Alibaba Group's research institution, DAMO Academy, has launched a large language model tailored specifically for Southeast Asian languages. The Southeast Asian LLM is pre-trained on datasets in Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai, Malay, Khmer, Lao, Tagalog, and Burmese, and outperforms other open-source models in language and safety tasks. The region is considered an important growth market for LLMs targeting specific areas. SeaLLM excels in non-Latin language tasks and demonstrates enhanced capabilities in understanding and processing non-Latin script text.

Singapore is investing $52 million to launch a national multimodal large language model initiative, filling the gap left by Western language models. In collaboration with IMDA, AI Singapore, and the Agency for Science, the project aims to introduce region-specific contextual models and enhance AI research capabilities. The initiative will nurture local AI talent, promote industry collaboration, and drive AI innovation in Southeast Asia. It is part of Singapore's Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 plan, which aims to position the country as a global hub for AI solutions by 2030.

JPMorgan's analysis shows that Vietnam has a more promising long-term development outlook in the field of artificial intelligence. Compared to Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines are relatively lagging in AI development. The Vietnamese government actively supports technological innovation and the growth of the digital economy.

1. Lazada leverages the general capabilities of large models to address pain points in keyword searches and image searches for users in Southeast Asia. 2. Lazada enhances advertising and marketing efficiency for Southeast Asian merchants through the minimalist interaction and content generation capabilities of large models. 3. Lazada combines technology and business insights to create a competitive edge in the Southeast Asian e-commerce market.