TLDR: Malaysia has solidified its position as a leader in ASEAN’s artificial intelligence landscape by hosting the inaugural ASEAN AI Malaysia Summit 2025 (AAIMS25) and launching ‘ILMU’, its first fully homegrown multimodal AI model. The summit, attended by over 1,500 participants, focused on driving sustainable and inclusive AI development, while ILMU aims to empower Malaysians with culturally and linguistically nuanced AI capabilities.
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia has taken a significant stride in shaping the future of artificial intelligence (AI) in Southeast Asia by hosting the inaugural ASEAN AI Malaysia Summit 2025 (AAIMS25) from August 12-13 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC). The two-day summit, held under Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship and supported by the Ministry of Digital, National Artificial Intelligence Office (NAIO), and MyDIGITAL Corporation, convened over 1,500 participants, including ASEAN ministers, global technology leaders, and policymakers, to advance a shared vision for AI that empowers communities and builds trust.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim underscored Malaysia’s commitment to harnessing AI not merely to keep pace with global advancements but to lead, offering a model of innovation rooted in trust, equity, and Southeast Asian values. He emphasized that AI should serve as a transformative force for inclusive growth, aligning with regional values of justice and dignity.
A pivotal moment of the summit was the launch of ‘ILMU’, Malaysia’s first fully homegrown multimodal AI model. Developed by YTL AI Labs in partnership with Universiti Malaya, ILMU is a large language model (LLM) trained on local languages and data, designed to understand Malaysia’s unique culture, context, and daily realities. Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo hailed ILMU as a groundbreaking innovation that reflects the national vision for a technology-driven, inclusive, and culturally relevant future. He stated, ‘Built by Malaysians for Malaysians, ILMU showcases our ability to create world-class AI infrastructure while preserving our linguistic and cultural identity. This is more than just technology; it is a step toward empowering our people, our businesses, and our nation in the digital era.’ YTL Power International Bhd Managing Director Datuk Seri Yeoh Seok Hong noted that ILMU performed on par with state-of-the-art models like GPT-4o and Llama 3.1, achieving the highest score among frontier models in Bahasa Melayu language understanding (MalayMMLU). ILMUchat, an AI chatbot for consumers, is slated for early access on Malaysia Day, September 16, 2025.
ASEAN Secretary-General Dr. Kao Kim Hourn commended Malaysia’s leadership in convening the first-ever ASEAN AI summit. He highlighted the immense potential of the ASEAN digital economy, projected to reach US$1 trillion (RM4.24 trillion) by 2030, with AI alone contributing between 10% and 18% of the region’s GDP by the end of the decade. Dr. Kao also noted ASEAN’s adoption of the ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics in 2024 and the expanded ASEAN Responsible AI Roadmap in January this year. The next crucial step will be the creation of the ASEAN AI Safety Network, led by Malaysia, with an informal launch targeted for early 2026, to institutionalize safety, ethics, and governance principles.
Malaysia’s ‘AI Nation Framework’, a whole-of-nation strategy, was also a key discussion point, built on five pillars: forward-looking AI policy and regulation, talent cultivation, robust data and digital infrastructure, strengthened digital trust, and strategic investment. This framework, anchored in the Madani vision, aims to ensure AI drives economic growth, social progress, and public confidence. The summit also saw the launch of the National Cloud Computing Policy (NCCP) by the Ministry of Digital, championing a Cloud-First future to fuel innovation and strengthen digital resilience.
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Beyond local initiatives, the summit attracted significant international participation. Huawei Technologies launched the APAC AI Ecosystem Initiative, a three-year plan to establish Malaysia as a regional hub for AI excellence, aiming to train 30,000 AI talents and support 200 local partners. Additionally, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) introduced the AMD Developer Cloud, offering 100,000 GPU hours to Malaysian researchers and developers to accelerate AI research and innovation.
