Businesses in the Asia Pacific region are increasing investments in Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) and are projected to nearly triple spending on this technology to $3.4 billion by 2024. This trend is observed across Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, India, and Singapore, according to Infosys Research. Although spending in the region is behind North America, the adoption, effectiveness, and growth of GenAI in APAC are among the highest globally.
“Companies across Asia-Pacific are quickly ramping up investments in generative AI and entering a higher stage of maturity,” the IT major’s research arm, Infosys Knowledge Institute (IKI), said in the research.
While Apac companies currently lag behind their North American counterparts in GenAI spending, the research forecasts a bigger increase than in any other region, that is 140 per cent.
“This translates to an estimated $3.4 billion to be invested across Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, India, and Singapore,” it said.
The Infosys Generative AI Radar APAC report features insights gathered from interviews with business leaders and AI practitioners, along with a survey of 1,000 respondents from Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, India, and Singapore.
Enterprises across APAC are making substantial investments in GenAI. China leads the region, with investment expected to grow by over 160% to reach $2.1 billion, closely followed by Australia and New Zealand in terms of growth.
The research findings revealed that investment in ANZ (Australia and New Zealand) is expected to grow by over 150%, increasing from $60 million to $151 million in 2024.
The biggest obstacles to Apac adoption are caution around responsible AI, concerns about the impact on reputation, and employee readiness.
Responsible AI (data privacy, data usability, ethics, and bias) is a concern for Apac countries, though ANZ is less concerned about data usability.
“Apac is more cautious about GenAI’s business impact than North America and Europe; almost 10 per cent expect a negative impact on reputation versus less than 5 per cent for North America and Europe, it said.
