KUALA LUMPUR: With RM3.4 billion (US$800 million) fund to fuel artificial intelligence (AI) innovation, Skymind Holdings Bhd (Skymind) intends to do its part in transforming Malaysia into an 'AI nation'.
Skymind vice president for growth division Rafe Azsnal said AI is set to fundamentally revolutionise almost all aspects of daily life, citing various key expert insights including McKinsey's regular AI briefing notes that highlight this technology's potential for positive change such as productivity growth and innovation for national economies.
"In addition to rolling out a collaboration platform with government and leading industry players to escalate AI adoption, Skymind is passionate about unlocking and developing Malaysia's talent, which will play a pivotal role in boosting the nation firmly into the global digital arena," Rafe said, explaining the company's commitment to AI in Malaysia.
Skymind also helps enterprises with open-source tools as well as a venture fund to fuel AI innovation as part of its role to build AI ecosystem.
The company is a pioneer of open-source AI and machine learning (ML) based upon its deep-learning platform Deeplearning4j.
The platform enables developers and large organisations to build deep learning applications, covering the whole deep learning workflow from data pre-processing through distributed training and hyper-parameter optimisation and production-grade deployment.
"The goal of Deeplearning4j is to provide a core set of components for building applications that incorporate AI.
"This is because, AI products within an enterprise often have a wider scope than just machine learning, and is able to provide smart defaults for building deep learning applications," said Rafe.
More than 350 of Fortune 500 companies are currently using Skymind technologies, he said.
Rafe estimates that the AI industry could conservatively touch US$2.9 trillion globally by 2021 and US$15 trillion by 2030.
"Hence, it's important for Malaysia to be at the forefront of AI, and to make AI an engine of growth for the country in years ahead," said Rafe.
One of Skymind's various clients is a local insurance group which is innovating on AI technologies to expedite productivity, while enhancing accuracy of its insurance policy packages.
Skymind was also recently involved in Malaysia's battle against the Covid-19 pandemic by delivering the Axial AI-based system to Tunku Azizah Hospital Kuala Lumpur.
"Another large logistics group is also employing our AI and machine learning technologies to expedite operational efficiencies," said Rafe, who was formerly with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).