2025 highlights: May

Tech highlights for May 2025 included: 

- Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) launched several initiatives to further semiconductor research, including the world’s first industry-grade 200 mm Silicon Carbide Open R&D Line, a push to further electronic design automation and help to accelerate manufacturing in piezoelectric micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). 

- Anthropic launched Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4, its next generation of AI models.

- Boomi announced a multi-year strategic collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to help customers build, manage, monitor and govern generative AI agents across enterprise operations. The agreement will also aim to help customers accelerate SAP migrations from on-premises to AWS.

- Foxconn and NVIDIA built an AI factory in Taiwan.

-  At Google I/O, Google announced a number of incremental improvements, including expanded AI search capability, real-time translation on Google Meet, an improved Gemini 2.5 Flash, smart replies in Gmail, and a new agent mode in the Gemini app.

New products and upgrades included its Veo 3 AI video generator, version 4 of its Imagen AI image generator, Flow, a tool for film-making, and an AI-first video platform for 3D experiences, Google Beam.

- Huawei launched the Huawei MateBook Pro and MateBook Fold Ultimate Design devices. Both laptops are powered by the HarmonyOS operating system instead of the more traditional Windows from Microsoft or macOS from Apple. HarmonyOS had previously been seen on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

The MateBook Fold Ultimate Design is Huawei's first foldable laptop, with a screen spanning 18" unfolded. While laptops typically have a clamshell design, the screen for a foldable laptop extends from the traditional laptop screen to the area that would normally be taken up by a physical keyboard. ASUS introduced a 17.3" foldable OLED laptop, the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED, in 2022, while Lenovo's 16.3" ThinkPad X1 Fold was announced the same year and rolled out in 2023.

- Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison opened an AI Experience Center in Papua, Indonesia.

- OpenAI introduced data residency in Japan, India, Singapore, and South Korea for ChatGPT Enterprise, ChatGPT Edu, and the API Platform. This helps customers operating in these countries meet local data sovereignty requirements when using OpenAI products.

- Singapore announced the Singapore Consensus to advance AI deployments globally.

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) announced partnerships with Alibaba Cloud, Prudential Singapore, and ST Engineering to strengthen AI adoption and boost cyber resilience for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Two new talent programmes that provide upskilling opportunities and create specialised AI career pathways for locals were also launched. 

Singapore’s large language model, Multimodal Empathetic Reasoning and Learning in One Network (MERaLiON) was updated. The MERaLiON Consortium was launched to develop practical AI applications with MERaLiON.

A Singapore-Thailand alliance was formed to strengthen ASEAN’s fight against telecom scams between IMDA and Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).

A Singapore company director was sentenced to 6 months in prison and his company fined S$181,000 in relation to charges selling streaming devices (ISDs) which provided users with illegal access to copyrighted content. That content included Premier League football matches, as well as movies and TV shows belonging to members of the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), an anti-piracy coalition. 

Premier League General Counsel Kevin Plumb said: “This latest sentencing is a clear indication that the fight against piracy in Singapore is not slowing down and there are serious consequences for those found guilty of supplying illegal streaming devices. This case once again sends a message to pirates that their activity will not be tolerated and reminds consumers that buying these devices is a problem.

“There are still more cases to follow from the significant raids in 2022 and we thank the Singapore Attorney-General Chambers and the Intellectual Property Rights Branch of the Singapore Police Force for their commitment to these investigations and prosecutions.

“We will continue to work closely with the local law enforcement authorities to take action against piracy in the region. This is an important part of our continued work as we remain committed to raising awareness among fans of the risks associated with using illegal streaming services.”

Karyn Temple, Senior Executive VP and Global General Counsel for the Motion Picture Association (MPA) said: “We commend the Singapore Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Intellectual Property Rights Branch (IPRB) of the Singapore Police Force for another successful prosecution of sellers of ISDs under Section 150 of the Singapore Copyright Act. ACE remains committed to working closely with the Singapore authorities in the fight against digital piracy and the effective protection of the creative industry.”

- Singtel divested a partial stake in Airtel, unlocking S$2 B.

The company made 5G network slicing available across Singapore.

- Mobile operator SK Telecom, serving half of the South Korean market, suffered a large-scale leak of data due to malware. The USIM data of 27 million subscribers was exposed. To put this in context, South Korea has a population of around 51 million.

Darren Guccione, CEO & Co-founder, Keeper Security commented: "This large-scale malware attack on a major South Korean company demonstrates the power of malware campaigns and why organisations must adopt proactive cybersecurity approaches to protect customer data. Although few specifics are available about the information that was leaked, SK Telecom’s offer to replace Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) cards for all 23 million users indicates that a considerable amount of sensitive information may have been compromised. The immediate concern for SK Telecom and its customers is the exploitation of the exposed data.

"Organisations that protect sensitive data have a responsibility to take proactive security measures to protect their customers’ information. Real-time monitoring, security audits and implementing a Zero-Trust security architecture can help secure an organisation’s digital assets. In the event that a successful breach does occur, tools like Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions can limit a threat actor’s reach. A PAM solution works by tightly monitoring access and activity in privileged accounts while also ensuring organisations meet regulatory and industry compliance requirements. PAM also minimises insider threats."

Guccione said SK Telecom customers should act as if their sensitive data has already been compromised. "Concerned users should take advantage of the offered security measures, including free USIM card replacements and information protective services. If you’ve provided SK Telecom payment information, consider freezing your bank accounts or credit. Dark web monitoring tools are also effective to determine whether or not your personal information has fallen into the wrong hands so you can take action immediately," he advised.

- Thales extended its global trusted AI programme to Asia with the launch of cortAIx SG in Singapore.

Source: Visa. The entrance to the Visa Innovation Center in Singapore.

- Visa introduced new payment capabilities and announced partnerships with leading companies in the Asia Pacific region. The new Visa Intelligent Commerce initiative aligns with Visa's vision, opening Visa’s payments network to developers and engineers building the first generation of AI-powered commerce in Asia Pacific. Visa partners in the region include Ant International, Grab, and Tencent.

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