Building Asia’s AI Future: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Vision to Lead

AI isn’t just transforming how we work—it’s fundamentally changing what we need to build! As I engage with leaders across industries and governments, one thing is clear: the era of AI-focused facilities—whether we call them ‘factories,’ ‘hubs,’ or ‘engines’ of digital autonomy—has arrived. These are not traditional data centers; they are purpose-built infrastructures for a world where data sovereignty, real-time insights, and operational scalability are non-negotiable.

Asia is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation. From Jakarta to Johor Bahru, AI factories are rising, promising to revolutionize digital economies and bolster digital sovereignty. However, these facilities come with immense challenges. A single AI factory can demand as much energy as an entire city, pushing regions to innovate with renewable energy and solutions like liquid cooling systems. Beyond hardware lies the frontier of orchestration: seamless coordination between clouds, edge systems, and local applications. This shift also calls for a revival of deep networking and storage expertise—the very skills deprioritized in the cloud-first era.

The stakes are high, but so are the opportunities. Asia’s diversity, talent, and ambition give it the edge to redefine the global AI narrative. Success in this new AI-driven world isn’t just about building infrastructure—it’s about having the vision and leadership to align these investments with transformative goals. Will Asia’s AI infrastructure reflect not just its needs but its aspirations?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on these key challenges:

1. How can regions meet the enormous energy demands of AI factories sustainably?
2. What innovative solutions exist to address cooling challenges, especially in tropical climates?
3. How do we close the critical skills gap required to manage these complex infrastructures effectively?
4. And perhaps most importantly, what are the transformative use cases that can generate revenue to justify these significant investments?

Let’s discuss!

Yanhan Tan Manoj Menon Kuna Nallappan Adam Judd Mohamed Tanana Bok Hwee Khoo Jarrod Lucia