Sea Limited’s expanded partnership with Google is being framed as an AI collaboration. In reality, it is a bet on control of the interface layer of Southeast Asia’s digital economy.
The keyword is “agentic”. This is not about chatbots drafting product descriptions or auto-generating game art. It is about software that can execute — compare listings, apply vouchers, reconcile payments, moderate communities and complete transactions. In short, AI that acts on behalf of users.
If Shopee successfully deploys agentic shopping, the centre of gravity in e-commerce shifts from browsing to delegation. The platform that owns the agent owns intent. That creates enormous leverage — and scrutiny. An AI that optimises for margin rather than user value will quickly erode trust in price-sensitive markets.
For Garena, the upside lies in operational compression: faster live ops, smarter moderation and tighter anti-cheat systems. In gaming, retention is economics.
For Monee, agentic payments could simplify onboarding and fraud control — but also risk automated exclusion if governance lags.
The opportunity is clear. So is the burden. In Southeast Asia’s fragmented, mobile-first markets, AI will only scale if it reduces friction without introducing new opacity.
REGIONAL
Shopee, Garena, Monee: Sea’s AI ambition gets serious: Sea has signed an MoU with Google to scale agentic AI across Shopee, Garena and Monee, aiming to automate shopping, gaming operations and payments while improving inclusion, efficiency and user experience across Southeast Asia’s mobile-first markets.
SBI bets on Singapore to build Asia’s digital asset corridor: SBI Holdings plans to acquire a majority stake in Singapore’s Coinhako, injecting capital via SBI Ventures Asset. If approved, Coinhako becomes a consolidated subsidiary, strengthening SBI’s regulated crypto corridor ambitions across Asia.
VentureTECH invests US$7.16M in Malaysia’s Delta Spike Asia, IX Telecom: Delta Spike is a cybersecurity firm delivering end-to-end managed detection and response and full-spectrum cyber defence services across the region. IX Telecom is an emerging digital telco with service coverage in more than 200 countries and territories.
Malaysia launches initiative to accelerate AI Nation journey by 2030: The GII initiative translates real government and citizen problem statements into deployable solutions, prioritising Made by Malaysia technologies, strengthening the domestic AI ecosystem, and enabling Malaysian producers of AI and digital products to scale nationally and globally.
FEATURES & INTERVIEWS
From back office to frontline: How fraud teams became revenue drivers: Southeast Asia’s fast-payment rails have driven mass adoption of real-time digital payments, but fraud is rising just as quickly. Banks are turning to AI to reduce false declines, strengthen trust, improve compliance, and unlock revenue growth.
INTERNATIONAL
US to send AI specialists overseas to counter China: The government plans to send up to 5,000 American science and math graduates abroad over five years to promote US AI technology adoption in partner countries. The initiative aims to reduce reliance on Chinese-made technology by embedding volunteers with local organisations to support AI deployment.
Bill Gates withdraws from India AI Summit following controversy: His participation was questioned amid renewed scrutiny over his past interactions with Jeffrey Epstein. He has denied any wrongdoing, saying his contacts with Epstein involved only dinners related to philanthropy.
OpenAI, Pine Labs partner to bring AI to payments: The collaboration aims to automate workflows such as settlement, reconciliation, and invoicing, with Pine Labs embedding OpenAI’s APIs into its systems. Pine Labs, a fintech firm in India, processes over 6B transactions worth about US$126B across 20 countries.
Saudi Arabia’s Humain invests US$3B in xAI: The Saudi AI firm invested US$3B in xAI’s Series E funding round before its acquisition by SpaceX in early February 2026. The investment made HUMAIN a significant minority shareholder in xAI, with its holdings converted into SpaceX shares following the merger.
Qualcomm to invest up to US$150M in Indian startups: Qualcomm Ventures will invest in startups across all stages, focusing on AI applications in automotive, IoT, robotics, and mobile devices. Qualcomm has been active in India since 2007, supporting more than 40 startups, including Jio, MapMyIndia, and ideaForge.
Ola Electric to cut stores to 550 as sales slump deepens: The Indian EV maker previously announced a nationwide expansion to 4,000 stores but has since scaled back to 700 outlets as part of a restructuring. In its latest quarterly update, Ola Electric reported a net loss of US$53.4M, with revenue dropping 55% YoY.
