Phl poised to expand AI adoption amid regional catch-up

The Philippines may accelerate its artificial intelligence (AI) adoption as investments in data centers, hyperscalers, and digital infrastructure gain momentum.

According to VST ECS Phils., Inc. President and CEO Jimmy Go, the country is trailing behind other Southeast Asian markets in AI server adoption, citing Singapore’s AI server revenues two years ago and substantial orders in Malaysia and Thailand last year.

“I think it's only now or maybe next year that we'll see that the Philippines will have more AI implementation in the country,” Go said and cited the Executive Order No. 119, also known as the Data Residency policy.

The policy establishes a framework for government data classification and residency, could support secure digital transformation by clarifying requirements for protecting and storing government data.

While the order does not directly mandate AI adoption, it may help create favorable conditions for government AI initiatives and digital infrastructure development.

However, rising hardware costs could pose challenges to businesses planning technology investments.

Go highlighted shortages of memory, solid-state drives (SSDs), and graphics processing units (GPUs), which have driven up prices of laptops, smartphones, servers, and storage devices.

“The shortage is really real,” Go said, warning that the duration of price increases remains uncertain.