KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 — G3 Global Bhd and China’s SenseTime Group Ltd are looking to set up Malaysia’s first artificial intelligence (AI) park, in collaboration with China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC), with a total investment of more than US$1 billion (RM4.1 billion) over the next five years.

G3 Global said this move shows its determination in going big with AI and accelerating the growth of the country’s AI sector.

"The park will serve as a platform for the development of AI solutions in the areas of computer vision, speech recognition, natural language and humanoid/robot.

"Ultimately, the park will enable the development of technology and talent, data management, research and development, as well as commercial ecosystem which could assist the government in data ecosystem and AI governance,” it said in a joint statement with SenseTime today.

The statement said CHEC will be providing the infrastructure, engineering and construction services.

Executive chairman Wan Khalik Wan Muhammad said there is a huge potential for AI in Malaysia and in this digital age, it is undeniable that AI and big data are the keys to the future.

He said the idea to set up the park is vital in order to build AI research-related public service infrastructure as the base to promote AI technology in Malaysia, as well as to become a training place for talents.

"Today, AI has become the tool of most of organisations in Malaysia where it provides better business insights and enhances process automation, while also increasing work productivity.

"This emerging technology will give a huge impact to many industries, from government agencies to banking, safety and surveillance, manufacturing, healthcare and many others.

"Hence, it is important for us to form collaborations and partnerships with many parties, including the public, private and academic sectors,” he said.

Meanwhile, SenseTime international managing director Martin Huang said the company believes that making use of AI can accelerate existing and new technological solutions for millions of customers, hence helping develop the whole AI ecosystem.

"Now that we are planning to have the first AI park in Malaysia, we look forward to supporting G3 with our strengths and expertise in AI for the set up and continued operations of the park,” he added. — Bernama