Furthermore,  he estimates that the digital economy could contribute about RM 120 billion (S436.3 billion) to the country's GDP by 2030. 

Malaysia's digital economy is set to reach US$31 billion in gross merchandise value his year, marking a 16 per cent increase from 2023, said a report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company. 

In terms of investment, approved digital investment in the country surged to RM 66.2 billion in the first six months of 2024, surpassing 2023 full year's RM46.2 billion, as reported by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation. 

Beyond attracting investments, Anwar noted that the establishment of NAIO is also driven by the need to address issues of digital literacy across private sectors and public services, as well as improve the education for children. 

Minister of Digital Gobind Singh Deo said NAIO aims to enhance the country's AI capabilities by promoting innovation, enabling crosssector collaboration, and developing AI policies as well as drafting legislation to support its implementation. NAIO is initiated by the Ministry of Digital which began planning for the establishment of the agency a year ago when the ministry was formed. As part of Malaysia's Budget 2025, RM10 million has been allocated to NAIO to drive AI adoption in the country. 

To further elevate Malaysia's attractiveness as a regional hub, Gobind noted that three Bills related to technology industry development have been tabled and debated this year, with two already enforced. these regulations include the Cybersecurity Bill, which was gazetted and enforced in August, and amendments to the Personal Data Protection Act in July, along with the recently tabled Data Sharing Bill. 

"These legislations will further support the infrastructure development and digital ecosystem, enhancing Malaysia's competitiveness in the region'" he added. 

Shamsul Izhan Abdul Majid has been appointed as the chief executive officer of NAIO. HE previously served as the chief technology and innovation officer at the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission. 

During the launch, strategic partnerships were announced with six global companies - Toshiba, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, YTL, and Global AI Village, said statement. 

Japan-based Toshiba is implementing weather forecast AI technology in a smart farming project located in Kedah. 

Global AI Village, an AI design and development services firm cofounded in Malaysia by US-based investor The Hive Global AI Fund, has committed to investing RM215 million over the next five years, aiming to create more than 450 high-skilled AI engineering  jobs in the country. 

YTL has made a RM20 billion investment in AI in Malaysia, with developments including a large language model designed by Malaysians for Malaysians. 

Microsoft's AI for Malaysia's Future project aims to equip 800,00 Malaysians with AI skills by 2025. the tech giant will be investing US$2.2 billion over the country's digital transformation. 

Google has pledged to invest RM9.4 billion in data centre and cloud infrastructure. The company is also working on upskilling civil servants through its AI at Work programme, to boost public services efficiency. 

Amazon Web Services has committed a US$6.2 billion investment to be made through 2038, and will introduce programmes to assist businesses, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises starting on their digitisation journey.