ASEAN’s AI Race: Billions Spent, But a Catch Looms

AI cities are appearing across ASEAN headlines, making the future seem already here. The numbers, however, are small compared to the United States. There, the so-called “hyperscalers”—large cloud computing companies—have poured over a trillion dollars into AI data centers since 2022. But resources allowing, ASEAN is preparing for a big regional rollout. There is a catch: the full details remain unclear, but the race is officially underway.