SEA won’t let AI hit checkout

Southeast Asia wants AI-powered shopping but not AI-powered spending. Plus, the rise of neoclouds and Lazada's latest job cuts.

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 AI takes over shopping in China while SEA goes on a wait-and-see How financing can look like for Southeast Asia's data centers Lazada lays off 5% of its SEA workforce Hello Betamax, I was surprised to learn that most of my cousins now consult ChatGPT for any type of purchase, whether it's cookware or deodorant. The appeal is straightforward. The chatbot can quickly sift through options, summarize reviews, and present pros and cons in a way that makes decision-making so much easier. That said, none of them would trust an AI assistant to make the final purchase. They are not alone in that view. In one of our top stories today, I look at why AI agents remain on the sidelines of Southeast Asia's ecommerce industry, even as they become more mainstream in China. Aside from the potentially high cost of implementing the technology, industry stakeholders point to legal and regulatory uncertainties that could prevent shopping agents from fulfilling their intended role. Another emerging industry that we cover today is neoclouds. Our second top story dives deep into how a financing scheme could look like for these cloud service providers that offer GPU as a service. Because of GPUs' expensive costs, our guest writer argues that financing them is not as easy as a typical infrastructure project. On one hand, Southeast Asia is starved for something innovative. On the other hand, the market is starved for deep pools of capital. Launching anything new in the region is truly a tough balancing act. Elyssa Lopez, journalist TOP STORIES 1️⃣ China lets AI do your shopping. SEA ain't sold With ecommerce growth plateauing across China's platforms in recent years, analysts say they are seeking new ways to keep shoppers engaged. Alibaba's answer was to fully integrate its Qwen AI model into Taobao last month. The move raises an obvious question: Could Alibaba-backed Lazada do the same in Southeast Asia? Unlikely. The situation shows the sobering technical requirements of deploying anything new in a fragmented region. 2️⃣ Asia's AI hardware bet has a financing problem Neoclouds are borrowing the business model of AWS to launch their services, allowing users to rent GPUs by the hour or year. But most players cannot launch these services without significant capital, which many are seeking through creative means. This story looks into the various ways they are doing that. SPOTLIGHT An AI startup goes against the industry by slashing prices In an interview with Tech in Asia, US-based AI startup Simular revealed that the company is piloting a US$20 monthly plan for its cloud-based autonomous computer Sai. That's a 90% discount from its usual price. It's going against the grain among AI giants that have either recently raised prices of their subscriptions or have become stricter in what users can do with their accounts. Anthropic recently transitioned to a usage-based pricing model rather than a flat monthly subscription as it prepares for its IPO. Simular CEO Ang Li argued that there are big differences between his startup and the giants. He said Sai can reuse code for certain tasks that users repeatedly ask for, which led to the program being cheaper. That said, a 90% discount is too steep to be sustainable. It's a clear marketing tactic that I'm sure many previously curious users who were hesitant about the price will snatch up. TRENDING NEWS 1️⃣ Lazada cuts about 5% of workforce in SEA market review Lazada said the layoffs were based on business needs, role requirements, and organizational efficiency. It did not specify if AI played into its decision. 2️⃣Meta to invest $900m in Cred, taps founder for WhatsApp Fintech app Cred rewards users with virtual points every time they make a credit card payment. With about 17 million monthly active members, or about half of credit card owners in India, it's become a highly valued "club" in the country. The deal will also make Cred founder Kunal Shah the new head of WhatsApp. 3️⃣ Google, Meta to back Israeli firm AppsFlyer in $1bn round Marketing analytics platform AppsFlyer said the round has boosted its valuation to US$2.7 billion. The company, which helps advertisers track the performance of their campaigns across online channels, said that its role has become more critical due to recent changes in data privacy regulations across platforms. 4️⃣ Chinese robotics company Coowa readies Hong Kong IPO Coowa manufactures wheeled, wheeled-leg, and humanoid robots that are meant for urban settings. It has about 10,000 robots in the wild, with the company generating over 1 billion yuan (US$148 million) in revenue last year. 5️⃣ US AI inference firm Baseten raises $1.5b at $13b valuation The California-based startup says it offers the hardware, software, and tools necessary for companies to train and operate their AI models at a cheaper cost than tapping LLM providers themselves. Its clients include Notion, Cursor, and HubSpot. THE 2026 PREDICTION BINGO UPDATE A mid-year review of 60/40's predictions for AI, markets, and startups Six months ago, the 60/40 team made a set of predictions for 2026. This week, we pulled out the scorecard. We revisit some of the year's biggest storylines: Anthropic's rise from challenger to genuine OpenAI rival, Google's AI-fueled shift for search, Canva's continued momentum, and why AI wrapper startups are getting squeezed from every direction. We also dive into something few people in the industry want to say out loud: A lot of AI startup ARR may be more illusion than reality. Free trials masquerading as revenue, venture capital subsidizing usage, and a pricing reckoning that could arrive the moment the frontier labs start charging what their products actually cost. Then we put a fresh set of predictions on the record for the second half of 2026: China's next AI breakout, nuclear power's comeback, cybersecurity winners, AI-native movie studios, and the startup categories we'd avoid at all costs. Half right, fully accountable. Tune in to find out our H2 predictions: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts 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. CBTW - CBTW officially joins the Claude Partner Network, advancing AI-assisted software delivery in APAC: 650+ engineers targeted on Claude Code, creating a substantial cohort of Anthropic- certified engineers across APAC and Europe WHO'S HIRING You can post a job here or search for jobs here. Test Promotion Specialist (Banking Industry) at SIGMATECH | Jakarta, Indonesia Business Analyst at Gefami Services Indonesia | Jakarta, Indonesia Business Associate at Deliveree On-Demand Logistics (Southeast Asia) | Jakarta, Indonesia ADVERTISE | SUBSCRIBE | HIRE | FIND JOBS P.S. 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