Keeping Up with AI 2.0

UOB FinLab is constantly on the pulse when it comes to the latest innovations in digitalisation. This is to ensure we are constantly tailoring our programmes to ensure relevance and impact.

One hot area of focus is the evolution of AI involving Agentic AI — Autonomous AI agents can make independent decisions — which we discussed in our article here. Since then, we have seen significant advancements in the application of AI and brand new use-cases that have the potential to impact industries and economies.

Many of these AI developments were unveiled and discussed at NVIDIA’s GTC 2025 conference — a leading AI conference which provided a glimpse into the future of AI. The event was also dubbed the “Super Bowl of AI“, which showcases its impact on the entire AI ecosystem.

While there is so much to unpack from the conference, here are some interesting insights from NVIDIA’s GTC, as well as our take on the trajectory of AI in ASEAN.

AI is coming to the physical world

AI has been living inside computer software and chatbots for the most part. However, NVDIA GTC 2025 revealed that it will make its way to the physical world.

Physical AI lets autonomous systems like robots, self-driving cars, and smart spaces perceive, understand, and perform complex actions in the real (physical) world. It’s also often referred to as “generative physical AI” because of its ability to generate insights and actions.

While it seems that all these advancements are happening in the U.S, any developments in AI are a huge deal for Southeast Asia. In the first half of 2024, Southeast Asia attracted over US$30 billion in AI infrastructure investments, according to the 2024 e-Conomy SEA Report from Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company.

The increase in investments paints a larger picture of the growing recognition of Southeast Asia as a hub for AI innovation. Southeast Asian governments are aware of AI’s significance and have taken steps to integrate it into different sectors. For example, Indonesia and Singapore have created national AI strategies. Additionally, Singapore has invested US$70 million in developing language models that are adapted to Southeast Asian cultures.

The region has great potential to further drive the applications of Physical AI and develop new, innovation use cases that can transform industries. Manufacturing is a great example of this.

The manufacturing industry is a key pillar of ASEANs economy and is forecast to reach USD 2.3 trillion output by 2029 – which represents a USD 200 billion increase from 2025. Humanoid robots will open new opportunities for factories to outsource repetitive or physically demanding work, and carry out inspection and maintenance tasks.

More Traction for Enterprise AI

Enterprise AI has huge potential for all types of businesses across industries. It is the strategic integration of AI technologies within large organisations to enhance business functions, automate processes, improve decision-making, and drive digital transformation.

Although enterprises recognise that AI is essential to growth, they remain early in their adoption as they navigate the unique technical complexity and security demands of operating AI on a large scale.

To meet AI requirements on a large scale, more advanced chips have been developed. One example is the NVIDIA Llama Nemotron reasoning family that delivers on-demand AI reasoning capabilities. To give you a summary on what this means, it boosts the accuracy of the models by up to 20% compared with the base model and optimises inference speed by 5x compared with other leading open reasoning models. This means the models can handle more complex reasoning tasks, enhance decision-making capabilities and reduce operational costs for enterprises.

Businesses in ASEAN are no stranger to the benefits of AI. The 2024 e-Conomy SEA report shared that 54% of generative AI projects advance from ideation to production within six months, and 71% yield Return on Investment within 12 months. With a short turnaround, regional tech majors such as Gojek, Grab, and Lazada leverage AI in their business operations including demand prediction and personalised recommendations.

More accurate and faster models will enable ASEAN companies to take their business operations to the next level,unlock new data, drive greater innovation and boost transform the way businesses operate.

A Professional Network of Humans… and maybe Robots
one day

AI represents a fundamental change and will become an intrinsic part of how businesses operate.

The companies that will thrive in this AI era will be those that stay up to date with the latest developments – enabling them to create informed strategies, deploy solutions and understand how to use AI as a strategic tool.

We believe that collaboration will be key to adapting to the ever-changing AI advancements. This will enable businesses to collectively learn the best industry practices and bounce ideas off each other to stay ahead of the competition while catalysing business growth. Through collective action, businesses have the ability to learn the best industry practices to stay ahead of the competition and accelerate their growth.

UOB FinLab’s programmes and initiatives allows businesses to leverage our vast ecosystem of 32,000 professionals that include mentors, industry leaders, and solution providers – maybe one day we also will have robots in our ecosystem.

It is through our network where businesses can understand the latest digitalisation trends like AI, and develop actionable steps to futureproof their business.

UOB FinLab will continue to monitor and understand the potential of AI as it continues to rapidly evolve. This will ensure our ecosystem, programmes and initiatives are at the forefront of breaking technological advancements and understand how to thrive in an increasingly digital world.

We have many exciting initiatives in the pipeline for 2025 and we can’t wait to share them with you. Stay up to date by following us on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter.