Malaysia Digital Tech Adoption Summit stresses acceleration of AI adoption

• Onboarded 140 AI solution providers into ecosystem with US$232mil revenue 
• 372 MSMEs have completed onboarding at the Dattel Asia led MyDataHub.Ai

“The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) through its AI initiatives has successfully onboarded 140 AI solution providers into the digital ecosystem and altogether they have generated US$232.2 million (RM1 billion) in revenue,” said Gobind Singh Deo, Minister of Digital in his opening speech at the Malaysia Digital (MD) Tech Adoption Summit: Artificial Intelligence (AI) recently, marking the first in a series of events aimed at accelerating AI adoption across industries. 

According to MDEC, these homegrown providers within the Malaysia Digital (MD) AI ecosystem include a diverse mix of SMEs, larger non-SME companies and several public-listed entities. No timeframe was provided for the period when the US$232.2 million revenue was achieved.

The revenue achieved speaks volumes about the role AI is already playing in Malaysia’s economic transformation, said Gobind, from boosting productivity in small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs), to enhancing efficiency in large corporations.

Hosted by MDEC, the summit provides a platform for showcasing breakthrough AI innovations, fostering business connections across industries, and promoting the widespread adoption of AI technologies across diverse sectors.

Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh, Chairman of MDEC, said, “This summit is not just an event, it is a platform for action, as under the Malaysia Digital’s (MD) national strategic initiative, this summit brings together industry leaders, innovators, early adopters, and key stakeholders to share insights, explore opportunities, and collaborate on AI-driven solutions that will define the future of our digital economy.”

As Malaysia continues its rapid digitalisation, AI adoption is key to unlocking the country’s future potential. Emerging technologies, such as generative AI, are set to contribute US$113.4 billion (RM488.9 billion) in productive capacity by 2030.

Gobind also provided an update on the MDEC and Dattel Asia Group’s MyDataHub.Ai platform, launched in June, to help SMEs gain access to US$34.79 million in financing and connect businesses and partners.

[RM1 = US$0.232]

“In just three months, I am happy to highlight that this platform has reached out to more than 10,000 MSMEs with 3,613 expressing interest to onboard onto the MyDataHub.Ai platform. 372 MSMEs have completed their onboarding, and are benefiting from services offered via MyDataHub.Ai,” Gobind said.

While AI adoption promises a significant impact across all levels of the business ecosystem, there are concerns nontheless, especially in terms of the hungry power consumption taken for each AI inquiry made and, especially, from data centers. 

Gobind assured that the government is aware of the concerns and has policies in place to mitigate the power issue. “We acknowledge the fact that data centers require a lot of energy. These are aspects that the government has taken into account when considering requests from  global players to make investments in the country.”

“It is important to understand that AI can also assist us in terms of us taking preemptive measures,” Gobind said. “It helps us avoid spending a lot of time trying to find out what the problem is and solving it, as we can identify the problems and take steps to resolve them.”

Syed Ibrahim agreed, stressing that “it is critical that we build a society where AI is embraced at every level, which means investing in upskilling our workforce, promoting continuous learning, and ensuring that Malaysians from all walks of life have access to the tools and resources they need to participate in this AI-powered future.”

The summit aligns with Malaysia’s broader goals under the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL), which seeks to transform the country into a digitally driven, high-income nation. With a focus on AI, the summit contributes directly to the goals of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), targeting a 30% increase in productivity through AI-driven solutions.