King Abdullah University of Science and Technology has announced a new advance in stem cell-based embryo modelling that researchers say could improve how scientists study the earliest phase of human development, an area tied closely to infertility, miscarriage and some developmental disorders. The work, led by Associate Professor Mo Li and linked to KAUST’s Center of Excellence for Smart Health, centres on improving the formation and control […]
Alibaba Group Holding has unveiled a new artificial intelligence model aimed at building 3D environments and interactive video, widening its challenge to Tencent in one of the most commercially sensitive corners of China’s technology market: games, cloud services and creator tools. The model, called Happy Oyster, was introduced on Thursday as a “world model”, a system designed to generate explorable digital scenes rather than only short clips, […]
Bitcoin’s market backdrop has strengthened sharply, with a closely watched Bull Score Index climbing to its highest reading since October 2025 after several previously weak on-chain signals improved over roughly three days, according to market analytics platforms tracking network activity and investor behaviour. The shift has added momentum to a rebound that has pushed Bitcoin back towards the mid-$70,000 range, even as analysts warn that the move […]
Google’s Discover feed has become the latest battleground in the cybercrime economy after researchers uncovered a large-scale operation that used AI-written articles, fake news hooks and misleading browser prompts to push scam alerts to users’ phones and computers. The campaign, dubbed Pushpaganda, relied on more than 100 bogus domains designed to look like ordinary content sites, then turned visitors into targets for persistent scareware, ad fraud and […]
Cardano is drawing fresh attention after a burst of on-chain activity revived debate over whether stronger network usage can translate into a rebound for ADA, the blockchain’s native token, after a prolonged spell of weak price action. The trigger for the discussion was commentary tied to staking infrastructure provider Everstake, which said daily active addresses and transaction counts had risen sharply over the past three months, feeding […]
Pupils across the UAE will return to classrooms from Monday, April 20, after the Ministry of Education said all nurseries, kindergartens, and public and private schools are cleared to resume full in-person learning for students, teachers and administrative staff nationwide. The move ends more than six weeks of distance learning and signals that authorities believe campuses have completed the safety, staffing and facility checks needed for […]
A newly circulating render of Dubai’s future skyline has pushed Burj Azizi back into view, drawing fresh attention to a tower that developers say will rise about 725 metres on Sheikh Zayed Road and rank behind only Burj Khalifa when complete. The project, positioned in the Dubai World Trade Centre corridor, has become one of the emirate’s most closely watched construction bets because it combines sheer height […]
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 15 April 2026 – ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC), one of the world’s fastest-growing data centre colocation service providers headquartered in Singapore, today announced the findings of a new regional research study, Mind the Gap: Bridging the AI Infrastructure Readiness Divide, examining how organisations across Asia are progressing from AI ambition to execution. Commissioned by STT GDC with research partner Ecosystm, the study surveyed more than 600 enterprise and digital-native leaders across nine Asian markets: India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
High adoption, limited readiness across Asia
The report reveals that AI ambition across Asia is high, with nearly 90% of organisations having embarked on their AI journeys. However, a significant 71% remain in the “Builder” stage of maturity, where initial AI pilots struggle to scale into production environments capable of delivering consistent and measurable return on investment (ROI). In contrast, only 17% of organisations are considered “future ready”, having invested in scalable infrastructure, mature data governance and specialised operational expertise, highlighting a widening readiness gap across the region.
Challenges faced by the Builders
Across Asia, the research identifies a reinforcing cycle that keeps many organisations stuck in pilot mode. AI initiatives are often launched on infrastructure that cannot scale to production, limiting their ability to demonstrate measurable ROI and making it harder to justify further investment in purpose-built, high-density environments. This challenge is compounded by gaps in in-house expertise, with many organisations lacking the specialist operational skills required to manage increasingly complex AI infrastructure at scale.
“Across Asia, organisations are moving quickly from experimentation to implementation, but many are discovering that AI success now depends less on training models and more on foundations,” said Chris Street, Group Chief Revenue Officer of ST Telemedia Global Data Centres. “Without scalable infrastructure and operational readiness in place, it becomes difficult to convert early AI ambition into consistent business value.”
