Applied AI gains ground as firms move beyond dashboards and experiments

KENANGA Research organised an AI/Data Platform Showcase (powered by Infomina Berhad) recently with the objective of shifting the discussion from broad AI narratives to applied AI that is measurable and deployable in real operating environments.

From a strategic standpoint, Infomina positioned AI as an enterprise value engine that progresses decision-making along a clear maturity curve.

The key message was that AI has moved beyond experimentation: organisations are increasingly adopting data-led, real-time and predictive decisioning to act faster and with greater confidence.

On AI adoption, Infomina’s view was that the opportunity set across Malaysia and ASEAN is significant, but adoption remains early-stage—especially in applied AI.

Many organisations are still operating primarily with dashboards/descriptive analytics and manual or semi-automated decision processes, which limits scalability and consistency. 

Infomina also framed the market as bifurcated between two ends of the spectrum: on one side, “GenAI-as-a-service” tools (e.g., ChatGPT/Gemini) that offer the fastest time-to-market but raise concerns around data confidentiality and hallucination risk; on the other, extensive customisation approaches that can require long development cycles and very high infrastructure/resource investments. 

Against this, Infomina highlighted a “gap to fill” where enterprises want solutions that remain fit-for-purpose and customisable, leverage pre-trained foundation models, and still meet requirements around data sovereignty and governance.

Malaysia’s digital economy investment continues to record strong momentum, reinforcing the nation’s ambition to become an AI Nation by 2030 and strengthening its position as a leading digital innovation hub in ASEAN.

For Q3 of 2025, Malaysia recorded RM54.13 bil in approved Malaysia Digital (MD) investments, generating 21,815 high-value jobs across 402 digital companies, highlighting sustained investor confidence in the country’s digital ecosystem and reflects Malaysia’s long-term AI-driven growth trajectory.

Despite cautious global investment conditions in 2025, Malaysia’s digital economy continued to pivot towards employment-intensive and high value segments, particularly in AI.

AI-related investments alone accounted for 8,328 jobs created, representing 38% of total projected employment, reflecting rising demand for digital professionals, data scientists, AI engineers, and specialised service talent.

The Klang Valley continues to be the focal point of digital investments, with W.P. Kuala Lumpur and Selangor attracting 88% of total investments, amounting to RM47.8 bil and nearly 90% of the 19,417 digital jobs created, supported by mature infrastructure, strong talent concentration, and high ecosystem readiness.

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) Chief Executive Officer, Anuar Fariz Fadzil, echoes minister’s statement, noting that Malaysia continues to stand out as a preferred destination for AI investments. —Feb 4, 2025

Main image: NEWS

 

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