin data-driven solutions.
- 2. AI Training Market: Resource-intensive frontier models driving the next AI breakthroughs.
- 3. Enterprise AI Market: Real-world applications delivering measurable business outcomes.
- Understanding their interplay is critical for Asian businesses aiming to maximise ROI from AI investments.
Are We Missing the Bigger Picture in the AI Race?
From smarter chatbots to insightful analytics, AI’s not one market—it’s three interconnected ones, each shaping how Asia leverages technology.
If you’ve spent any time recently skimming headlines about artificial intelligence, you’d be forgiven for thinking that generative AI is the only show in town. But AI isn’t just ChatGPT, Midjourney, or flashy avatars of celebrities endorsing your new favourite tech gadget. Behind the scenes, three distinct but intertwined markets are at play: the Pre-GenAI Market, the Training Market, and the Enterprise AI Market.
But what exactly are these three markets, and why should Asian businesses care?
Let’s unpack them one by one and understand how they converge to drive the future of innovation across Asia.
1. The Pre-GenAI Market: The Building Blocks of AI
Generative AI may be the current media darling, but the roots of AI go far deeper. We’re talking about traditional AI—technologies like machine learning (ML), reinforcement learning, and computer vision. These foundational techniques have been quietly evolving for decades, long before ChatGPT ever typed out its first response.
Contrary to popular belief, traditional AI hasn’t lost its relevance—far from it. In fact, the rise of generative AI has amplified its importance. Why? Because generative AI feeds on data often produced by traditional AI methods. For instance, Dell Technologies frequently uses machine learning to streamline supply chains or improve factory efficiency. These methods don’t get less important just because GPT-5 is around the corner—they become essential.
In short, traditional AI is like rice in Asian cuisine—fundamental, reliable, and always necessary, no matter what fancy new dish appears on the menu.
2. The Training Market: Powering AI’s Frontier
Next up is the AI training market—think of it as AI’s heavy lifting division. This market is dominated by big names you’ll recognise (OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Nvidia, Meta) who are making gigantic investments in infrastructure to create foundational AI models. Picture rows and rows of servers, massive GPU clusters, and sprawling data centres, humming 24/7.
These frontier models—like GPT-4 or Gemini—require immense computational resources. This isn’t just about bragging rights; it’s about pushing the boundaries of what AI can do. The innovations here spill directly into practical tools businesses use every day, like AI-driven coding assistants or creative platforms for content creation.
In Asia, we’re seeing heavy investment in this market too. Take Singapore’s AI supercomputing initiatives or China’s Baidu and Alibaba building mega-AI clusters. These moves aren’t just technological vanity—they’re strategic investments in the future.
3. The Enterprise AI Market: Real-World Results
And then there’s the enterprise AI market, arguably the most pragmatic of the three. Enterprises aren’t racing to build the next ChatGPT killer. Instead, they’re laser-focused on AI that solves real business problems—like optimising inventory management, enhancing customer support, or boosting marketing effectiveness.
Unlike the flashy training market, the enterprise market moves slower but deliberately. Enterprises demand reliability, compliance, and measurable outcomes—exactly the opposite of the ‘move fast and break things’ mentality we see in frontier AI research.
Across Asia, the enterprise AI market is thriving precisely because it offers clear returns. Banks in Indonesia deploy AI-driven chatbots to handle customer queries efficiently. E-commerce giants in Vietnam and Thailand integrate predictive analytics to forecast inventory and customer demand. It’s AI that’s practical, measurable, and directly linked to ROI.
How These AI Markets Interconnect
Here’s the real takeaway: These three markets aren’t isolated islands; they’re deeply interconnected ecosystems.
Traditional AI gathers and prepares the essential data. The training market produces foundational AI models and cutting-edge tech innovations. Enterprises then integrate both, using these tools and data to transform operations and customer experiences.
Think about it this way: traditional AI builds the roads, the training market crafts powerful engines, and the enterprise market drives the cars, delivering real-world value. Without any one of these, the system falters.
For instance, enterprises use AI-powered data agents to analyse massive datasets prepared by traditional AI methods. They then leverage frontier AI models (like generative AI) trained in data centres to extract actionable insights. The whole system is interdependent—each component driving progress in the other.
Why Does This Matter to Asia?
Asia is a unique melting pot of digital maturity, economic growth, and competitive intensity. Understanding these three markets isn’t just academic—it’s crucial for businesses looking to harness AI’s full potential.