The Sustainability Blind Spot
Despite rising energy and cooling demands driven by AI workloads, sustainability considerations remain secondary for most organisations when evaluating infrastructure options. Although 27% of organisations say ESG goals will actively shape or be central to their future plans, 64% of organisations across Asia continue to prioritise performance or cost, even as power density, thermal efficiency and long‑term total cost of ownership become increasingly critical factors in scaling AI responsibly.
A disconnect between what organisations want and what they need
The study also highlights a persistent disconnect between how organisations evaluate infrastructure partners and the capabilities they actually need to scale AI. Across Asia, organisations continue to prioritise baseline requirements like security and reliability, despite identifying operational expertise, scalability and cost efficiency as their most significant challenges.
Singapore: ahead of the region, but facing a new constraint
These challenges are visible across the region, but they manifest differently in more mature markets. Singapore stands out against the regional baseline with a significantly larger share of organisations having progressed beyond early-stage pilots. While only 17% of organisations across Asia are considered future‑ready, 40% of Singapore organisations have reached the Integrator stage, reflecting stronger early execution and deployment capability.
However, the study also finds that the final step to leadership remains the most difficult. Only 3% of Singapore organisations have reached the “Leader” stage of AI infrastructure maturity, signalling that even in Asia’s most mature AI market, the transition from integration to full leadership remains difficult.
Scaling, not adoption, is now the key challenge
In Singapore, where adoption is more advanced, the constraints have shifted. Limited infrastructure headroom, shortages in specialised operational expertise and continued investment discipline are now emerging as the primary barriers to scaling AI workloads and sustaining leadership.
“For Singapore, AI adoption is relatively mature; the defining challenge now is scaling deployments fast enough to support real‑world demand,” said Mingcheng Lim, Country Head – Singapore, ST Telemedia Global Data Centres. “Whether the country can maintain its lead in the region will depend on whether infrastructure capacity, specialist expertise and investment approaches can evolve at the same pace as AI workloads.”
Sustainability awareness has yet to shape infrastructure choices
In Singapore, regulatory expectations have driven relatively high awareness of sustainability issues. However, sustainability continues to rank among the lowest priorities when organisations evaluate infrastructure providers, highlighting a gap between awareness and action, even as power density, thermal efficiency and long‑term cost efficiency become increasingly important to scaling AI responsibly.
The mismatch between wants and needs persists
As with the wider region, Singapore organisations continue to evaluate infrastructure providers based on familiar baseline criteria, even as their scaling challenges point to a growing need for specialist expertise, speed to scale and sustainable, high‑density infrastructure capability.
These findings suggest that Asia’s next phase of AI progress will be defined not by ambition alone, but by execution capability. For Singapore, sustaining regional leadership will depend on infrastructure strategies that support scale, resilience and speed, enabling organisations to convert early AI momentum into enduring competitive advantage.
To download the report, Mind the Gap: Bridging the AI Infrastructure Readiness Divide, please visit: https://www.sttelemediagdc.com/resources/ai-readiness-assessment-report.Hashtag: #STTelemedia #STTGDC
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) is one of the fastest-growing data centre providers with a global platform serving as a cornerstone of the digital ecosystem that helps the world to connect. Powering a sustainable digital future, STT GDC operates across Singapore, the UK, Germany, India, Italy, Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam, providing businesses an exceptional foundation that is built for their growth anywhere. For more information, visit
https://www.sttelemediagdc.com/.
Amazon has struck an $11.57 billion deal to buy Globalstar, a move that would give the technology group a sharper edge in satellite communications, deepen its rivalry with SpaceX’s Starlink and place it at the centre of the next phase of smartphone connectivity, including services tied to future iPhone and Apple Watch models. The proposed acquisition, announced on April 14, would fold Globalstar’s satellites, spectrum assets and […]
SoftBank Group’s push to raise broader backing for a $40 billion loan tied to its investment in OpenAI is drawing fresh attention to how far global lenders are willing to support Masayoshi Son’s debt-heavy bet on artificial intelligence. More banks are being approached to join the financing, extending a syndication effort that began after SoftBank secured the bridge facility in March, in what has become a major […]
By Dr. Gyan Pathak Election Commission of India (ECI) has caused miscarriage of democracy in West Bengal, which is rejoiced by the Union Government of India led by PM Narendra Modi and RSS-BJP clan, lamented by millions of voters whose names were deleted from the electoral roll under Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and strongly resisted […]
The article ECI Caused Miscarriage Of Democracy In West Bengal appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).
