AISEAN / OVERVIEW
ASEAN AI Intelligence Hub
Open-source database tracking the AI ecosystem across Southeast Asia — companies, funding, policy, models, infrastructure, jobs.
AISEAN's AI Readiness Rankings (August 2026 snapshot) are compiled from the Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index (2024 edition), Microsoft's 2026 Work Trend Index, the ASEAN Foundation AI Ready ASEAN Research, and sovereign-LLM tracking across public government and academic sources. Global ranks reflect Oxford Insights government-pillar scores unless noted. The ASEAN digital economy is projected to reach US$1 trillion by 2030, making credible, grounded readiness intelligence more consequential than ever. Rankings are updated quarterly; next revision: November 2026.
ASEAN Member States — AI Readiness Rankings (Global)
| Country | AI Highlights | Rank | Key Stat | Sovereign LLM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇸🇬 Singapore | Ranks #2 globally on Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index (score 84.25) and #2 on Microsoft's 2026 AI Diffusion Index. Enterprise agentic AI adoption surged from 22% to 51% in 2026. National AI Strategy 2.0 drives ~4% GDP contribution from tech sectors. SEA-LION expanded into a multimodal (text, image, speech) ecosystem under a S$70M NMLP programme. 66% of AI-using workers now produce outputs impossible a year ago, vs. 58% global average. | #2 | 51% enterprise agentic AI adoption (2026) | SEA-LION v3.5 (AI Singapore / AISG) |
| 🇲🇾 Malaysia | Ranked #23 globally (Oxford Insights). Launched domestically developed ILMU LLM in August 2025, one of the first sovereign models in ASEAN. Scored 75.65 on the 2026 Global Outsourcing AI Readiness Index, ranking 3rd among 25 outsourcing destinations. Held ASEAN Chair in 2025, shaping regional AI governance dialogue. Banned and later reinstated Grok after xAI added child-safety guardrails. | #23 | 75.65/100 outsourcing AI readiness score (2026) | ILMU (YTL / MDEC, launched Aug 2025) |
| 🇹🇭 Thailand | Ranked #37 globally (Oxford Insights). Home to Typhoon 2, an open-text and multimodal Thai LLM family released in late 2024. Bangkok hosted the AI for Developing Countries Forum in early 2026, where delegates from 100+ nations adopted a declaration on AI sovereignty. Government AI strategy targets AI contribution to 1% of GDP by 2027. | #37 | AI GDP target: 1% of GDP by 2027 | Typhoon 2 (SCB Tech X / VISTEC) |
| 🇮🇩 Indonesia | Ranked #42 globally (Oxford Insights). Approximately 18 million businesses actively using AI as of 2026, the largest business-AI base in ASEAN. Co-developing Komodo LLM to serve Indonesia's 700+ regional languages. Banned and reinstated Grok alongside Malaysia and the Philippines over child-safety violations in early 2026. National AI Strategy integrates Pancasila ethical principles. | #42 | ~18M businesses using AI (2026) | Komodo (Komdigi / BRIN initiative) |
| 🇻🇳 Vietnam | Ranked #59 globally (Oxford Insights) but leads all ASEAN nations in workforce AI adoption: 39% of workers are advanced AI users, more than double the 16% global average (Microsoft WTI 2026). Became the first Southeast Asian country to pass a dedicated AI Law, approved Dec 2025 and in effect since 1 March 2026. Nearly 90% of students and 80% of educators already use GenAI tools. | #59 | 39% advanced AI users in workforce — #1 in ASEAN (2026) | PhoGPT / ViGPT (VinAI / VinBigData) |
| 🇵🇭 Philippines | Ranked #65 globally (Oxford Insights), but rose 7 places in the 2025 index. Scored 69.05/100 on the 2026 Global Outsourcing AI Readiness Index, ranking 5th among 25 outsourcing destinations, supported by high workforce AI literacy. Assumed ASEAN Chair for 2026, positioning itself as a voice for an 'ASEAN way' in the AI era. Over 80% of students report active AI usage. | #65 | 69.05/100 outsourcing AI readiness; 80%+ student AI usage | No fully sovereign LLM; SeaLLM 3 adopted regionally |
| 🇧🇳 Brunei Darussalam | Ranked #74 globally (Oxford Insights). Released its first AI Governance and Ethics Guide (2025) under the Authority for Info-Communications Technology Industry (AITI), citing the ASEAN AI Guide as a key reference. Also gazetted Personal Data Protection Order 2025. Small population constrains scale, but per-capita digital infrastructure is among the region's strongest. | #74 | AI Governance & Ethics Guide released 2025 (AITI) | No sovereign LLM; reliant on SEA-LION & global models |
| 🇱🇦 Laos | Ranked #136 globally (Oxford Insights), reflecting limited AI governance frameworks. Internet penetration remains below 40%, constraining digital readiness. National AI strategy is still in development, guided by the ASEAN AI Guide. Receives capacity-building support through ASEAN Digital Masterplan initiatives. AI adoption in education and public sector is nascent. | #136 | <40% internet penetration; AI strategy in draft stage | No sovereign LLM |
| 🇰🇭 Cambodia | Ranked #145 globally (Oxford Insights). National AI strategy is still being developed with guidance from the ASEAN AI Guide framework. Receives digital capacity support from ASEAN Foundation's AI Ready ASEAN programme. GenAI usage is growing among youth, but institutional AI governance and structured training remain limited. | #145 | AI strategy in development; governance frameworks nascent | No sovereign LLM |
| 🇲🇲 Myanmar | Ranked #149 globally (Oxford Insights), the lowest-ranked ASEAN-10 member. Political instability since the 2021 coup severely constrains public AI investment and governance. Internet freedoms remain restricted. Some private-sector and diaspora-driven AI tool adoption continues, but no national AI strategy or sovereign model is operational. Regional AI gap is most acute here. | #149 | No active national AI strategy; political constraints persist | No sovereign LLM |