AI & ML

Open Source AI Is Closing the Gap — A 7B Model Now Does What a 70B Model Did One Year Ago

The latest AI trends data shows open-weight models from Meta, Mistral, and Alibaba's Qwen are matching or exceeding proprietary systems on key benchmarks, while a 7 billion parameter model today matches the capability of a 70 billion parameter model from 2025.

1 May 2026 · 5 min read

AI & ML

Claude Sonnet Leads Real-World Web Agent Benchmark — But Only Completes 1 in 3 Tasks

A new benchmark called ClawBench tests AI agents on 153 real tasks across 144 live production websites — booking appointments, completing purchases, submitting applications. Claude Sonnet 4.6 leads at 33.3%, revealing how far autonomous web agents still have to go.

1 May 2026 · 4 min read

Finance

Western Union's USD Stablecoin Is Coming in May 2026 — What ASEAN Remittance Senders Need to Know

Western Union is launching a USD-backed stablecoin in May 2026 for faster, cheaper cross-border transfers. Here is what ASEAN remittance senders need to know.

1 May 2026 · 5 min read

ASEAN Tech

ASEAN Data Centre Boom: 15 New Facilities Announced in 2026 as AI Demand Surges

15 new data centre facilities were announced across ASEAN in 2026 as AI compute demand surges. Here is what this infrastructure boom means for regional businesses and investors.

1 May 2026 · 4 min read

ASEAN Tech

Singapore Developers Report 40% Productivity Gains From AI Coding — But Security Reviews Are Becoming the Bottleneck

A survey of Singapore-based developers finds that AI coding assistants are delivering substantial productivity improvements, but security code review has emerged as the critical bottleneck in AI-assisted development workflows.

30 Apr 2026 · 5 min read

AI & ML

Meta AI Reaches 1 Billion Users — But Earns Just 10 Cents Per Head

Meta AI reached 1 billion monthly active users but earns just $0.10 per user. Here is what Meta's AI strategy means for ASEAN businesses and the global AI market.

30 Apr 2026 · 5 min read

AI & ML

OpenAI Raises $4B for The Deployment Company — The Business of Selling AI to Enterprises Has Arrived

OpenAI raised over $4B for The Deployment Company, a new JV helping businesses adopt OpenAI tools. Here is what this means for enterprise AI adoption in ASEAN.

28 Apr 2026 · 5 min read

Finance

Singapore CPF Investment Returns Hit 10-Year High — What Savers Need to Know in 2026

Singapore CPF investment returns hit a 10-year high in 2025. Here is what CPF members, SRS account holders, and retail investors need to know for 2026 planning.

28 Apr 2026 · 5 min read

Developer Tools

GitHub Copilot Shifts to Metered Billing as AI Coding Costs Spiral — What Developers Need to Know

GitHub is shifting Copilot to metered AI billing as AI coding assistance costs increase. Here is what individual developers and enterprise teams need to know about the changes.

25 Apr 2026 · 5 min read

Finance

Malaysia Advances ASEAN's First 24/7 RTGS System — Here Is What It Means for Regional Payments

Malaysia advanced ASEAN's first 24/7 Real-Time Gross Settlement system. Here is what this means for businesses and cross-border payments across Southeast Asia.

25 Apr 2026 · 5 min read