# Google, Temasek, and Bain project Southeast Asia digital economy to reach $368B in 2026

Digest AI · Business & Funding · published 2026-10-21T04:00:00Z · updated 2026-10-21T06:05:10Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/google-temasek-and-bain-project-southeast-asia-digital-economy-to-reac

## Summary

Southeast Asia's digital economy is projected to expand 17% year-on-year to hit $368 billion in Gross Merchandise Value in 2026, according to the annual e-Conomy SEA report published jointly by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company. The report estimates that generative AI is used by 243 million people, representing 58% of the region's working population, and puts the digital economy on course to surpass $1 trillion by 2035.

E-commerce represents the largest sector at $226 billion GMV, growing 18% year-on-year, where in-app assistants and multimodal search are credited with driving up to 75% order volume uplifts and 10% higher conversion rates. Digital financial services reached $1,650 billion in Gross Transaction Value, online travel hit $59 billion GMV, online media generated $44 billion in revenue, and mobility and food delivery accounted for $40 billion GMV.

The study projects a 60-fold increase in regional AI token usage over the next five years, driven by agentic commerce. Around 75% of surveyed users expressed willingness to allow AI agents to compare prices and complete purchases autonomously. Sustaining this pace will require data center capacity to roughly triple over the next five years, alongside regulatory initiatives such as Singapore's Digital Infrastructure Bill and the upcoming ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement in November 2026.

## Key points

- Southeast Asia's digital economy is projected to reach $368 billion in GMV in 2026, growing 17% year-on-year.
- The report states 243 million people, or 58% of the working population, actively use generative AI.
- Regional AI usage is projected to surge 60-fold over five years, requiring roughly triple the data center capacity.

## Why it matters

The report highlights Southeast Asia as one of the fastest-growing regions for consumer AI adoption and agentic commerce, signaling substantial infrastructure demand and commercial opportunities for platforms integrating automated shopping and digital payments.

## Sources

1. [Southeast Asia’s digital economy to hit $368 billion](https://blog.google/company-news/inside-google/around-the-globe/google-asia/e-conomy-sea-report-2026) (Google AI Blog, 2026-10-21, primary source)
2. [Google, Temasek, and Bain: online spending in SE Asia to rise ~17% YoY to $368B in 2026 despite economic headwinds, as businesses harness AI to spur spending](https://bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-21/ai-to-spur-se-asian-digital-economy-to-368-billion-study-shows) (bloomberg.com, 2026-10-21)

## Cite

Digest AI, "Google, Temasek, and Bain project Southeast Asia digital economy to reach $368B in 2026", 21 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/google-temasek-and-bain-project-southeast-asia-digital-economy-to-reac

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