Since ChatGPT emerged, Generative AI (GenAI) development and deployment have been gaining significant momentum in Asia and Oceania, Omdia‘s new, Generative AI in Asia & Oceania – 2024: Democratization through localization report indicates that  software revenue for GenAI in this region is estimated to be around $3.4 billion by the end of 2024 but is projected to exceed $18 billion by 2028.
China, Japan, and South Korea stand out as leading examples compared to other markets in the development of GenAI. Leveraging localized AI infrastructure, data, and human resources, vendors in these markets develop GenAI models with multilingual capacity, deep understanding of local cultures, and compliance with local legal requirements. Collectively, vendors from all three markets account for over 300 foundation models, all developed for various applications including chatbots and virtual assistants, video analytics, gaming and software development, autonomous vehicles and robots, and more.
“Asia and Oceania boasts some of the most ambitious vendors in the AI industry building full-stack solutions. Companies such as Alibaba, Baidu, Huawei, Tencent, SK Telecom, and KT are developing proprietary cloud AI chips, infrastructure, frameworks, services, and solutions, with the vision of creating fully differentiated GenAI products and services tailored to regional contexts,” comments Lian Jye Su, Chief Analyst, Applied Intelligence at Omdia.
In addition to these markets, India and Singapore are making strides in the AI landscape. Indian vendors such as Ola, Sarva AI, Tech Mahindra, and CoRover.ai are developing large language models (LLMs) that support text and voice in Hindi, English, and multiple regional languages. Meanwhile, Singapore recently launched a suite of pre-trained and instruct-tuned LLMs known as Southeast Asian Languages in One Model (SEA-LION), developed jointly by AI Singapore, A*STAR, and AWS. SEA-LION is designed for multiple Southeast Asian languages, including Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu, Thai, and Vietnamese. Additionally, Singapore is partnering with Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure to offer GenAI training and development solutions for local enterprises.
Omdia notes that most organizations in Asia and Oceania lack expertise in GenAI development and struggle to compete with major technology vendors and startups for AI talent. GenAI solution developers and service providers in Asia and Oceania must acknowledge the complexity of creating a regional GenAI solution and deploy proper resources to help their clients meet data sovereignty requirements.
“Eventually, we expect the focus on GenAI localization and data sovereignty to lead into AI sovereignty. Asia and Oceania now understand the paradigm shift brought by GenAI and have started advocating GenAI development that is fully aligned with a country’s identity, characteristics, and needs. As such, governments need to work closely with GenAI technology suppliers and end-users to build up the local AI infrastructure and ecosystem,” concludes Su.
