AI’s energy choke point

We look at the energy risk to Taiwan and South Korea’s AI chip dominance, and Cube tackling ecommerce’s data blind spot with new funding.

Read from your browser Daily Newsletter Welcome to Tech in Asia's daily newsletter, your essential dose of Asia's tech and startup buzz. Subscribe to this newsletter or send story tips to editors@techinasia.com. Ensure our articles appear in your Google searches: IN FOCUS How fossil fuels became Asia's AI Achilles heel Singaporean ecommerAsiace tracking firm Cube scores funding OpenAI and Microsoft are no longer exclusive, open up relationship Hello Betamax, It's striking how much of our lives can unravel because of a single point of failure. Lose your phone and suddenly your contacts, banking, and logins are out of reach. One key person leaves your workplace and years of institutional knowledge walk out the door. Even your favorite coffee shop closing down can throw off your entire day. We've recently learned that the single point of failure for many countries' energy supplies is the Strait of Hormuz. A significant share of the world's oil and gas passes through the narrow corridor, and those shipments have been disrupted since the start of the US-Iran war in February. Increasing energy prices is one thing, but the ripple effects have created a single choke point. Today's first top story looks at how Taiwan and South Korea's chip sectors are caught in that trap. The two countries make up a significant share of global chip manufacturing and rely heavily on imported energy. That dependence is now colliding with both price shocks and rising pressure from customers to decarbonize. Renewables could be one solution, but with energy demand only accelerating as the AI race heats up, firms like TSMC and SK Hynix remain stuck in the same single point of failure. Peter Cowan, engagement editor TOP STORIES 1️⃣ Hormuz closure exposes Taiwan and Korea's AI energy trap Taiwan accounts for 60% of global chip manufacturing, while South Korea's SK Hynix and Samsung together control around 70% of the memory chip market. But the strengths of these exports sit on top of an even bigger dependence: energy imports of 95% and 94%, respectively. But the challenge goes beyond keeping manufacturing costs down. The world's biggest tech buyers are now demanding carbon-neutral supply chains, putting chipmakers in the difficult position of expanding production while cutting emissions. 2️⃣ Cube bags $3.7m to better track ecommerce shelves, go global Singapore-based ecommerce data and insights firm Cube has secured US$3.7 million in a series A funding round led by Hong Kong's Betatron. The funding highlights a growing problem in ecommerce: Most platforms still don't share meaningful sales data with brands. Cube aims to solve that problem by bringing together fragmented signals - from public listings, receipts, and payments - into estimates of ecommerce sales and category growth. A VISUAL STORY YOU SHOULDN'T MISS There's life in the old dog yet It's no shock that AI firms have raised the most funding in Southeast Asia in recent times, but ecommerce coming in at number two may be a bit of a surprise. It may not be the sexiest investment anymore, but the numbers are a reminder that there's still value to be found in the shopping cart. Tech in Asia data shows the region's ecommerce firms raised US$81 million over the last six months, well outpacing fintech. Good news for firms like Cube: more funding in ecommerce means more brands that may be willing to pay for better data to understand the sector. TRENDING NEWS 1️⃣ Microsoft, OpenAI end exclusive model deal The ChatGPT maker can now offer its models via other cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services, while Microsoft will stop paying a revenue share on OpenAI products it resells on Azure. OpenAI reportedly recently missed internal user growth and sales targets. 2️⃣ Hmlet co-founder returns as CEO after APAC reacquisition Yoan Kamalski is back as Hmlet CEO after the company's Asia-Pacific business was reacquired from European co-living operator Habyt. The Singapore-based flexible living company now aims to expand regionally and scale to 35,000 units globally by 2035. 3️⃣ Chinese chipmaker Montage hits record Q1 profit on AI The firm's net profit rose 61% year on year to US$124 million as shipments of chips used in AI infrastructure increased. 4️⃣ UK AI startup Ineffable raises $1.1b seed round According to the company, it's the largest seed round ever raised in Europe. Ineffable was founded in late 2025 by former Google DeepMind researcher David Silver. 5️⃣ Pony AI, WeRide expand robotaxi fleets overseas WeRide said it plans to deploy about 200,000 autonomous vehicles worldwide over the next five years through a wider partnership with Lenovo. WHY AI ADOPTION ISN'T TRANSLATING INTO PRODUCTIVITY Exclusive at Asia Economic Summit 2026 Across Southeast Asia, investments in AI, data, and talent are rising. But productivity outcomes remain uneven. The challenge is execution and how organizations align talent strategy, organizational design, and risk to deliver results. At the Asia Economic Summit 2026 on June 17, Bain & Company partner Mohan Jayaraman joins the roundtable discussion "Talent, technology, and risk: Gaps to workforce reality" to unpack the barriers to delivering productivity despite strong capability on paper. With over 27 years of experience in data science, AI, and digital capabilities across the Asia Pacific, his work focuses on building, operating, and scaling advanced analytics and machine learning capabilities across financial services and consumer sectors. This helps translate AI investment into operational and revenue outcomes. This conversation sits within a broader set of discussions at Asia Economic Summit 2026, where leaders will unpack shifts across capital, AI, and market dynamics. Explore the full agenda to see the breadth of topics covered. Regular tickets are now available at US$288 (from US$588). Seats are filling quickly. PRESS PEEKS The following press releases were published as they were received, without any editing from the Tech in Asia team. You, too, can publish your own press release on our site by simply filling out this form. Our team will get back to you by the next business day. CloudMile - CloudMile sweeps four Google Cloud Partner of the Year awards, a signal of how AI is scaling across APAC: CloudMile won 4 Google Cloud Partner of the Year awards at Google Cloud Next 2026. Huawei - Next leap to Harness Engineering: JiuwenClaw pioneers "Coordination Engineering": JiuwenClaw's innovative coordination engineering providing a paradigm for multi-agent systems to solve complex tasks EVENTS HAPPENING You can also check out our curated list of trending tech events and Tech in Asia's signature events. How is your leadership positioned for Singapore's AI shift? Singapore's AI economy is translating into real output, as global players like Microsoft expand their AI infrastructure and push enterprise adoption across the region. But leadership, governance, and execution are not keeping pace, with 71% of boards not regularly reviewing resilience. What's unfolding in Singapore is a preview of Southeast Asia's next phase. Partner with us to position your brand where these shifts are happening. Apply for Singapore's Most Innovative Companies 2026! Tech in Asia and Statista are now seeking companies ready to be evaluated across criteria like innovation culture, product innovations, and process innovations. The final list will be compiled using Statista's methodology and Tech in Asia's industry insights, with selected companies published and promoted across channels. Applications close on May 1, 2026. Ready to be recognized among Singapore's most innovative companies in 2026? Apply here. WHO'S HIRING You can post a job here or search for jobs here. Graphic Designer at Little Joy Indonesia | Jakarta, Indonesia Digital Insight & Reporting (Fintech Industry Only) at SIGMATECH | Jakarta, Indonesia Content Strategist at Boleh Dicoba Digital | Jakarta, Indonesia ADVERTISE | SUBSCRIBE | HIRE | FIND JOBS P.S. 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