Can Southeast Asia build fast enough for the AI era?

AI ambitions across Southeast Asia are gaining momentum. The question now is whether the region’s policy frameworks, systems, and infrastructure can keep pace as AI moves toward larger-scale deployment.

Governments and enterprises are moving rapidly to deploy AI across industries, but infrastructure gaps, fragmented regulations, cybersecurity risks, and uneven digital readiness across markets are making it harder to scale AI reliably across the region.

The challenge is no longer about adopting AI, but whether Southeast Asia’s digital foundations are resilient enough to turn its AI momentum into long-term economic advantage.

This topic takes center stage at Asia Economic Summit 2026 in Fairmont Jakarta on June 17. Meutya Hafid, Indonesia’s minister of communications and digital affairs, and Josephine Teo, Singapore’s minister for digital development and information and minister-in-charge of cybersecurity & smart nation group, will discuss how the region can strengthen its digital foundations to support AI-driven growth at scale.

The event builds on the momentum of Asia Economic Summit 2025, which brought together over 330 registrants from government, corporates, startups, and investment firms to examine the investment, technology, and policy decisions shaping Southeast Asia’s economic future.

Returning to Jakarta on June 17, Asia Economic Summit 2026 gathers policymakers, investors, founders, and operators to examine the decisions shaping Southeast Asia’s next phase of growth in a curated, senior-level setting. Capacity is limited to 250 delegates to maintain the quality of conversations and access in the room.

Some of the other speakers leading this year’s conversations include:

• Lauren Adams, deputy consul-general and trade and investment commissioner, Austrade
• Vince Iswara, CEO and co-founder, Dana
• Andi Taufan Garuda Putra, founder and CEO, Amartha
• Andy Brown, head of go-to-market for Asia Pacific, OpenAI
• Vivek Lath, partner and Southeast Asia Leader of McKinsey Technology, McKinsey & Company
• Lucy Liu, co-founder and president, Airwallex
• Mohan Jayaraman, partner, Bain & Company
• Eddi Danusaputro, chairman, Amvesindo
• Keith Leong, chief customer officer for enterprise, Singtel Singapore
• Sandy Kunvatanagarn, head of public policy, OpenAI
• Irzan Raditya, CEO and co-founder, Kata.ai
• Kevin Teo, head of ImpactCollab and chief technology officer, AVPN
• Faye Wongso, founder and chairperson, Kumpul
• Dina Dellyana, director of Thegreaterhub Incubator / associate professor, SBM ITB
• Yoke Kee Ang, managing director, Pedigree

RESERVE YOUR SEAT NOW

With less than five weeks remaining and tickets selling fast, early registration is encouraged to secure your place among the region’s key decision-makers.