SINGAPORE, 7 July 2025 – An IDC report, Powering the AI Wave: Venture Capital Trends and Strategic Vendor Pathways in Asia/Pacific’s AI Landscape — 2025, highlights that while AI deal volumes dipped in 2024, total capital invested in AI-native digital businesses (DNBs) in Asia Pacific hit USD 15.4 billion, driven by growing interest in scalable solutions and industry-specific innovation.
The information technology sector led AI investment activity in Asia Pacific in 2024, according to IDC, with the majority of deals targeting cloud computing, cybersecurity, SaaS platforms, data analytics, and machine learning. Healthcare followed as a fast-rising sector, driven by breakthroughs in diagnostics, drug discovery, and personalized treatment. Regionally, China, South Korea, and Japan attracted the most AI capital, while India stood out for its software-driven, scalable AI innovation
Other key highlights include:
• Over 50% of DNBs in APAC remain in the “repeatable” stage of AI maturity, lagging behind North America and Europe.
• Only 29% of DNBs have reached the optimized stage with fully scaled AI deployments, creating a significant opportunity for vendors to support infrastructure readiness, data integration, and automation use cases.
• 42% of DNBs now seek strategic co-innovation from vendors, favoring those that provide modular, scalable platforms and localized support.
The report is based on IDC’s 2025 AI Wave 1 Survey and includes data from 2,300+ VC deals and direct responses from digital-native businesses across Asia Pacific.
For technology vendors and investors, this report offers a roadmap to navigate AI investment shifts, assess infrastructure readiness, and identify partnership models tailored for scaling AI adoption across Asia/Pacific’s digital-native ecosystem.
“With a unique blend of tech ambition, government and policy support, and agility of DNBs, Asia/Pacific is emerging as a global epicentre for AI investments. Those that scale responsibly, localise intelligently, and partner strategically will be the true winners in this space,” says Supriya Deka, research manager, Asia/Pacific small and medium-sized businesses and DNBs, IDC Asia/Pacific.
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About IDC
International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,300 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC’s analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world’s leading tech media, data and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com/ap. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDCAP and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the IDC Blog for industry news and insights.