Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO of NVIDIA, and Dato’ Seri Yeoh Seok Hong, Managing Director of YTL Power, met with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Gyeongju during the APEC Leaders Economic Summit 2025. The meeting, attended by Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, focused on the advancements in Malaysia’s Sovereign AI landscape since their previous discussion in Kuala Lumpur in December 2023.
In a short time, Malaysia has made great progress toward becoming an AI Nation. In December last year, it set up the National AI Office under the Digital Ministry and announced various plans to encourage the use of AI in the country. These plans include creating a Sovereign AI Cloud and offering programs to help improve AI skills in both public and private sectors. Additionally, Malaysia introduced ILMU, its first large language model, at the Asean AI Summit in August this year.
Notable achievements include the opening of YTL Power’s advanced AI data center in collaboration with NVIDIA at the 600MW YTL Green Data Center Park in Kulai, Johor. This facility uses special liquid-cooled GPUs (NVL72 Grace Blackwell) and, along with ILMU, marks a significant step in establishing Malaysia’s Sovereign AI.
Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, speaking following the meeting in Gyeongju, expressed strong support for Malaysia’s AI ambitions. “Malaysia aims to become a leading AI nation by 2030 — leveraging AI to boost productivity, enhance public services, and build a sustainable, inclusive, and ethical digital economy. Establishing our own sovereign AI is very important in developing a secure, trusted AI-enabled digital ecosystem. I congratulate YTL and NVIDIA on achieving this significant milestone and I sincerely hope that this will accelerate the AI drive for the benefit of all Malaysians.
Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, commented, “The Government of Malaysia has earmarked RM5.9 billion in its 2026 budget to bolster the nation’s artificial intelligence (AI) sector. This substantial investment underscores our unwavering commitment to positioning Malaysia as a premier regional hub for AI innovation and data centre excellence. We will continue to actively promote strategic investments in AI infrastructure, driving forward our mission to lead in digital transformation. In alignment with the National Industrial Master Plan, we are accelerating the adoption and integration of AI across the manufacturing and manufacturing-related services sectors—empowering industries to enhance productivity, competitiveness, and global relevance.”
Dato’ Seri Yeoh Seok Hong, said, “It has become increasingly vital for nations to develop sovereign clouds to host government and citizen-facing AI services. With the YTL AI Cloud now operational, and the launch of ILMU — our Malaysian-developed and owned large language model — Malaysia will be among the first in the region to benefit from true Sovereign AI capabilities. We thank the Government for its foresight in establishing the policy frameworks that have enabled the rapid advancement of AI infrastructure across the country.”