For instance, enterprises in Southeast Asia’s rapidly expanding digital economy (expected to hit $263 billion GMV by 2025 according to Google’s recent e-Conomy SEA 2024 report) need practical AI solutions that deliver immediate business value. On the other hand, countries like Singapore, South Korea, and Japan are leading investments into the training market, building the infrastructure needed to power Asia’s next generation of AI innovations.
Simply put, knowing how these three AI markets interact helps Asian businesses invest smarter, act faster, and innovate effectively.
As we look ahead, Asia is uniquely positioned to benefit from understanding this AI ecosystem deeply. Whether you’re in manufacturing, finance, e-commerce, or healthcare, your business will inevitably interact with all three markets—whether you realise it or not.
Now, here’s something for you to ponder (and comment below!):
Which of these AI markets do you think will dominate Asia’s tech landscape by 2030? Will traditional methods endure, frontier models take over, or will enterprise solutions reign supreme?
We’d love to hear your thoughts.
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Embrace AI or Face Replacement—Grab CEO Anthony Tan’s Stark Warning
ChatGPT now generates previously banned images of public figures and symbols. Is this freedom overdue or dangerously permissive?
Published
2 weeks agoon
April 3, 2025By
AIinAsia
TL;DR – What You Need to Know in 30 Seconds
- Grab CEO Anthony Tan believes workers and companies that don’t embrace AI risk being replaced by those who do.
- Grab paused normal operations for a nine-week generative AI sprint, significantly boosting innovation.
- AI tools developed by Grab, such as driver and merchant assistants, are empowering everyday entrepreneurs.
- Globally, many companies are downsizing due to AI, but Tan insists AI enhances human capabilities rather than replacing them.
Is Your Refusal to Embrace AI Secretly Sealing Your Fate?
Anthony Tan, co-founder and CEO of Grab—the Southeast Asian super-app that transformed regional transport, food delivery, and financial services—has made a bold and slightly unsettling prediction: “Humans who don’t embrace AI will be replaced by humans who embrace AI.”
In other words, whether you’re a company or an individual, ignoring AI isn’t merely shortsighted—it’s career suicide.
But before we panic, what exactly does Tan mean?
Making Humans ‘Superhuman’
Speaking at Converge Live in Singapore, Tan explained to CNBC’s Christine Tan that AI isn’t just a fancy tech upgrade. Instead, it’s a crucial tool to “make you superhuman” by significantly boosting productivity and freeing up valuable time.
Tan himself isn’t just preaching—he’s practising. Despite not being a coder, he’s enthusiastically using AI coding assistants for personal and professional projects. He claims AI has radically changed his productivity, helping him accomplish things previously impossible.
I can’t code myself, but I use AI to build my own projects, for research, for Grab,” Tan explained. “It totally changes how you spend your time.
Grab’s Radical AI Experiment
Grab didn’t stop at encouraging individual AI adoption. Instead, the company took it to a whole new level, implementing an ambitious, company-wide nine-week “generative AI sprint”.
This meant putting all regular business on pause to explore AI-driven solutions across the entire company. As Tan humorously admitted:
People thought I was crazy—maybe I am—but it really moved the needle.
During this sprint, Grab developed powerful AI tools, including:
- Driver Co-pilot: An AI assistant reducing wait times and boosting job opportunities for drivers.
- Merchant AI Assistant: Imagine a single mother in Jakarta now equipped with an AI-driven sous chef, packaging expert, and even a chief revenue officer—all in one assistant. This innovation isn’t just about efficiency; it’s empowerment, reshaping the livelihoods of Grab’s vast network of entrepreneurs.
The Wider Implications for Asia
This isn’t just a Grab-specific phenomenon. According to the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs Report, 40% of employers globally plan to downsize due to AI, and a whopping 86% anticipate AI reshaping their businesses by 2030.
Asia, in particular, with its digitally fluent workforce and vibrant entrepreneurial scene, stands uniquely poised to lead this transition. Grab’s aggressive AI strategy under Tan’s leadership could become a model for businesses across Southeast Asia, showcasing how AI can be harnessed responsibly and productively.
Human vs AI: Not a Zero-Sum Game
Tan stresses AI shouldn’t evoke fear—it should inspire excitement. AI adoption isn’t about machines replacing humans. It’s about humans becoming irreplaceable by effectively harnessing these tools.
If you’re reluctant or sceptical, Anthony Tan’s message is clear: embrace AI now, or watch as those who do leave you behind.
Hot Take
Anthony Tan might sound dramatic—but he has a point. If you’re not actively exploring AI, you’re preparing yourself (and your company) to become obsolete. The clock is ticking: Will you adapt, or will you become the adaptation?
What do you think?
Are you inspired or intimidated by Anthony Tan’s AI-driven future? Drop your thoughts below!
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