Fear of missing out: why Asia-Pacific firms pour money into AI despite scant returns

Survey shows many enterprises across the region invest heavily in AI, worried that their rivals will outpace them

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The survey findings come as businesses race to adopt AI despite persistent challenges in proving returns on investment. Photo: Shutterstoc

Daisy WuPublished: 1:15pm, 2 Jun 2026Enterprises across the Asia-Pacific region are investing heavily in artificial intelligence with limited evaluation of its effectiveness, driven largely by fears of being left behind, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

Some 37 per cent of organisations in the region admitted to investing aggressively in AI with little assessment of outcomes – nearly double the global average of 20 per cent – according to the report by market consultancy International Data Corporation, commissioned by Netherlands-based managed network-as-a-service provider Expereo.

The survey covered 800 technology leaders from multinational enterprises with more than 500 employees across the United States, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

AdvertisementSingapore emerged as a hotspot for rapid adoption, with more than one-third of organisations in the city state reporting heavy AI investment without fully evaluating its impact.

The findings come as businesses race to adopt AI despite persistent challenges in proving returns on investment and ensuring infrastructure can support the technology at scale.

“Every enterprise we speak to is investing in AI, yet the data shows a clear gap opening up between AI ambition and AI outcomes,” said Ben Elms, CEO of Expereo.