Singapore-based Sea Ltd., Southeast Asia’s e-commerce and gaming powerhouse, could achieve a trillion-dollar market capitalization, founder Forrest Li told employees in a memo Monday, according to Bloomberg News. The projection represents roughly a tenfold increase from the company’s current value as Sea increasingly bets on artificial intelligence for growth.
Li compared the AI revolution to the transformative impact of personal computers and smartphones, which expanded access to products and services once limited to the wealthy. He emphasized, however, that capturing AI’s potential would not be straightforward. “It will require us to make the right calls, execute extremely well, remain very disciplined, and compete relentlessly,” Li wrote in the memo marking the eighth anniversary of Sea’s stock-market debut. “But a tech transition like this makes it possible” for the company to reach a trillion-dollar valuation.
The founder, known for his frequent memos to Sea’s 80,000-plus employees, struck a more optimistic tone than a year ago, when he warned of a challenging AI transition. Since then, Sea has intensified its AI integration across customer service, gaming, and other operations.
Li also addressed the company’s rising share price and cautioned that market conditions could quickly change, recalling Sea’s stock crash at the end of 2021. “While the external environment will always be unpredictable, I feel much more settled today about our future,” he said, noting that Sea is now profitable across all three of its business units. He added that the company no longer needs to rely on external capital to fund growth.
Despite the optimism, Li did not provide specific details on Sea’s next AI initiatives or outline strategies for addressing intensifying competition. Sea faces rivalry from deep-pocketed global players such as ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok Shop and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Lazada, as well as emerging entrants like Shein and PDD Holdings Inc.’s Temu targeting Southeast Asia’s rapidly growing online market of 675 million consumers.
Sea is also eyeing expansion beyond its home region, notably in Brazil, as it seeks to grow its Shopee online retail empire. Additionally, the company is investing in digital finance and logistics to strengthen its market position and convince investors of its long-term growth potential.
Bloomberg News noted that Li’s memo underscores the company’s ambitious vision to harness AI as a driver of future growth while navigating a highly competitive global e-commerce landscape.