CYBERSECURITY
Cyber threats are rising: Here are 25 startups fighting back: This list spotlights 25 cybersecurity startups strengthening Southeast Asia’s digital economy, spanning identity, cloud security, threat detection and compliance, as the region builds resilient, trust-first infrastructure for rapid digital growth.
Rethinking cybersecurity practices as Non-Human Identities surge: In 2026, the biggest cybersecurity risk is unmanaged access, not hackers exploiting flaws. As non-human identities outnumber employees, organisations lose visibility over APIs, service accounts and AI agents, leaving orphaned credentials vulnerable to stealthy abuse.
Phishing threats: Protecting your online shopping and banking: Online shopping and banking bring convenience but also rising cyber risks. This article highlights Indonesian fraud cases, explains phishing warning signs, and shares practical tips to protect accounts and personal data.
SEMICONDUCTOR
Ex-Google engineers charged with stealing Pixel chip secrets: Two former Google engineers and Samaneh Ghandali’s husband were indicted in the US on 14 felony counts, including conspiracy, theft of trade secrets, and evidence destruction, related to Google’s Tensor processor for Pixel phones.
OpenAI expresses confidence in chip supply despite shortages: OpenAI reports having clear visibility on its chip supply needs amid ongoing industry shortages. It is working with strategic partners who are supportive in providing access to chips, and that OpenAI remains cautious about supply chain risks.
South Korea rolls out 10,000 Nvidia GPUs for AI projects: It’s begun distributing 10,000 Nvidia GPUs to universities, research institutes, and AI projects as part of a planned supply of 260,000 units through 2030. The initiative, announced last October, aims to expand AI infrastructure across the country.
AI
Agentic AI is powerful – but power isn’t product-market fit: OpenClaw’s rise shows agentic AI is real and technically viable, but still infrastructure-first. Powerful autonomous assistants won’t achieve mass adoption without frictionless onboarding, invisible hosting, guardrails, and governance that make complex execution feel simple and safe.
The lean AI marketing stack every startup should build first: Early-stage startups often drown in fragmented marketing tools that waste time and runway. A lean AI marketing stack focuses on five core jobs — research, content, visibility, distribution, and measurement — using fewer integrated systems to drive consistent, scalable growth.
SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 returns to spotlight AI, robotics, and urban resilience: SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 returns April 27-29 at Tokyo Big Sight, spotlighting AI, robotics, resilience and entertainment, with 700-plus startups, global investors and expanded programmes shaping sustainable, human-centric cities worldwide.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
APAC is not a single market, and connectivity is where most businesses feel the impact first: Enterprises expanding across APAC often assume connectivity is stable, but fragmentation exposes weaknesses early. Quiet disruptions undermine execution, slowing cloud and AI scaling and threatening growth.
Why Bitcoin fell from US$100k to mid US$60k amid macro uncertainty: Bitcoin has plunged nearly 50% from its US$100,000 peak, flashing early bear-market signals amid ETF outflows, extreme fear, derivatives stress and macro volatility, with US$60,000 support now critical.
Rethinking value in B2B services: Why real results don’t happen overnight: In B2B services, real value isn’t instant results but structured, transparent execution that builds capability, trust, and sustainable growth, shifting businesses onto clearer, system-driven trajectories beyond short-term metrics and hype.
Cruising the startup ocean: Navigating limits without slowing down: Navigating the startup world is chaotic and fast, shaped by limited resources, rapid decisions, and trust-based execution. Unlike corporates, startups thrive in uncertainty, where credibility and commitment drive progress beyond processes or perfect readiness.
Big in numbers, weak in value: The limits of MSME formalisation in Indonesia: Local MSMEs proved crucial during the 1997-1999 crisis, boosting GDP and exports despite declining numbers. Today, Indonesia hosts 65.45M MSMEs, yet many remain informal, low-productivity, and financially excluded, limiting real growth.
Financing the real economy: Why SEA needs capital that listens, not just lends: SEA’s innovation story overlooks SMEs powering the real economy. Many remain asset-rich but liquidity-poor. The solution lies in governed, trust-based financing structures designed for operational realities, resilience, and long-term impact.
Value creation: Why your best people can’t execute — and what I learned watching CEOs fail: The “three faces” theory explains identity strain in the AI era: people perform polished public selves, hide private doubts, and suppress authentic needs. Bots exploit this gap, mimicking credibility—while rigid work systems reward appearances over real execution.
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