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Wednesday, 4 February 2026

3Before9

3 must-know AI stories before your 9am coffee

Who should pay attention

AI leaders, founders, enterprise decision-makers, and teams deploying AI across Asia.

What changes next

Regulatory expectations tighten, infrastructure buildout accelerates, and enterprise AI governance matures.

1

APEC economies tackle AI, digital trade and online safety

At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Digital Economy Steering Group meeting in Guangzhou, policymakers focused on coordinating digital trade policies, AI deployment challenges and online safety priorities across member economies.

Why it matters for Asia

APEC’s consensus on AI and digital trade issues signals growing multilateral cooperation in Asia-Pacific to shape responsible AI deployment, cross-border data flows and digital governance.

2

Qualcomm launches APAC AI innovators programme

Qualcomm has kicked off its AI Program for Innovators 2026 in the Asia-Pacific, offering grants, technical support and tools to startups in Japan, Singapore and South Korea to accelerate edge AI solutions.

Why it matters for Asia

expanded support for edge AI development strengthens Asia’s ecosystem for locally relevant AI applications and helps diversify innovation beyond cloud-centric models.

3

Samsung and SK Hynix valuations exceed Chinese internet giants on AI boom

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have each risen more than 39 per cent in 2026, pushing their combined market value above that of Alibaba and Tencent, reflecting investor enthusiasm for memory and infrastructure plays in the global AI boom.

Why it matters for Asia

shifting investor preferences toward Asia’s core hardware suppliers underscores how compute infrastructure is central to AI’s economic impact, with implications for investment and regional tech leadership.

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Recent Editions

Monday

16 March 2026

1.Nvidia will unveil its new Vera Rubin platform GPU, featuring up to 288GB of HBM4 memory, at the GTC conference, signifying advancements in AI chip technology.
2.Korean memory makers SK hynix and Samsung are central to the AI hardware race, as they are the sole producers of HBM4 at scale, granting them significant influence.
3.Chinese tech giants Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu have launched consumer-focused mobile apps utilising OpenClaw, an open-source agentic AI framework, for automating daily tasks.

Friday

13 March 2026

1.Google concluded its $32 billion acquisition of cloud security firm Wiz, marking its largest purchase ever.
2.Wiz will operate under Google Cloud, retaining its brand and providing multicloud protection across various providers, including AWS, Azure, and Oracle Cloud.
3.The acquisition's final regulatory approvals came from Singapore and Japan, highlighting increased scrutiny of tech consolidations in the APAC region.

Thursday

12 March 2026

1.China's 15th Five-Year Plan formally adopts an AI-first strategy, dedicating a chapter to computing infrastructure and targeting 7% annual R&D growth.
2.The plan introduces a new 'model-chip-cloud-application' strategic term, indicating a comprehensive approach beyond just chip manufacturing.
3.This state-backed AI push will reshape regional supply chains and competitive dynamics, with offshore infrastructure already being deployed in Southeast Asia.

Tuesday

10 March 2026

1.Advanced Machine Intelligence (AMI), co-founded by Yann LeCun, secured over $1 billion in seed funding to develop AI systems that reason from real-world data, with initial applications in healthcare, robotics, and industrial automation.
2.AMI has established offices in Paris, New York, Montreal, and Singapore, with the Singapore hub strategically positioned to serve future Asian clients and leverage regional investment.
3.Japanese government has prioritised 61 goods and technologies for state investment, including physical AI, signifying a strategic move to bolster national technological capabilities and economic growth.

Tuesday

10 March 2026

1.The Trump administration is pressuring US states to align their AI regulations with a national deregulatory agenda through today's Department of Commerce and Federal Trade Commission reports.
2.States face the potential loss of up to $21 billion in federal broadband infrastructure funds if their AI laws are deemed inconsistent with the federal framework.
3.The US government seeks to establish a singular federal AI standard, replacing disparate state laws, but short-term uncertainty remains as existing state laws persist until court challenges are resolved.

Monday

9 March 2026

1.OpenAI's head of robotics resigned due to the company's decision to deploy its AI models on the Pentagon's classified cloud networks, citing a lack of clear guardrails for domestic surveillance and lethal autonomy.
2.This high-profile departure highlights growing internal dissent within OpenAI regarding ethical governance and the rapid implementation of AI technologies in sensitive sectors.
3.The incident underscores that governance concerns are not merely external criticism but represent a significant internal operational risk for AI vendors and enterprise buyers alike.