Softbank Invests USD 60 Million in the AI Arm of Malaysian Telecom Company Axiata

On May 11, Malaysian telecommunications company Axiata announced an investment of USD 60 million from SoftBank, towards its digital analytics and artificial intelligence arm ADA. Under the agreement, Softbank will own 23 percent of ADA shares. The latter will expand operations in South and Southeast Asia in partnership with SoftBank. As the owner of 375 million proprietary consumer data, ADA is to develop AI models with precision targeting, focusing on content analytics and data platforms. In a similar deal, Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo Corporation had put USD 20 million in ADA in 2018.