The partnership brings together DFIQ Media’s extensive omnichannel retail media ecosystem with WPP Media’s advanced programmatic and predictive intelligence capabilities. By integrating customer audience insights through InfoSum – WPP’s privacy-first, no-data-movement collaboration platform – advertisers can activate high-value audiences while ensuring strict data privacy and regulatory compliance.
Through this initiative, advertisers will gain access to aggregated customer insights from the yuu loyalty ecosystem and retail platforms across DFI Retail Group banners, enabling more precise and effective targeting strategies. These audience segments can be securely matched and activated via WPP Media’s Open Intelligence, and delivered through WPP Open – WPP’s agentic marketing platform. This enables brands to unlock new growth audiences, improve targeting accuracy, and access deeper performance insights across digital and in-store environments, including incremental sales, new-shopper contribution, and audience-level effectiveness.
“Retail media is the fastest growing media channel globally and rapidly becoming one of the most important channels for brands to connect with consumers in meaningful and measurable ways,” said Wee Lee Loh, Group Chief Digital & yuu Rewards Officer from DFI Retail Group. The partnership also includes WPP Media’s investment in DFIQ Media’s omnichannel retail media inventory. This includes digital advertising opportunities across the e-commerce and mobile apps of yuu, Wellcome, 7-Eleven, and Mannings, as well as DFIQ Media’s in-store digital screen network of more than 6,000 screens across these retail locations in Hong Kong. “Our collaboration with DFIQ Media represents an important step in shaping the future of commerce-driven media in Hong Kong,” said Michael Beecroft, CEO of WPP Media North East Asia.
Collectively, these retail touchpoints generate more than 60 million store visits every month, giving brands a powerful platform to connect with consumers across the full shopping journey — from digital discovery to in-store purchase.
“By partnering with WPP Media and leveraging privacy-safe technology from InfoSum, we are unlocking the next phase of retail media in Hong Kong – one that combines powerful first-party data with omnichannel activation across digital and physical retail environments,” said Chandana Sunder, Group Retail Media Director from DFI Retail Group.
WPP Media will also bring its advanced programmatic advertising, predictive modelling, and Open Intelligence capabilities to the partnership, enabling automated buying, real-time optimization, and sophisticated audience targeting powered by DFIQ Media’s retail signals.
“By connecting DFIQ Media’s rich retail audiences with our Open Intelligence framework, we can deliver high-yield, privacy-safe, and outcome-driven advertising solutions that reduce waste and drive measurable growth for brands,” said Kenny Ip, Vice President, Media and Partnership Management at WPP Media Hong Kong.
Together, DFIQ Media and WPP Media aim to push the boundaries of retail media innovation – building a more advanced and future-ready retail media landscape in Hong Kong. The partnership marks a significant milestone in next-generation retail media development, combining privacy-first data collaboration, predictive intelligence, and large-scale omnichannel activation to create new opportunities for brands to engage shoppers and measure incremental impact.
Hashtag: #DFIRetailGroup #DFIQ #yuuRewards #Mannings #7-Eleven #Wellcome
https://www.dfiretailgroup.com/
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
DFI Retail Group is a leading Asian retailer driven by its purpose to ‘Sustainably Serve Asia for Generations with Everyday Moments’. As at 31 December 2025, the Group and its associates operated 7,580 outlets and employed more than 79,000 people across 12 markets. The Group is committed to delivering quality, value and service to consumers across the region through trusted brands, strong local market positions, and a broad retail ecosystem supported by extensive store networks, digital capabilities and efficient supply chains. DFI Retail Group and its associates operate a portfolio of well-known brands across five key divisions: health and beauty, convenience, food, home furnishings and restaurants.
DFIQ Media is the retail media arm of DFI Retail Group, connecting brands with millions of shoppers through a powerful omnichannel ecosystem that spans loyalty, e-commerce, and in-store media across leading retail banners. Established in 2025, it aims to deliver everyday omnichannel customer experience through full funnel media solutions powered by first party data intelligence.
