Gobi Partners, a Hong Kong- and Kuala Lumpur-based investment firm, said in a report released in Manila that 25% of Filipino workers use AI agents for multistep tasks, above the 16% global average.

Only 14.9% of Philippine firms use AI tools.

The venture firm said AI startups captured less than 1% of Philippine startup deal value in 2026 year to date.

Public funding rose from under 1% in 2025 to about 9% in 2026 year to date.

One state-backed funding channel is the National Development Company’s Startup Venture Fund, a 250 million pesos (US$3.97 million) facility that co-invests with private partners in early-stage startups.

The IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) said the industry cut its 2028 headcount target from 2.5 million to a best-case 2.14 million, citing AI and global competition.

IBPAP published the industry roadmap and said the outlook was shifting from capacity to capability.

🔗 Source: Gobi Partners

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