At the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS), held alongside the 47th ASEAN Summit, Google announced new initiatives for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Malaysia, to equip everyone with the AI skills needed for this AI-powered economy and to advance AI in critical areas such as research and sustainability. These initiatives are aimed at driving inclusive growth and innovation across the region.
According to the AI Opportunity in Southeast Asia’ report, AI is taking root at record speed, with 70 per cent of people in the region using generative AI tools weekly. This adoption could help power the next stage of growth, potentially boosting the region’s economy by USD 270 billion.
As AI continues to reshape economies and communities, Google is already seeing how research and innovation is translating into real-world impact across critical areas like science and sustainability.
Accelerating scientific discovery through AI
AI is accelerating the pace of scientific discovery across Southeast Asia. AlphaFold, an AI technology developed by Google DeepMind, has become an indispensable tool for over 85,000 researchers in the region, enabling them to model intricate 3D protein structures with unprecedented accuracy.
Over the years, AlphaFold has helped facilitate breakthroughs in diverse areas of biological research. In Malaysia, researchers are using it to better accelerate the search for effective treatments and vaccines that cause melioidosis, a deadly infectious disease.
Dr Lam Su Datt, Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the National University of Malaysia (UKM), shared: “Burkholderia pseudomallei is a near-indestructible bacterium that can survive extreme environments for years. Despite decades of study, there’s still no vaccine or cure. With AlphaFold, we can finally visualize its protein structures and explore how to weaken its defences, which is a step closer to developing effective treatments.”
In Singapore, researchers are using the same technology to detect early indicators of Parkinson’s disease, paving the way for more proactive and personalised healthcare solutions.
Building sustainability and resilience
Beyond the lab, AI is helping to advance sustainability and climate resilience across the region. Google DeepMind’s AnthroKrishi team is expanding its Agricultural APIs to more countries including Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia. These models can provide real-time agricultural insights—such as crop type, field size, distance to water, and a crop’s last sow or harvest date—supporting agricultural sustainability across the Southeast Asia region amidst changing climate conditions.
To further accelerate clean energy transitions, Google’s philanthropic arm, Google.org, is also providing climate analytics nonprofit, TransitionZero, with USD 1.5 million in funding to develop an AI-powered tool to make clean energy planning more cost effective and accessible, accelerating the global transition to clean energy. Starting with partnerships in countries including Malaysia and Singapore, this tool will help governments and organisations make smarter and faster decisions or crucial energy investments.
Providing people with AI skills and safety across the region
Building a strong foundation of AI literacy is a key priority. Google.org’s support towards the ASEAN Foundation’s launch of the AI Ready ASEAN initiative is at the heart of this commitment. Since launching in October 2024, this regional program has equipped over 800,000 young people, educators, and parents with essential AI literacy skills. The initiative’s new online platform, AI Class ASEAN, launched just two months ago, and is already serving over 14,000 users, further scaling access to crucial training in a self-paced format.
To ensure responsible digital engagement, Google.org has also committed US$5 million to promote youth digital wellbeing across Southeast Asia. The program will support leading nonprofit partners to provide parents, educators, and teenagers with resources that foster positive and healthy relationships with technology.
Google is also providing targeted support for classrooms and educators. Through Gemini Academy, Google has trained close to 31,000 educators in Malaysia since its pilot in late 2023. A Google impact survey found that 75 per cent of participating educators became more productive after integrating AI tools into their teaching, saving an average of 3.1 hours per week on grading, 2.8 hours on developing creative ideas, and 1.9 hours on lesson planning and content creation.
Farhan S. Qureshi, Country Director, Google Malaysia said, “Malaysia has always been a hub of creativity and innovation, and we are seeing that same spirit power its AI transformation today. From educators reimagining their classrooms with Gemini Academy to researchers at UKM using AlphaFold to advance healthcare, Malaysians are showing how AI can create meaningful progress. Google remains deeply committed to helping the country and the region harness AI responsibly for economic growth and social good.”
Google continues to collaborate closely with governments, businesses, and communities across ASEAN to build an AI ecosystem that is innovative, inclusive, and responsible while ensuring AI becomes a sustainable engine of progress that benefits everyone.
Source: Google