The United States has unveiled a new initiative aimed at expanding the adoption of American artificial intelligence technologies across Southeast Asia, signalling a broader effort to strengthen its digital presence in a region where Chinese firms have established significant influence. While the programme reflects Washington’s strategic push to embed US AI systems into government services and digital infrastructure, analysts believe Southeast Asian nations are unlikely to abandon Chinese technologies, instead pursuing a balanced approach that combines multiple AI ecosystems.
On July 22, Washington announced AI Spark, describing it as a programme that would support American AI exports to Southeast Asia as part of a wider strategy to advance what it called the “technologies of the future”. The initiative forms part of a broader policy framework designed to deepen US technological engagement with regional partners while promoting American standards and capabilities in emerging technologies.
The announcement coincided with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Manila during last week’s meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers. During the visit, Rubio said Washington was delivering US$2.5 billion in strategic investments across the region, with technology featuring prominently among the priority sectors.
Speaking during a virtual press briefing on Friday, US Ambassador Kevin Kim said the investments would cover multiple areas but would place particular emphasis on technologies such as artificial intelligence, data centres and related digital infrastructure, reflecting growing regional interest in these sectors.
Kim explained that AI Spark would provide both financial and technical support to Southeast Asian governments seeking to deploy the United States’ AI stack for public sector applications. Industry participants use the term “AI stack” to describe the interconnected layers of infrastructure, cloud services, AI models, applications and governance standards that enable artificial intelligence systems to function.
The initiative also operates under Washington’s wider Pax Silica framework, which seeks to diversify supply chains for semiconductors, critical minerals and other upstream technologies essential to the AI industry.
However, AI Spark enters a regional environment in which Southeast Asian governments are already strengthening cooperation with China. In January, Asean digital ministers meeting in Hanoi announced plans to deepen collaboration with China on artificial intelligence, highlighting the region’s willingness to engage multiple technology partners.
According to Karryl Kim Trajano, a research fellow for future issues and technology at Nanyang Technological University’s S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, the competition increasingly extends beyond AI applications themselves to encompass the entire technological ecosystem, including cloud infrastructure, computing power, foundation models, standards and governance.
Trajano said the United States appeared to be shifting its global AI strategy towards embedding its technological ecosystem directly into the digital infrastructure of partner countries.
Mark Manantan, a research fellow at the Centre for Global Security at La Trobe University, said AI Spark represented an evolution beyond the supply chain objectives of Pax Silica by focusing on integrating American AI models into the operational workflows of Southeast Asian governments.
Even so, Manantan argued that Chinese open-weight AI models such as DeepSeek, Qwen and Kimi have significantly altered the competitive landscape. Because these models can be downloaded, modified and operated on sovereign infrastructure, governments can combine American infrastructure with Chinese AI models depending on their specific requirements.
Rather than creating an exclusive choice between Washington and Beijing, Manantan said the region was moving towards a “dual-stack” reality, where AI Spark would become one component of broader national AI ecosystems instead of driving a wholesale shift towards American technology.
Alvin Camba, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Indo-Pacific Security Initiative and lead scientist and director of research at AI firm Lyvi, said Chinese AI models were generally viewed in Southeast Asia as more cost-effective than their American counterparts.
Although AI Spark seeks to make US AI technologies more affordable and adaptable, Camba said its long-term success would depend on sustained support from the US Congress and government officials. He suggested the programme would initially focus on smaller deployments among Washington’s Asean allies, including the Philippines and Singapore, before any broader regional expansion.
Camba also said Washington could seek to compete with Chinese companies that have developed telecommunications and cloud infrastructure in Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia by offering financing support to countries willing to transition towards US AI models. He added that such measures could strengthen the American AI ecosystem beginning with the anticipated Pax Silica hub when President Donald Trump visits Manila for the Asean summit.
Despite the growing competition between the United States and China, analysts do not expect Southeast Asian governments to align exclusively with either power. Instead, they argue that regional countries are likely to strengthen domestic AI capabilities while maintaining partnerships with both Washington and Beijing.
Trajano cautioned that excessive reliance on AI Spark could reinforce Southeast Asia’s role as a consumer rather than a producer of artificial intelligence technologies. She argued that developing indigenous AI capabilities alongside diversified international partnerships would be essential to prevent dependence on either American or Chinese providers for critical digital infrastructure and advanced AI technologies.
