Latest news with #SCB10X
CNBC
5 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
As nations build 'sovereign AI,' open-source models and cloud computing can help, experts say
As artificial intelligence becomes more democratized, it is important for emerging economies to build their own "sovereign AI," panelists told CNBC's East Tech West conference in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday. In general, sovereign AI refers to a nation's ability to control its own AI technologies, data and related infrastructure, ensuring strategic autonomy while meeting its unique priorities and security needs. However, this sovereignty has been lacking, according to panelist Kasima Tharnpipitchai, head of AI strategy at SCB 10X, the technology investment arm of Thailand-based SCBX Group. He noted that many of the world's most prominent large language models, operated by companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI, are based on the English language. "The way you think, the way you interact with the world, the way you are when you speak another language can be very different," Tharnpipitchai said. It is, therefore, important for countries to take ownership of their AI systems, developing technology for specific languages, cultures, and countries, rather than just translating over English-based models. Panelists agreed that the digitally savvy ASEAN region, with a total population of nearly 700 million people, is particularly well positioned to build its sovereign AI. People under the age of 35 make up around 61% of the population, and about 125,000 new users gain access to the internet daily. Given this context, Jeff Johnson, managing director of ASEAN at Amazon Web Services, said, "I think it's really important, and we're really focused on how we can really democratize access to cloud and AI." According to panelists, one key way that countries can build up their sovereign AI environments is through the use of open-source AI models. "There is plenty of amazing talent here in Southeast Asia and in Thailand, especially. To have that captured in a way that isn't publicly accessible or ecosystem developing would feel like a shame," said SCB 10X's Tharnpipitchai. Doing open-source is a way to create a "collective energy" to help Thailand better compete in AI and push sovereignty in a way that is beneficial for the entire country, he added. Open-source generally refers to software in which the source code is made freely available, allowing anyone to view, modify and redistribute it. LLM players, such as China's DeepSeek and Meta's Llama, advertise their models as open-source, albeit with some restrictions. The emergence of more open-source models offers companies and governments more options compared to relying on a few closed models, according to Cecily Ng, vice president and general manager of ASEAN & Greater China at software vendor Databricks. AI experts have previously told CNBC that open-source AI has helped China boost AI adoption, better develop its AI ecosystem and compete with the U.S. Prem Pavan, vice president and general manager of Southeast Asia and Korea at Red Hat, said that the localization of AI had been focused on language until recently. Having sovereign access to AI models powered by local hardware and computing is more important today, he added. Panelists said that for emerging countries like Thailand, AI localization can be offered by cloud computing companies with domestic operations. These include global hyperscalers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure and Tencent Cloud, and sovereign players like AIS Cloud and True IDC. "We're here in Thailand and across Southeast Asia to support all industries, all businesses of all shapes and sizes, from the smallest startup to the largest enterprise," said AWS's Johnson. He added that the economic model of the company's cloud services makes it easy to "pay for what you use," thus lowering the barriers to entry and making it very easy to build models and applications. In April, the U.N. Trade and Development Agency said in a report that AI was projected to reach $4.8 trillion in market value by 2033. However, it warned that the technology's benefits remain highly concentrated, with nations at risk of lagging behind. Among UNCTAD's recommendations to the international community for driving inclusive growth was shared AI infrastructure, the use of open-source AI models and initiatives to share AI knowledge and resources.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Asia Morning Briefing: Thai Banks May Soon Hold Crypto, SCB10X CEO Signals Sandbox Push
Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk's Crypto Daybook Americas. Uniswap's UNI token surged from $6.00 to $6.65 over the past 24 hours, pushing the token up 5%, while the broader market gauge CoinDesk20 Index fell 1.8% in the last 24 hours. This momentum coincides with Uniswap recording its highest monthly transaction volume since February, processing over $73 billion in trades and generating more than $380 million in revenue this year, as institutional interest grows and a notable whale re-entered the market by acquiring nearly $4 million worth of UNI. Kaweewut Temphuwapat, the new CEO of SCB10X, the venture arm of Thailand's SCB bank, sees significant opportunities emerging at the intersection of AI, crypto, and Web3. "We definitely [are] going more on AI and also crypto and AI plus crypto," Temphuwapat told CoinDesk, highlighting these hybrid investments as firmly "under our radar." He predicts clearer crypto regulation in the U.S. will fuel increased deal flow into resilient Asian markets, noting SCB10X's early success investing in Ripple: "We are an early investor in Ripple of 10 years ago… we've used that technology for the last five to six years in our SCB App." Temphuwapat praised Thailand's proactive and innovative regulators, highlighting the country's robust payments infrastructure. He expects Thai banks, including SCB, could soon directly hold crypto tokens on their balance sheets, initially through regulatory sandboxes: "The intention is there... they allow us to do [it] in a small scale." Pseudonymous trader "James Wynn," known for high-stakes crypto bets on decentralized platform Hyperliquid, has shifted focus from billion-dollar bitcoin positions to memecoins, recently placing a leveraged $1 million bet on Pepe (PEPE), CoinDesk reported earlier. Previously, Wynn closed a massive $1.2 billion bitcoin long position at a $17.5 million loss, before pivoting to a $1 billion short position at 40x leverage, effectively wagering their entire $50 million wallet balance on bitcoin's downside. That short briefly netted Wynn about $3 million in profit before closing, marking one of the largest trades ever executed fully on-chain. Wynn announced stepping back from perpetual trading after securing a cumulative profit of $25 million, earned from an initial investment of just over $3 million. The trader's latest high-leverage PEPE position has already gained $500,000 amid a nearly 6% rise in the memecoin's value. Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, purchased an additional 4,020 BTC between May 19 and May 25 for roughly $427 million, bringing its total holdings to 580,250 BTC, CoinDesk previously reported. The acquisition was funded through three separate at-the-market equity programs, including sales of common and preferred stock totaling approximately $427 million. These latest bitcoin purchases were executed at an average price of $106,237 per coin, pushing Strategy's total investment in bitcoin to over $40.6 billion, at an average cost basis of $69,979 per coin. The acquisitions reflect the company's ongoing commitment to expanding its sizable bitcoin holdings through regular capital raises and share issuances. BTC: Bitcoin holds steady near record levels around $109,000, consolidating gains despite tariff-induced volatility, as long-term investors continue accumulating amid macroeconomic uncertainty. ETH: Ethereum maintains resilience above $2,500 amid volatility and cautious whale behavior, supported by continued institutional inflows into spot ETH ETFs. Gold: Gold dips slightly on tariff delay but stays above $3,310 as deficit concerns fuel bullish outlook. Hang Seng: Hong Kong's Hang Seng opened lower, trading above 23,304, led by tech losses, including Meituan's 4.9% decline. Nikkei: Japan's Nikkei 225 dipped 0.13% Tuesday morning as markets assessed Trump's tariff delay. S&P 500: Closed for Memorial Day. What It Was Like Inside the Trump Crypto Dinner (Decrypt) Solana eyes Alpenglow for next-gen consensus layer (Blockworks) Trump media group plans to raise $3bn to spend on cryptocurrencies (Financial Times) Pakistan Taps Surplus Power Capacity to Fuel Bitcoin Mining, AI Data Centers (CoinDesk) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
