Southeast Asia’s digital economy is still growing, even though consumers are paying more and buying less. According to the 11th annual e-Conomy SEA report from Google, Temasek Holdings and Bain & Company, artificial intelligence is doing much of the work.
The report projects the region’s digital gross merchandise value will reach $368 billion in 2026, up 17% year over year.
The numbers behind the slowdown that isn’t quite a slowdown
The report was released around October 20–21, 2026, and covers 10 Southeast Asian countries. Its central argument is that AI is helping businesses target customers more precisely and run operations more efficiently.
E-commerce remains the anchor. The sector is projected to hit $226 billion in GMV, an 18% increase from the prior year.
Online media revenue is projected at $44 billion, up 22%.
Mobility and food delivery are projected to reach $40 billion, a 15% gain.
Digital financial services are the giant in the room. The report puts gross transaction value at $1.65 trillion, up 16%.
AI adoption is outrunning the smartphone era
Adoption now reaches 243 million people, or 58% of the region’s workforce. That uptake is happening four times faster than the early adoption of mobile internet.
Regional per-capita usage sits at 5 to 7 quadrillion tokens, about 10% of the levels seen in the United States. The report projects usage could surge by up to 60 times by 2030.
Money is flowing back in
Private tech funding in the region climbed to $21 billion in the first half of 2026. For all of 2025, the total was $11 billion. The report attributes much of that rebound to large data-center deals and growing consumer confidence in AI.
Data-center capacity reached 5.8 gigawatts by mid-2026, up from 4 gigawatts in 2025.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Diego Almada Lopez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.