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 Snapshot (October 2026) is grounded in the latest public indices — primarily Oxford Insights' Government AI Readiness Index (2024–2025 editions), the Salesforce Global AI Readiness Index (2025), the ASEAN Foundation's AI Ready ASEAN Research (Feb 2026), Microsoft's Work Trend Index 2026, and the Frontiers/ACM/Springer peer-reviewed assessments published in 2026. Global ranks reflect the most recent Oxford Insights edition available; where multiple index editions give slightly different placements, the most recent confirmed figure is used. Sovereign LLM entries reflect publicly announced or launched models as of Q3 2026. ASEAN's digital economy is projected to grow from USD 300 billion toward USD 1 trillion by 2030 — the urgency of inclusive, responsible, and well-governed AI adoption has never been greater. AISEAN exists to close the readiness gap, surface ground-truth data, and amplify every nation's sovereign AI voice.
ASEAN Member States — AI Readiness Rankings (Global)
| Country | AI Highlights | Rank | Key Stat | Sovereign LLM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇸🇬 Singapore | Undisputed ASEAN AI front-runner. Scores 84.25 on the Oxford Insights index — #2 globally behind the US. NAIS 2.0 drives national strategy; the world's first Agentic AI Framework launched January 2026. National Supercomputing Centre runs 20 PetaFLOPS. Agentic AI enterprise adoption doubled in 2026. Singapore workers record a 63.4% AI diffusion rate among the working-age population (Q1 2026), far above the 17.8% global average. Over USD 740 million committed to national AI capability-building. | #2 | 63.4% workforce AI diffusion rate (Q1 2026) | SEA-LION v4 (AISG) — multimodal, multilingual, open-source; SEA-Guard safety layer released Feb 2026 |
| 🇲🇾 Malaysia | Firm second tier in ASEAN. Oxford Insights places Malaysia at #23–37 globally (varying editions), well above regional peers. Governance maturity score of 0.51 (ACM 2026 study). Launched sovereign LLM ILMU in August 2025 via YTL AI Labs in partnership with Nvidia, hosted in YTL's 500 MW green data centre and deployed to 3M+ users. Agmo Group's Merdeka LLM adds an enterprise-sovereign layer. Malaysia hosted the ASEAN AI Malaysia Summit 2025. | #23–37 | ILMU deployed to 3M+ users via YTL/Yes mobile (2026) | ILMU / ILMUchat (YTL AI Labs, Aug 2025 launch; ILMUchat Jun 2026) — Malaysia's first fully sovereign LLM |
| 🇹🇭 Thailand | ASEAN's most enthusiastic everyday AI adopter — Thailand leads the bloc in AI usage rates (36.2% AI adoption, Q1 2026). Oxford Insights ranks Thailand #34–37 globally, placing it third in ASEAN. Governance maturity score of 0.58 (ACM 2026). Strong ICT Development Index score of 91.6 (ITU 2026). Key gap remains in institutional governance frameworks and critical-thinking skill development. | #34 | 36.2% AI adoption rate — highest everyday AI usage in ASEAN (Q1 2026) | No dedicated sovereign LLM launched as of Q3 2026; leverages SEA-LION and Sailor2 regionally |
| 🇮🇩 Indonesia | Largest ASEAN economy by population. Oxford Insights ranks Indonesia #38–46 globally (4th in ASEAN). Governance maturity score 0.62 (ACM 2026). Some 18 million businesses actively use AI — the broadest SME AI base in Southeast Asia. National AI strategy references Pancasila ethical principles. A growing hyperscaler data-centre market positions Indonesia as a rising AI infrastructure hub. | #42 | 18 million businesses using AI — largest SME AI base in ASEAN | No fully sovereign LLM launched; Sailor2 (Sea Group) used regionally; domestic model initiatives in early development |
