South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s stop in Singapore before heading to the Philippines was more than ceremonial diplomacy — it was a strategic signal.
At the Korea-Singapore AI Connect Summit, Lee positioned artificial intelligence not merely as a technology trend but as a national competitiveness imperative. His announcement of a US$300M global fund to be established in Singapore by 2030 marks Korea’s first offshore master fund dedicated to AI and deeptech startups, underscoring Seoul’s intent to anchor itself deeper within Southeast Asia’s innovation ecosystem.
The proposed Korea-Singapore AI Alliance adds institutional weight to that ambition, linking policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders in what Lee described as an open innovation framework. The emphasis on joint research to address global challenges suggests a bid to move beyond capital flows toward co-development and shared intellectual leadership.
For two resource-scarce but talent-rich economies, collaboration in AI is both pragmatic and symbolic. As the sector remains dominated by the US and China, Seoul and Singapore appear to be betting that middle powers can still shape emerging technologies — not alone, but together.
REGIONAL
S Korea to launch US$300M AI startup fund in Singapore by 2030: The fund will invest in promising AI and deep‑tech startups from both countries. The fund would be Seoul’s first offshore global master fund and proposed a Korea‑Singapore AI Alliance.
myFirst bags US$8M to build a safer first internet for kids: Vertex Ventures is the lead investor. myFirst’s technology stack is designed around a simple idea: children should be able to communicate and create without being exposed to the open social web.
Dyna.Ai lands eight-figure Series A to move banks beyond AI pilots: Investors include Lion X Ventures and ADATA. Singapore-based Dyna.Ai aims to deploy agentic AI inside banks, betting enterprises are shifting from pilots to governed, results-driven systems built for measurable operational execution.
Toku emerges stronger from IPO year with AI suite driving monetisation: Toku grew FY2025 revenue 9.3% to US$34.8M, with usage revenue up 21%, improved EBITDA, reduced debt, and strengthened finances post-IPO, positioning its AI platform for margin expansion and global growth.
Indonesia launches platform to combat rising gaming addiction: DARA is a multiplatform private counselling service designed to help children and families manage gaming addiction. Studies show about 33% to 39% of high school students in some samples fall into moderate to severe gaming addiction.
FEATURES & INTERVIEWS
‘Profitability is an inflexion point, not the finish line’: PolicyStreet CEO: Khazanah-backed PolicyStreet posted over US$1 million in profit after 2.5x revenue growth, with CEO Yen Ming Lee outlining disciplined capital management and a sustainable embedded insurance model.
Strait of Hormuz closure: A potential chokepoint for the Southeast Asian tech startup ecosystem: Skyrocketing energy prices might erode profit margins for startups in SEA hubs, where data centres guzzle electricity for AI training and cloud computing.
From bridge rounds to global awards: Startups across Asia keep building: Asian startups are securing funding, partnerships, awards, and leadership hires — but visibility drives credibility. On e27, dynamic profiles turn milestones into lasting signals of traction, momentum, and growth.
INTERNATIONAL
Amazon to invest US$50B in OpenAI, expands cloud deal: They’re expanding their multi-year contract from US$38B to US$100B over eight years, and OpenAI will secure about 2 gigawatts of Trainium capacity on AWS. They’ll work to customise OpenAI models specifically for Amazon developers to integrate more deeply with AWS infrastructure.
Amazon to invest US$9B in Korea, eyes public sector AI push: As part of the deal, it plans to invest over US$5 billion by 2031 in data centres. Ham Kee-ho, AWS Korea’s managing director, predicts that AI-native models could allow Korean startups with fewer than 12 employees to generate US$100B in annual revenue by 2029.
China unveils first national standards for humanoid robots: The system is built on six pillars – foundational and common standards, neuromorphic and intelligent computing, limbs and components, full-system integration, application, and safety and ethics.
ChatGPT uninstalls surged by 295% after the deal with the US gov: CEO Last week, the AI giant reached an agreement allowing the Department of Defense to use its AI models in the department’s classified network. This follows a high-profile standoff between the DoD and OpenAI’s rival Anthropic.
Pine Labs to launch stablecoin prepaid cards in 9 countries: The prepaid card will be funded from consumers’ digital wallets with stablecoins and will convert them into local currencies at the point of sale in real time. It does not plan to launch the product in India or China.
CYBERSECURITY
‘Cybersecurity must move at the speed of AI development’: ArmourZero CEO: Tho Kit Hoong warns AI-driven development is accelerating application and supply chain risks, urging enterprises to adopt real-time, contextual risk intelligence to secure modern software ecosystems across Southeast Asia and beyond.
Beyond the audit: Why risk management is the secret engine of 2026 growth: In a permacrisis economy, risk management is no longer compliance theatre but a growth engine. Founders must tackle non-linear scaling, correlated expansion risks, and AI obsolescence to build resilient, sustainable startups.
Cyber risk is moving upstream but we’re still defending downstream: Cyber defence once focused on firewalls and incident response. Today, risk forms upstream—in architecture, code, identity, and supply chains—long before attacks occur, demanding security by design, not detection alone.
Cybersecurity is not an IT problem: It is a trust architecture crisis: Southeast Asia’s digital economy risks fragility as cybersecurity remains siloed. Trust depends on empowered people, coordinated governance, and resilient infrastructure — not perimeter defence — to sustain confidence at scale.
