Asia’s telcos bring AI to mobile plans

We look at the partnerships between Asian telecom companies and AI frontier model developers as well as how Coinhako is performing financially.

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 Why Asia's telcos are bundling mobile plans with access to AI models Coinhako's revenue slows as traders move to AI Two Shenzhen-based robot makers are looking to go public Hello Betamax, Spotify recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, and it reminded me of the first song I ever played on the platform. Newsflash: It was from a band I don't even listen to anymore. It also reminded me of how I subscribed to Spotify in the first place. It was all thanks to a promo provided by my mobile telco provider, Globe Telecom. For about US$2.09 a month, I could have a premium account on Spotify. It was way cheaper than what was offered globally at the time, at US$9.99. The telco has had a history of offering digital services to its customers at a discount. However, as customers became more digitally savvy and as these digital platforms set up offices closer to Asia, these deals became fewer. So I was surprised when I learned that Globe Telecom has begun offering discounted access to AI aggregator AI Fiesta, which allows customers to access 13 frontier AI models from the likes of OpenAI, Anthropic, and DeepSeek. For our first top story today, I learned that Globe Telecom is not the first in Asia to offer such a deal. Telcos from Singapore to India have made similar offerings. Analysts say telcos are exploring the best way to get aboard the AI train, though most are unsure if the payoff would be immediate for these companies. Meanwhile, we also detail Singapore-based crypto trading platform Coinhako's earnings in 2025, and how it has been affected by traders' increasing preference for AI stocks over crypto. The AI boom has had a ripple effect across industries, and companies are working double time on figuring out how to navigate this new era. Elyssa Lopez, journalist TOP STORIES 1️⃣ Asia's telcos bundle AI into mobile plans. Will it pay off? For AI companies, partnering with telecom firms in Asia gives them a distribution network without much work needed on their part. Telcos, in turn, get a new edge against competitors. But analysts are divided on whether these deals can lead to revenue for telcos. 2️⃣Coinhako revenue falls, losses narrow as money flows into AI Coinhako's revenue dropped 33% year on year in 2025, a reversal from the 3x growth it recorded between 2023 and 2024. The decline can be attributed to both internal and external factors, most notably investors moving their capital from crypto assets to AI stocks. FROM OUR ARCHIVES PH bets on local data centers. Can it handle the heat? Telcos have been building data centers to diversify revenue streams ever since enterprises moved their data to the cloud. With the advent of AI, though, this revenue channel has become all the more important for their bottom line. In this piece from March, we look at the Philippines, which counts its two leading telcos as some of the main proponents of building local hyperscaler-ready data centers. TRENDING NEWS 1️⃣ Alibaba, JD.com-backed robot maker files for Hong Kong IPO LimX Dynamics, which develops humanoid robots for home and commercial use, is reportedly looking to raise several hundred million dollars for its IPO. In July, it closed a US$200 million pre-IPO round that valued the firm at US$2.2 billion. 2️⃣ Visa seeks stablecoin partner licensed in four markets Visa is looking for a stablecoin settlement partner with regulatory licenses in the US, Canada, the UK, and Singapore. The move comes as its competitor Mastercard acquired London-based stablecoin firm BVNK earlier this year. 3️⃣ Chinese robot startup Lumos eyes funding, potential IPO The Shenzhen-based robot maker is mulling a public listing by next year. Its main product is a dual-arm wheeled robot used for factory inspection and material handling. 4️⃣ Inflexor Ventures backs Indian healthtech firm with $6.8m Founded in 2021, Butterfly Learnings is a pediatric behavioral health startup with over 90 clinics across 22 Indian cities. It offers a wide range of therapy options for neurodivergent children, including speech therapy and reflex integration therapy. 5️⃣ Bangladesh launches $32.7m fund to boost startup funding Bangladesh-based startups have only raised US$1.2 billion of funding over the past decade. Startup Bangladesh, a government-backed VC firm, hopes that with this initiative, more investors will flock to its shores. 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