APAC businesses to triple spending on generative AI to US$3.4b this year

Melbourne, Australia – Generative AI spending across businesses in Asia-Pacific is set to triple to US$3.4b this year, according to recent data from Infosys Knowledge Institute (IKI), the research arm of Infosys, a digital services and consulting company.

According to the data, enterprises across APAC are investing heavily in GenAI. China leads the region, with investment expected to grow by more than 160% to US$2.1b, with Australia and New Zealand growth close behind.

Meanwhile, ANZ investment is expected to grow by more than 150%, from US$60m to US$151m in 2024.

It is worth noting that APAC is more cautious about GenAI’s business impact than North America and Europe; almost 10% expect a negative impact on reputation versus less than 5% for North America and Europe.

Across the region, ANZ has the lowest level of employee readiness for generative AI, at 56%, compared to nearly 70% in other companies in the region. Firms in Australia and New Zealand are mostly looking to upskill their existing workforce to fill that gap.

Lastly, more companies in APAC (30%) than North America (20%) and Europe (25%) expect GenAI to be effective for streamlining product development and design – China drives this view, with nearly 35% emphasising this area for maximum GenAI impact.

In addition, APAC companies are also more likely to believe GenAI will transform content generation and creativity. Around 22% of APAC firms held this sentiment, led by 30% Japanese companies holding this view.

Andrew Groth, executive vice president for Asia-Pacific at Infosys, said, “Generative AI is clearly a transformative technology. Although company leaders across APAC have been more cautious than companies in the rest of the world, they are set to outpace firms in other regions.”

He added, “Additionally, they are already delivering more value from their spending on generative AI. To continue to make the most of this technology and to become AI-first organisations, they should focus on talent development and making AI more accessible through a platform ecosystem.”