As tokenmaxxing hits a wall, Asean businesses rethink AI spend - Techgoondu

• Trescon will host the 48th Global Edition of the World AI Show in Malaysia on September 9–10, 2026, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur. • The event will feature technology and government leaders, including representatives from PETRONAS and the Labuan Financial Services Authority.

• Asian stock markets rallied recently, driven primarily by a surge in semiconductor chipmaker shares. • Regional performance varied, with Thailand’s SET rising 1.1% and Japan’s TOPIX gaining 0.6%, while New Zealand’s NZX 50 fell 0.5%.

• Tech companies raised approximately $864 million in equity funding during August 2026. • This funding amount represents an 81.36% decrease from the $4.63 billion raised in July.

• Major memory manufacturers including Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron reported substantial production cuts and negative margins during a recent industry downturn. • The memory sector is facing a period of historic challenges despite a strong long-term demand for memory technology.

• Hyperspectral imaging startup Pixxel raised $100 million in a Series C funding round led by Temasek and Seraphim Space. • This investment marks the largest single funding round for any Indian space technology company, bringing Pixxel's total capital raised to $195 million.

• Enterprise Singapore reported that Singapore captured nearly 60% of all venture deal volume in the ASEAN region during 2024. • The total value of these venture deals reached US$4.8 billion.

• OpenAI began using AI agents to accelerate its own internal research processes on September 7, 2026. • This shift means AI is now being used to speed up the development of future AI generations rather than just building consumer products.

• European tech companies secured over €4.6 billion across more than 50 funding deals last week. • Dutch AI startup Wonderful led the activity by raising $550 million at a $5 billion valuation.

• European venture capitalists identified 12 AI biotech startups to watch in 2026, focusing on areas like clinical trial automation and biological foundation models. • Isomorphic Labs raised $2.1 billion in its Series B financing, marking the largest investment ever for an AI drug discovery company.

• A Stockholm-based AI software company raised $400 million in Series C funding in August 2026 to expand its team and customer base. • The company uses multiple AI models to help non-technical users and businesses create software that currently receives hundreds of millions of monthly visits.

• AI companies are accelerating their release calendars to a pace where five frontier model launches can occur in a single week. • Chinese labs have closed most of the quality gap with American models while offering their services at a fraction of the price.

• Micron is preparing to roughly double its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) capacity by the end of 2026. • The company plans to reach a production volume of approximately 100,000 wafers per month by installing new tools in Taiwan, Singapore, and Hiroshima.