SEMICONDUCTOR
China chip firms post big 2025 gains as Nvidia H200 blocked: Cambricon, Moore Threads, and MetaX posted large revenue rises for 2025 as domestic demand for semiconductors climbed amid Beijing’s tech-sufficiency push. Cambricon posted its first full-year profit of US$306.02M in 2025, while revenue jumped 450% to US$947.23M.
India chip market to hit US$103B as AI, EV drive demand: Domestic semiconductor market could nearly double to US$103B by 2030 from US$52B in 2024. The next 18 months are key as the ecosystem transitions from policy announcements to operational readiness.
US may cap Nvidia H200 exports to Chinese firms at 75,000 units: Bloomberg reported that Alibaba and ByteDance privately sought orders larger than 75,000 units, which per-customer limits would restrict. The US rules would restrict Chinese companies from using H200s to build data centres overseas.
AI
71% of APAC firms see AI as top data security risk: report: Only 35% of Asia Pacific firms know where all their data resides, 40% can fully classify it, and 47% of sensitive cloud data remains unencrypted. Credential theft leads attacks on cloud management infrastructure in Asia Pacific at 69%, compared to 67% globally.
Singapore targets 100K workers in AI upskilling programme: The city-state last month unveiled a US$122B budget to help it navigate a “more dangerous world,” marked by technological challenges and trade fractures. The PM has made AI a key plank in his economic strategy and pledged there’ll be “no jobless growth” amid this push.
When AI stops being a feature and starts being infrastructure: As AI quietly shifts from experiment to infrastructure, reliability, governance, and accountability matter more than novelty. Once embedded in workflows, AI demands ownership, maintenance, and resilience — because business-critical systems cannot afford failure.
Nvidia, telecom firms partner to develop AI-powered 6G networks: Nvidia said the members will commit to building 6G networks using software-controlled radios running on general-purpose computers that use AI to help direct radio traffic safely and efficiently.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Extreme fear grips crypto: What 15 Fear Index reading means for your portfolio: US–Israel strikes on Iran triggered a global risk-off selloff, with crypto plunging alongside equities as correlation hit 78%, extreme fear spiked, leverage unwound, and oil-driven inflation fears clouded near-term recovery prospects.
How to use Bayesian thinking to pick a winning startups investment: Startup investing isn’t about bold vision, but Bayesian humility—updating beliefs with evidence, not hype. In a game of frequent failure, disciplined probability beats conviction, protecting investors from bias, overconfidence, and self-deception.
Why I’m trading bytes for atoms: The 65-year-old investor breaking the climate tech silos: After 33 years building and backing startups, this founder is “refiring” into FOAK climate-tech and nature-based solutions, launching Sherpa Alpha to back asset-heavy ventures bridging innovation, capital, and infrastructure gaps.
The investor data room: The final battlefield for trust: Startup deals often stall at due diligence: investors scrutinise data rooms, governance, and documentation. Institutional capital flows to ventures proving operational discipline, transparency, and readiness — not just compelling growth narratives.
The hidden risk most Founders don’t plan for: When everything looks “fine”: Success can mask structural risk. Overreliance on key people and weak systems stay invisible until disruption hits — and by then, damage is costly. Founders must diversify keyman risk early, while calm prevails.
Why perfect carbon audits could cripple climate finance — and what to fix instead: Blaming auditors for junk carbon credits misses the real problem: bloated methodologies. Lean baselines, satellite MRV, and smarter oversight can protect integrity without pricing developing-country climate projects out.
Transition climate risk: Navigating the future of sustainable real estate: As economies decarbonise, real estate faces rising transition risks from regulation, market repricing, technology shifts, and reputational pressure, demanding proactive decarbonisation, green financing, and data-driven resilience strategies.
Throwaway gold: How data can tap into the unrealised potential in plastic waste: Amid a worsening plastic crisis, poor data blocks a US$120B recycling opportunity. Better insights, inclusive systems, and circular innovation could transform waste into economic and environmental value.
The shifting geopolitics of sustainability, energy, and climate: Policy shifts in the EU, UK, and Canada reveal sustainability, energy security, and geopolitics converging — reshaping ESG standards, supply chains, Indigenous governance, and strategic business decision-making worldwide.
Can Bitcoin help us in the fight against climate change?: Bitcoin’s energy use draws criticism, but experts argue it consumes less than traditional banking and increasingly relies on renewables, potentially incentivising clean energy adoption while reshaping ESG and institutional investment conversations.
Revolutionise your business operations: A smarter alternative to lengthy paper processes: Paper-based processes slow businesses and cost up to US$36 per agreement. E-signatures boost productivity, enhance security, reduce costs, and cut environmental impact.
Why investors and customers are betting on ESG-aligned startups: Embedding ESG early helps startups accelerate growth, attract investors and talent, manage risk, drive innovation, and build resilient, purpose-driven businesses aligned with evolving market, regulatory, and consumer expectations.
The post Ecosystem Roundup: S Korea’s US$300M AI fund in Singapore; Amazon’s US$50B OpenAI bet; Cybersecurity races AI in APAC appeared first on e27.