Malaysia Attracts US$759 Mln Investments In AI, Supporting Over 60 Start-ups

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a bright spot for Malaysia, attracting US$759 million in funding, supporting more than 60 local AI start-up companies from the second half of 2024 (2H 2024) to the first half of 2025, according to the 10th edition e-Conomy SEA Report 2025 by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company.

Google Malaysia and Singapore managing director Ben King said this is the second highest in the Southeast Asia region, behind Singapore, which has received US$1.3 billion in funding and is home to more than 495 AI start-ups.

"Malaysia is in a good position, not only today, but as it relates to the future. (It has a) really strong infrastructure investment and an AI start-up ecosystem that attracted strong levels of fundings," he said during his presentation here today.

King added that Malaysia is leading the charge in Southeast Asia’s surge of AI infrastructure investments, as the region has become a global magnet for such developments, with 350 per cent increase in projection for planned additional capacity.

He said as capital flows increase, it bodes well for Malaysia’s overall and digital economy, and it is also notable that some of these flows appear to be shifting from Singapore due to capacity constraints there.

"Malaysia is well positioned on that front as well, driven by the government's pro-technology and pro-innovation policies.

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"At Google, we see the potential of the country, we have committed to the country in a very meaningful way just last year and we're looking forward to seeing these investments fuel the next phase of AI-ready cloud services for the country," he said.

Commenting on job opportunities in the AI-centric market and the fear of AI replacing jobs, King said people will not lose their jobs to AI but may lose their jobs to other people who use AI better.

Therefore, he said, upskilling and making sure people have the right tools is a fundamental agenda in this current market.

“In Southeast Asia, we are committed to training 5.5 million more people on AI-specific skill sets, so it has been a huge investment for us in the past and it will continue to be a big investment moving into the future.

“New jobs will be created, (but) how do we give people the right tools to be able to capture them? How do they make themselves better at their current job, because that is going to safeguard them as they move forward into their careers,” he said.

Echoing this sentiment, Bain & Company Kuala Lumpur partner Amanda Chin said jobs in the creative sector that contains the human elements and original thoughts are still relevant in the AI age.

She said that aside from training the workers of today, the industry should think about the workers of tomorrow in terms of education and the type of skill sets that they need to thrive in this era.

-- BERNAMA