A new study by Pearson and Amazon Web Services has sharpened concerns over whether universities are keeping pace with the demands of an AI-driven labour market, finding that 53% of employers say their main difficulty is hiring graduates with the right AI skills. The report, released on April 13, surveyed 2,711 learners, higher-education leaders and employers across the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia […]
DUBAI, UAE — Red Rock Technology FZ-LLC has entered into an exclusive strategic agreement with Innobotics, securing sole rights to deploy and commercialize its robotics and automation technologies across the GCC, Africa and India. The agreement establishes a cross-regional infrastructure layer combining AI governance, automation and physical deployment systems, positioning Red Rock as a primary integrator in markets where food security, supply chain resilience and technological sovereignty […]
Deutsche Börse has moved further into digital assets with a reported $200 million investment in Kraken’s parent, Payward, a deal that would give the German exchange operator a 1.5 per cent fully diluted stake and extend a partnership the two sides unveiled in December. The transaction, first reported by Bloomberg and subsequently echoed by Reuters, is said to be due to close in the second quarter, subject […]
Basic-Fit has disclosed a cyber breach affecting about one million members across several European markets, with roughly 200,000 of those accounts in the Netherlands, exposing a wide range of personal and financial details and sharpening concerns over how consumer-facing digital platforms protect routine lifestyle data. The company said the unauthorised access was detected by internal monitoring systems and halted within minutes, but not before information had been […]
Iran-linked cyber operatives using the CyberAv3ngers banner are again in the spotlight after U. S. authorities warned on April 7 that Iranian-affiliated hackers have stepped up efforts to compromise programmable logic controllers and supervisory control systems used in water, energy and government facilities, with some intrusions already causing operational disruption and financial loss. The alert marks a sharper phase in a campaign that security officials say has […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai AD Ports Group is accelerating its effort to turn itself from a Gulf port operator into a broader trade and logistics network, using expansion in Egypt, Africa, Pakistan and the Mediterranean to win a larger role in global supply chains as companies seek more resilient routes and integrated cargo services. For the Abu Dhabi-based group, 2025 marked another year of record financial growth. […]
Tadej Pogačar came within one place of adding Paris-Roubaix to his list of major titles on Sunday, finishing second for UAE Team Emirates-XRG after being beaten in a head-to-head sprint by Belgium’s Wout van Aert at the Roubaix Velodrome. The Slovenian, already one of the sport’s dominant figures, produced another forceful display in one of cycling’s toughest one-day races, but had to settle for runner-up spot as […]
Service My Car and PlusX Electric have formed a partnership aimed at making life easier for households in the UAE that own both petrol-powered vehicles and electric cars, as mobility providers race to adapt to a market that is adding EVs faster than the after-sales ecosystem has traditionally been built to handle. The agreement links a mainstream digital servicing platform with an EV-focused charging and support business, […]
Scientists tracking airborne particles over agricultural land in Oklahoma have identified medium-chain chlorinated paraffins, or MCCPs, in the atmosphere, marking what researchers describe as the first airborne detection of the chemical group in the Western Hemisphere. The finding has drawn attention because MCCPs are toxic industrial compounds under growing international scrutiny, and the researchers suspect the material may have reached the air from fertiliser made with treated […]
Dubai has unveiled a parking-linked retail incentive that will allow motorists to recover paid parking costs as cashback when they shop at participating neighbourhood businesses, in a move that blends urban mobility policy with support for smaller traders. The initiative, called Spots for Shops, is being introduced by Parkin, the emirate’s public parking operator, with the first phase due to go live on the Parkin app in […]
Ice Open Network has opened more of its codebase to public view as its ION token comes under acute market pressure, an awkward overlap that captures the project’s current predicament: visible engineering momentum on one side, collapsing market confidence on the other. The team has been publishing weekly development updates on its Online+ social app and ION framework, while public GitHub repositories now show active work on […]
Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies fell on Saturday after high-level talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad ended without an agreement, puncturing a bout of market optimism that had followed a temporary ceasefire and hopes of a broader diplomatic settlement. U. S. Vice President J. D. Vance said the American delegation was leaving Pakistan after about 21 hours of negotiations without a breakthrough. Markets reacted […]
