PETRONAS and Axiata win 2024 ASEAN Enterprise Innovation Award

The annual ASEAN Innovation Business Platform (AIBP) Enterprise Innovation Awards received 113 submissions from public and private organisations throughout Southeast Asia, out of which 56 projects were selected as finalists. Since 2017, the awards have aimed to recognise Southeast Asian-based organisations that have embarked on projects to digitally transform their businesses through the adoption of innovative technology.

Notably, more than 40% of submissions involved some aspect of artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML). Many organisations in Southeast Asia, particularly consumer-facing businesses, are exploring the use of AI/ML. The recent rise of generative AI has opened up a range of questions about the utility of this technology.

PETRONAS and AXIATA emerged as the winners from Malaysia for the Data and AI category and the Open category, respectively, and received their awards at the AIBP Conference and Exhibition,and received their awards at the AIBP Conference and Exhibition, held on 4 - 5  September, at the W Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

Endorsed by the Ministry of Digital, the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry and supported by CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM), Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), the event spotlighted advancements in Malaysia's digital landscape while addressing the challenges faced by local enterprises and public service organisations in adopting digital transformation.

Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS)'s winning project tackles the challenges of managing vast unstructured data—80% of which comprises documents, drawings, and multimedia. The July 2023 launch of Jom AI (J.AI) revolutionised knowledge discovery with AI-powered tools like J.AI Chat and J.AI Search, integrating over 700,000 documents and significantly reducing search times while enhancing operational efficiency. This initiative aligns with PETRONAS' broader digital transformation strategy, reinforcing its leadership in the global energy sector. With nearly 50,000 employees and a presence in over 100 countries, PETRONAS continues to solidify its standing, having ranked 216th in the Fortune Global 500 list for 2022.

Axiata's winning project is centred around building the Helios platform, an advanced cybersecurity tool designed to fortify defenses against emerging cyber threats. Helios provides a proactive approach to cybersecurity by adopting an attacker's perspective, identifying potential vulnerabilities, and streamlining the vulnerability detection process. This has enabled Axiata to significantly reduce the time required to respond to threats, thereby bolstering its cybersecurity posture. Founded in 1992, Axiata Group Berhad, a leading digital and telecommunications company headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, operates across nine ASEAN and South Asian countries, serving over 162 million customers, with a market capitalization of approximately US$5.2billion (MYR 22.77 billion).

PETRONAS and Axiata Group join the list of illustrious past winners, including IOI Corporation, Maybank, Genting, Malaysia Airports, Sarawak Energy, among others.