CelcomDigi launches US$11.7mil state-of-the-art AI Experience Centre in boost to innovation ecosystem

• Leverages emerging tech AI, XR, and Metaverse to accelerate development of solutions
• Part of US$53.1mil commitment by Axiata & Telenor to build world-class innovation centre

[Ed: Article updated with comments from Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.]

CelcomDigi Bhd launched its state-of-the-art CelcomDigi AI Experience Centre (AiX) yesterday which it touts as a one-stop immersive innovation and collaboration hub to lead, inspire, and advance the creation of world-class digital solutions across a range of sectors and verticals. As part of the value Malaysia can expect from the 2022 merger between Telenor owned Digi and Axiata's Celcom, the two sides committed to a US$53.13 million (RM250 million) investment to build a world-class innovation centre in Malaysia over five years. The AiX is part of the promise to deliver on this.

Supported by a wide ecosystem of leading global technology players and local partners who, together with CelcomDigi have invested a total ofUS$11.68 million (RM55 million) into the centre, AiX will serve as a focal point for cross-industry collaborations, leveraging emerging technologies such as 5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Extended Reality (XR), Robotics, Analytics and Metaverse. This collaborative facility is designed to spur rapid technology advancements and growth of new digital startups, enterprises, and future skills to build a flourishing innovation ecosystem and fuel Malaysia’s digital transformation.

Launched by the Minister of Communications, Fahmi Fadzil, AiX provides an immersive experience combining sight, sound, and touch, and features real-world solutions ready for immediate deployment. Built on a model of constant evolution and partnership, the technology and showcases will be refreshed periodically to bring new experiences to visitors and is set to be the epicentre of co-creation to enable rapid experimentation and development of new technology solutions for the market.

Idham Nawawi, CelcomDigi CEO said, “Emerging technologies such as AI are revolutionising the world, and Malaysia must keep pace with this progress to build a flourishing digital nation. Over 1.5 years ago, we made a strong commitment to play a pivotal role to realise this ambition, leveraging our greater combined capabilities as a merged company to invest and drive digitalisation, innovation and sustainable growth for the nation.”

The AiX is positioned as a realisation of the national benefit of Celcom-Digi’s 2022 merger, where their combined scale and capabilities can attract and partner global and regional digital tech giants to accelerate the development of cutting-edge digital solutions, thereby positioning it as a strong ally to Malaysia’s digital aspirations.

“AiX emphasises the significance of a thriving innovation ecosystem to develop a robust digital society. In the fast-paced era of digital everything, speed of innovation is essential. We have therefore designed AiX on a model of strong partnerships and constant evolution, enabling us to co-create use cases with great potential at an accelerated speed for Malaysia. Building with some of the most notable global tech and local ecosystem players, together we have invested RM55 million to support this ambition,” said Idham.

He adds that CelcomDigi will continue to invest in the infrastructure, partnerships, and competencies needed to support Malaysia through the rapid tech changes with the telco determined to spur digital transformations across industries and ensure the benefits of 5G, AI, and emerging technologies are realised for all Malaysians.

Meanwhile, in his comments at the launch, Fahmi reminded the audience that as CelcomDigi strives to accelerate innovation and adoption of new technologies to drive the nation’s digital agenda, the scales of progress must be matched by reinforcing our humanity into the tech.

“We must remain grounded in human values, ensuring that our digital journey is shaped by compassion, ethics, and empathy. AI solutions must adhere to the highest ethical standards, ensuring transparency, fairness, and accountability. And while AI and robotics promise to revolutionize our lives, we must harness their power in ways to complement and enhance our humanity, rather than replacing it,” he stressed, emphasizing that social inclusiveness must be part of the fabric of prosperity. 

“As a hub of innovation, it (AiX) will foster partnerships and collaborations across industries, academia, and government, catalyzing the growth of a thriving digital ecosystem. Let’s embark on this journey together, utilizing 5G as a catalyst to bring our shared vision for Malaysia to life,” he said.

Interactive simulations of digital society solutions

Located at CelcomDigi Hub in Subang Jaya’s Hi-Tech Park (Digi’s previous headquarters), AiX houses two main inspiring spaces called The Infinity and The Gallery.

The former is designed to provide visitors with immersive, interactive experiences of digital society simulations using cutting-edge audio-visual technology. The Gallery space showcases a physical array of real-world industrial use-cases to display the transformative potential of emerging technologies key to enterprise growth. These respective simulations display a range of 5G and AI-powered technologies and robotics across eight verticals namely manufacturing, logistics, energy, fleet, port, healthcare, education and agritech. Of the 45 solutions featured within the eight verticals, 13 of them are live use cases being piloted with enterprises in Malaysia.

AiX is also home to AI-RA, the first AI digital human and resident co-host of the centre’s immersive tours. While AI-RA interacts with visitors and explains the diverse use cases on display, she is accompanied by a family of autonomous robotics who perform a diverse range of tasks including perimeter surveillance, delivery of goods, entertainment, and personal assistance, demonstrating the power of combining AI and robotics to improve convenience for work, life, and play.

AiX also houses a collaborative space that serves as a cutting-edge live lab environment for interested parties - from startups to large-scale enterprises, and from academia to government - to co-create, test, and validate new solutions that pair 5G with other emerging technologies.

Build on a partnership model, AiX is powered by a strong, extensive and growing ecosystem of 40 global technology leaders, local partners and solution providers, from core partners Huawei and ZTE, to other collaborative partners AWS, Digital Nasional Bhd, Ericsson, Microsoft, SK Telecom, Softbank, Sumitomo, and Yinson, among others.

AiX will be opened for visitors on a scheduled basis. Technology and business partners, academia, government agencies and corporate organisations are invited to visit the AiX to glimpse the future of the digital society through immersive and interactive exhibits.

AiX’s use cases will be refreshed periodically to ensure visitors experience and co-creators can test the latest technologies in keeping with the dynamism of the tech industry. Schedule a visit to learn how the CelcomDigi AI Experience Centre can inspire and advance Malaysia’s digital transformation at [email protected].