The Southeast Asia 500’s quickest rising firm can thank the AI increase for its speedy rise. Generative AI has pushed an funding surge into knowledge facilities, which offer the infrastructure for storing, processing and distributing knowledge, key to operating AI functions.
Malaysia has garnered a major share of this funding, attracting multi-billion offers from the likes of Google, Oracle and Microsoft over the previous 18 months.
And a few of that hype has boosted the fortunes of a few of Malaysia’s corporations, together with NationGate, an electronics manufacturing companies supplier.
The corporate generated 5.27 billion Malaysian ringgit ($1.6 billion) in income final yr, excessive sufficient to position it at No. 243 on the Southeast Asia 500. Much more staggeringly, the corporate grew its revenues by greater than 720%, making it the fastest-growing firm by way of income on this yr’s record.
NationGate additionally earned $342 million in earnings, a good 163% improve from the yr earlier than.
The corporate’s knowledge computing phase drove a lot of its income, contributing 88% this yr in comparison with 17% in 2023. NationGate additionally works with the automotive and telecommunications sectors.
Greater than half of Nationgate’s income comes from Malaysia; one other third comes from Singapore. The 2 international locations are arguably Southeast Asia’s knowledge middle hubs.
One among NationGate’s key companies is assembling AI merchandise. And it has a key benefit on this house, as Nvidia’s solely authentic tools manufacturing companion in Southeast Asia. Which means NationGate is the one firm within the area that assembles Nvidia’s highly-sought-after graphics processing models (GPUs) into AI servers. Nvidia’s GPUs are by far essentially the most utilized in high-performance AI functions.
NationGate sees “immense potential” in AI, and that its entry into AI server producer will assist it faucet into “double digit” annual progress in knowledge middle investments in each Southeast Asia and globally.
However the AI increase brings dangers too.
Each Malaysia and Singapore have confronted scrutiny attributable to allegations that each international locations are channels for managed U.S. chips to make their approach to China. Specifically, U.S. officers are reportedly inspecting whether or not DeepSeek, the Chinese language AI startup, circumvented U.S. export management measures with the assistance of third events in Singapore.
In March, Ok Shanmugam, Singapore’s Regulation and House Affairs Minister, stated servers containing chips managed underneath U.S. export controls appeared to have been despatched to Malaysia. Following that allegation, Malaysia commerce minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz stated officers have been investigating and vowed to take essential motion in opposition to native corporations partaking in fraud.
Extra broadly, international locations in Southeast Asia have been topic to potential U.S. guidelines that may cap the variety of AI chips they may purchase. (The Trump administration scrapped this proposal final month.)
Nationgate has distanced itself from the topic and has clarified that it was not concerned within the investigations. However buyers are nonetheless spooked. NationGate’s shares are down by some 40% this yr.
