Beyond servers: Malaysia targets bigger share of AI economy

[KUALA LUMPUR] Beyond the concrete gates of Malaysia’s multibillion-dollar data centres lies the biggest artificial intelligence prize: a scramble to capture more of the AI supply chain, from chips and cooling systems to specialised hardware powering the regional tech boom.

“The race for AI applications and also participation in the building of AI is on, not so much data centres, but on the hardware,” InvestPenang CEO Loo Lee Lian told The Business Times.

Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association president Wong Siew Hai similarly sees opportunities for the country’s existing electrical and electronics (E&E) base, spanning chips, power systems, sensors and other components.