Platforms Hold Their Nerve During Asia's Tech Turmoil

• Industry leaders at ET WLF 2026 warned that Indian enterprises and critical infrastructure operators must strengthen AI governance to counter an expanding cyber threat landscape. • The rise of autonomous AI agents is creating a new battlefield where both attackers and defenders utilize automated tools for cybersecurity operations.

• AI is accelerating software development and reducing costs, causing a shift in value creation from software toward computing infrastructure and physical systems. • India is positioned to benefit from this transition due to its competitive data-center costs and attractive power pricing.

• Moody’s Analytics reports a divergence in Asia-Pacific economies, where AI-driven export demand is acting as a critical economic stabilizer. • While AI boosts exports, high inflation and soaring interest rates are currently hindering domestic consumption and general business activities across the region.

• Former Lunar executives Ken Villum Klausen, Peter Andreasen, and Joachim Strøjer Hansen have raised €8.2 million ($9.6 million) in pre-seed funding to launch Repodo. • Repodo is an AI-native audit startup designed to automate tedious manual processes within the €80 billion global audit market.

• Amsterdam-based fintech Neno has raised €6.6 million in seed funding led by AlleyCorp to scale its AI-driven accounting platform. • The company's AI ledger significantly increases efficiency, allowing a single accountant to manage up to 200 small business clients compared to the industry average of 30.

• China has released a mysterious and ultra-powerful AI system known as Ox Alpha, signaling a significant leap in its domestic technological capabilities. • The emergence of this system has intensified global concerns that China is rapidly closing the gap with Western leaders, specifically the United States, in the AI arms race.

• Data centre values in the Asia Pacific region are projected to exceed USD $950 billion, driven by surging AI demand and power constraints. • Colocation revenue is expected to top USD $66 billion by 2030, with approximately 7.8 gigawatts of future capacity already secured across the region.

• Moody's Analytics reported on Tuesday that the artificial intelligence boom is helping the Asia-Pacific region avoid a more severe economic slowdown. • Developed Asian economies are bucking the general trend, with Taiwan and South Korea expected to see accelerated growth driven by AI.

• Vietnam is experiencing a surge in large-scale data center investments driven by the accelerating demand for AI, cloud computing, and the broader data economy. • Current installed capacity of approximately 104MW is projected to grow five-to-six-fold, reaching nearly 600MW by 2030.

• Asian stock markets declined on Tuesday as investor anxiety grew regarding the upcoming earnings report from chipmaker Nvidia. • Key indices saw losses, including India’s Nifty 50 (-0.3%), China’s CSI 300 (-0.5%), and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (-0.3%), while Singapore’s FTSE Straits Times saw a slight gain of 0.3%.

• Southeast Asia's data center investment is projected to more than double to $35.08 billion by 2031, according to research from Arizton. • Malaysia is emerging as a regional leader with a 6GW pipeline, supported by construction costs of $8m to $10m per megawatt and aggressive tax incentives.

• Southeast Asia's data center investment is projected to grow from $15.72 billion in 2025 to $35.08 billion by 2031, according to a report by Arizton. • The market is expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.32%, supported by 306 currently operational facilities across nine countries.