Tech in Asia Conference held its 15th edition in Singapore on 15 and 16 September, gathering more than 2,000 attendees from across Southeast Asia. The event took place at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre under the theme “Lead the Enterprise AI Era”.
The conference focused on enterprise adoption of artificial intelligence, covering infrastructure, implementation, talent, workflows and return on investment. Speakers included Hans Patuwo of GoTo Group, Ng Tian Beng of Certis, Philipp Kandal of Grab, Li Hongyi of Open Government Products and Paul Copplestone of Supabase.
Tech in Asia said Southeast Asia continues to outpace the global average in AI adoption, though businesses face challenges moving from experimentation to scaled deployment.
Shift from experimentation to deployment
Terence Lee, overall lead and editor-in-chief of Tech in Asia, addressed how the conversation around AI has changed for businesses in the region.
“As AI moves rapidly from experimentation into the way businesses operate, the conversation is shifting from what AI can do to how organisations can deploy it effectively and create lasting business value,” Lee said.
Lee also explained the reasoning behind this year’s theme and the choice of Singapore as host.
“This year’s theme, ‘Lead the Enterprise AI Era’, reflects that shift. For our 15th edition, we wanted to bring together the people making these decisions – from enterprise leaders and technology practitioners to founders building the next generation of AI solutions. Hosting the conference in Singapore gives us the opportunity to connect this community at a time when businesses across the region are looking to turn AI’s potential into practical outcomes,” Lee said.
New formats and showcase sessions
The conference introduced Lightning Pitch sessions, giving founders from mid- to late-stage startups 15 minutes to present solutions to enterprise decision-makers and potential buyers. A Strategy War Room segment paired a 20-minute moderated panel with 25 minutes of direct exchange between speakers and the audience.
A Showcase Zone featured 15 companies, including Menlo Research, an applied research and development lab building an open platform described by the company as intended for the next billion robots. Attendees had the opportunity to interact with Menlo’s humanoid robot, Asimov 1.
HSBC Innovation Banking served as Principal Banking Partner for the conference.
Neil Falconer, head of innovation banking at HSBC Singapore, described the bank’s interest in supporting the enterprise AI shift.
“Enterprise AI is moving rapidly from experimentation into real-world adoption, creating new opportunities for businesses while reshaping how they operate, grow and compete. At HSBC Innovation Banking, we support ambitious, innovative companies as they scale through this shift, with financing and banking solutions tailored to the business and its founders. We are pleased to partner with the Tech in Asia Conference as Principal Banking Partner and to contribute to the conversations shaping the future of enterprise AI and business across Asia,” Falconer said.
