Nearly half of businesses across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region are directing significant capital toward Agentic AI systems, with new research showing that budgets for the tech are scaling faster than those for Generative AI at a comparable stage of its development.
According to a report by Omdia, the tech research and advisory arm of Informa, 42 per cent of organisations surveyed are allocating US$1 million or more to AI agents over the next 12 months. The findings, published in a special report titled Staying Ahead in the AI Era, were released ahead of the Asia Tech x Enterprise conference, scheduled to run from May 20 to 22 at Singapore EXPO.
The scale of investment reflects a broader shift in how enterprises across the region are approaching AI: moving away from exploratory pilots and towards systems capable of operating with minimal human intervention. Unlike conventional software, Agentic AI can initiate actions, coordinate workflows, and execute multi-step tasks autonomously, without requiring continuous human oversight at each stage.
Omdia’s research suggests this operational autonomy is fundamentally altering how businesses structure accountability. The report describes the shift as a break from a long-standing tech contract in which humans make decisions, and software supports them. As agentic systems take on more of the decision-making burden, organisations are under pressure to redefine roles — concentrating human contribution on exception handling, ethical judgment and systemic oversight rather than routine task management.
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The investment surge is also reshaping the physical infrastructure underpinning AI deployment. Traditional IT systems across Asia are increasingly being repurposed or replaced by what the report terms “AI Factories” — purpose-built facilities designed to produce intelligence at an industrial scale, continuously. This infrastructure buildout is running in parallel with advances in physical AI, as humanoid robotics moves into a more mature commercial phase in 2026. South Korea has made significant commitments to its robotics ecosystem, while Taiwan has positioned itself as a key contract manufacturer for global humanoid robotics vendors.
However, the pace of investment is not unlimited. Omdia found that 82 per cent of businesses surveyed are prepared to commit larger budgets, but only when measurable and defensible returns can be demonstrated. The findings point to an enterprise environment that is cautiously optimistic — willing to scale, but demanding clear evidence of business value before doing so.
Security considerations are also emerging as a parallel priority. As AI systems become more deeply embedded in enterprise operations, organisations face a four-part cybersecurity challenge spanning the use of AI to strengthen security, AI as a security tool, threats posed by adversarial AI, and the protection of AI systems themselves.
A further complication looms: researchers project that quantum computing could break widely used encryption standards, including RSA and AES, by 2030. Approximately 32 per cent of organisations surveyed are already exploring quantum-resistant protections in anticipation of that threshold.
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“The decisions enterprise leaders make in the next 18 months will define their competitive position,” said Joyce Wang, Event Director for Asia Tech x Singapore at Informa. “By mapping out these critical shifts — from agentic AI to quantum readiness and physical AI — we are ensuring that when delegates arrive at the Singapore EXPO this May, they are ready to transform these innovations into measurable business impact.”
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