Southeast Asia Connect
Evidence-led analysis and viewpoints.
Both countries have entered the World Bank’s upper-middle-income group, but moving towards high-income status will depend on turning semiconductor exports into deeper design, supplier and skills capability.
More than 70 AI centres create critical mass. Research ownership, technical roles and products shipped from Singapore will show how deep the hub really is.
AI workloads, data rules and resilience risks are pushing regional companies to judge cloud platforms by control and continuity, not only price.
Project Pigeon will develop risk controls for financial institutions using permissionless blockchains, following a Monetary Authority of Singapore consultation on crypto-asset treatment.
The Singapore metalens company will install a prototyping system at nano@stanford, giving researchers and potential customers a route to test small-volume optical components.
A survey of 408 decision-makers at large companies finds confidence running ahead of operational integration, but its multi-region sample is not a Southeast Asia market estimate.
The insurer’s first healthcare summit brought policy, clinical and technology leaders together around healthy ageing, with prevention and connected health positioned as operating priorities.
New-format jewellery stores in Singapore and Bangkok show how Chinese consumer brands can test premium retail concepts before wider international expansion.
Headline deal value remained large, but sponsor activity, strategic buying and Southeast Asian market conditions moved at different speeds.
The Singapore-headquartered fintech company says its first external equity round will support merchant payments, account services and agentic commerce products.
AppsFlyer’s Ziv Peled argues that autonomous marketing systems need trustworthy data, activity labels and governance before teams let them make more decisions.
Why this matters: IMDA says AI adoption among Singapore SMEs rose from 4.2% to 14.5% in one year. Its first SME AI Impact Awards close on 14 August, shifting the immediate test from experimentation to measurable business outcomes.