Singapore – AI has become a staple across many industries around the world, with the APAC region leading the innovation and adoption of intelligent technologies in the modern digital era.
This diverse region has invited major companies to invest in key markets, such as Google in Singapore or Salesforce in the Philippines, to support local organisations in embracing a more intelligent future with AI technologies.
With such variation across key markets in the region, from organisational demands to regulatory requirements, the successful integration of AI to deliver measurable business value is a constantly evolving journey.
Exploring this, UpTech Media spoke exclusively with Rajesh Grover, group chief digital officer and head of AI at Kanmo Group and Mabel Loh, founder and CEO of Maibel, to delve into how AI has reshaped key aspects of their companies and discuss the future direction of intelligent solutions across the APAC region.
Building an AI-ready foundation from the start
Successfully adopting and implementing AI technologies to support business operations involves shifting the focus from relying on manual processes to exploring the collaborative relationship between AI and human teams.
For Mabel, this involved building Maibel, an intelligent AI wellness companion offering personalised mental health and habit-building support to users, from the ground up with generative and agentic AI that not only improved the startup’s operations but changed how she designed the company entirely.
“Instead of asking who we should hire, I started exploring the question of what can be designed with an AI-first system,” Mabel commented.
She added, “Our systems are designed to manage ongoing user journeys, adapt to emotional context, and respond dynamically over time.”
At Maibel, the AI systems work to support both the product and backend processes of the company. On the product side, AI helps with delivering personalised, emotionally intelligent wellness experiences that would usually require a full team of coaches, operators, and support staff. Mabel explained that AI is also used to help with onboarding flows, analysing user engagement patterns, and other backend operations.
“This allows a very small team to learn quickly and improve continuously, without being slowed down by manual processes,” she added.
Meanwhile, Rajesh at Kanmo Group echoes similar sentiments around the role of AI within the operations of a larger company.
“For me, the biggest change I see is not necessarily in the sense of replacing people, but rather in how we can remove friction for people across the organisation,” Rajesh explained.
He added, “The greatest value is realised at the end-to-end level, where AI does not optimise just a single task, but connects information to action.”
Integrating an AI framework that complements the human workforce is no easy task. But when accomplished correctly, intelligent systems provide impactful value to any organisation.
“AI enables us to operate with focus and depth early on, while keeping humans in the loop. It creates leverage without sacrificing intentionality,” Mabel commented.
Moving too fast without a clear direction
One of the most challenging factors when implementing AI into organisational processes is not the technology itself, but rather the mindset and culture of people within a company.
Mabel explained that AI adoption requires a shift in mindset and many organisations struggle with fear around role displacement or loss of control, especially in teams with established hierarchies and rigid ways of thinking.
“Introducing AI without destabilising existing structures is often harder than building the technology itself,” Mabel stated.
Additionally, Rajesh pointed out that many organisations, big or small, are keen on adopting AI but struggle with foundational issues such as messy data, questions of ownership, legacy processes, and skill sets. The implementation of intelligent technologies becomes a question of the readiness of an organisation.
He stated, “Without clean data, well-defined decision rights, and alignment, even very sophisticated AI models are hard-pressed to drive decent outcomes.”
Establishing a clear direction as to how AI complements an organisation’s existing processes is key to avoiding developing unnecessary friction points. Mabel shared that if the AI adoption process is rushed without clearly defining what problems it is meant to solve, this is often met with resistance, slowing down the company’s progress.
“Successful companies tend to adopt AI in stages, such as scoping specific use cases and testing feasibility, rather than attempting sweeping overhauls driven by hype,” Mabel added.
AI is a necessity for an intelligent future
The abundance of AI technologies across the consumer and enterprise spaces has accelerated competition in many industries to adopt next-gen technologies and push the capabilities of modern-day intelligent solutions.
Mabel mentioned this is especially significant for startups like Maibel, where having an AI-first approach is not optional anymore.
“At an early stage, the real competitive moat isn’t just the product—it’s the momentum. The ability to iterate quickly, absorb feedback, and learn faster than others is what creates lasting advantage,” she stated.
“In a diverse and fast-moving region like APAC, the ability to build, test, and adapt isn’t just an advantage; it’s how early traction turns into sustainable growth.”
Following this, Rajesh added that the continuous evolution of generative and autonomous technologies will drastically change how companies operate moving forward.
“As these technologies advance, the transition will occur from function-centred businesses to outcome-centred businesses,” he stated.
Rajesh continued to explain that AI-enabled teams will soon rely less on traditional structural hierarchies and will instead create AI-enabled decision loops that are continuously sensing, deciding, and acting.
“Companies that view AI as an integrated operating capability rather than a pilot project will create a new era in the creation of value,” he shared.
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The path forward for achieving impactful business outcomes and values for companies is understanding where and how AI solutions can be adopted to supplement the mindset, culture, and operational processes of an organisation.
AI is not meant to replace the teams, but rather help drive growth and innovation into an intelligent future, reshaping the collaboration between humans and machines.