| 🇻🇳 Vietnam | Fastest-rising ASEAN AI-talent market. Microsoft Work Trend Index 2026 ranks Vietnam #1 in ASEAN for AI pioneers — 39% of workers are advanced AI users, more than double the global average of 16%. Governance maturity score of 0.73 (ACM 2026 — second only to Singapore). Passed Southeast Asia's first dedicated AI law in December 2025, in effect since 1 March 2026, with strong data-sovereignty provisions. Oxford Insights places Vietnam at #45–59 globally. | #51 | 39% of workers are AI pioneers — #1 in ASEAN (Microsoft WTI 2026) | No single branded sovereign LLM; Vietnam AI Law (2026) mandates domestic AI infrastructure and model sovereignty; NATIF programme targeting ~15 key AI projects in 2026 |
| 🇵🇭 Philippines | Improved seven spots in the Oxford Insights index to reach #49 globally (2024 edition), scoring 57.76 — above the global average of 41.40. Policy capacity score of 84.50 and governance score of 70.84 are strong, but AI infrastructure resilience remains a gap. Governance maturity score 0.49 (ACM 2026). Hosted the AI Ready ASEAN 3rd Regional Policy Convening (Manila, Feb 2026). Benefits from a large English-fluent digital workforce. | #49 | Score 57.76 / 100 on Oxford Insights 2024 — above global avg (41.40) | No dedicated sovereign LLM; leverages SEA-LION and SeaLLMs for Tagalog/Filipino NLP tasks |
| 🇧🇳 Brunei Darussalam | Punches above its weight on digital infrastructure. ITU ICT Development Index 2026 scores Brunei at 93.6 — top-5 globally and highest in ASEAN, reflecting world-class connectivity. Oxford Insights places Brunei at #66–97 globally (7th in ASEAN) — lower governance scores drag the overall rank despite excellent infrastructure. AI adoption and talent pipeline remain limited by small population (~450,000). | #74 | ICT Development Index 93.6 — highest in ASEAN (ITU 2026) | No sovereign LLM; digital government AI initiatives rely on ASEAN regional frameworks and vendor models |
| 🇰🇭 Cambodia | Categorised as a 'dependent country' in AI development pathways (Frontiers 2026 study). Oxford Insights ranks Cambodia #118–145 globally (8th–9th in ASEAN). Limited AI governance regulations and strategies are in place. However, the ASEAN Foundation's AI Ready ASEAN programme — which has upskilled more than 5 million beneficiaries across the region — is active in Cambodia, building grassroots AI literacy among youth and civil society. | #133 | ASEAN Foundation AI Ready programme active; 5M+ regional beneficiaries upskilled (2026) | No sovereign LLM; Khmer language supported within SEA-LION (AISG) open-source model |
| 🇱🇦 Laos | Among the lower-ranked ASEAN AI states. Oxford Insights places Laos at #125–137 globally (8th–9th in ASEAN). Classed as a 'dependent country' in the 2026 Frontiers AI pathway study, relying heavily on external technology providers. AI adoption rate of 7.8% (Q1 2026, Visual Capitalist) — the lowest recorded in the region, though up from 6.0% in H1 2025, showing early momentum. Infrastructure investment via Belt and Road digital connectivity offers a possible leapfrog path. | #130 | 7.8% AI adoption rate (Q1 2026) — rising from 6.0% in H1 2025 | No sovereign LLM; Lao language included in SEA-LION open-source training corpus |
| 🇲🇲 Myanmar | Ranked last among ASEAN-10 in AI readiness across all major indices. Oxford Insights places Myanmar at #143–173 globally (10th in ASEAN). Political instability following the 2021 coup severely restricts public AI investment, data infrastructure development, and international tech partnerships. Governance maturity data is largely unavailable. Civil-society and diaspora-led NLP projects (Burmese language) represent the primary AI development activity. SEA-LION includes Burmese in its training corpus. | #173 | Ranked 10th / 10 in ASEAN across Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness editions | No sovereign LLM; Burmese language partially supported in SEA-LION open-source corpus |