Two years ago, artificial intelligence was still being debated in boardrooms. Today, for Asia’s family offices, it’s becoming a cornerstone of investment strategy. At CNBC’s recent CONVERGE LIVE event in Singapore, LH Koh of UBS summed it up clearly: “Our family office clients are focusing on this as perhaps the most interesting and important sector.”
It’s not a passing interest. In UBS’s 2024 survey, more than 75% of family offices in Asia said they plan to allocate capital to generative AI over the next two to three years. That level of alignment, across such a fragmented investor class, is rare. And it signals more than enthusiasm. It signals conviction
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What’s Driving the Shift
Family offices don’t chase trends. They move when they see structural change. AI checks that box for three reasons:
- It’s embedded across industries: Logistics, healthcare, manufacturing, compliance—AI is showing up in core business processes, not just tech firms.
- It scales quietly: Unlike speculative tech themes, AI creates incremental, compounding value.
- It fits long-horizon capital: Most family offices think in decades. AI is one of the few tech themes that align with that timeline.
Tuck Meng Yee, founder of JRT Partners, isn’t chasing buzzwords. His focus is on data classification—the invisible but critical layer that powers most AI models. He’s investing in infrastructure, not noise. That’s the kind of thinking that’s defining this new wave.
Where the Capital Is Flowing
The capital is moving, but not into the names you’d expect. Here’s what’s showing up inside portfolios:
- Mid-sized enterprise tools: Companies like Cognaize, based in Armenia, that build document intelligence systems for regulated industries.
- Vertical AI platforms: Consai, a construction tech firm operating in Qatar and Poland, is applying AI to resource planning and site analytics. It’s niche—but effective.
- Selective China exposure: DeepSeek, an emerging AI player, is catching interest as family offices begin to reassess their China allocations. The country’s economic slowdown hasn’t stopped AI progress—it may have sharpened its focus.
This isn’t about buying the next ChatGPT. It’s about identifying companies using AI to solve real-world problems at the operational level. That’s what investors are underwriting.
The China Reassessment
Over the past few years, many investors stepped back from China. Slower growth, regulatory uncertainty, and geopolitical risk made it a harder sell. But the AI story is starting to flip that narrative.
- Policy alignment: AI is a national priority in China’s economic blueprint.
- Capital support: Local governments and state-backed funds are pouring money into foundational tech.
- Independent innovation: Without access to some Western tech stacks, Chinese firms are building new systems. That may prove to be an advantage, not a constraint.
Srihari Kumar of LionRock Capital put it plainly. His allocation to China, once capped at 20%, is now rising. Not across the board—but in AI, where policy and product are aligned.
How Family Offices Are Changing
This AI shift is part of a deeper transformation in how Asia’s family offices operate.
- From public to private: Listed equities aren’t providing the same alpha. Family offices are allocating more to private markets.
- From country-based to theme-based: Portfolios used to be structured by region. Now they’re built around themes—AI, climate, biotech.
- From reactive to proactive: Offices are hiring CIOs, forming ICs, and doing their own diligence. The result? More conviction in complex sectors.
What’s notable is how methodical the shift has been. No one’s chasing momentum. They’re allocating based on understanding—on how AI can drive productivity, margin, and defensibility.
What the Next Phase Looks Like
This isn’t an experiment. For many family offices, AI is already a core position. And they’re treating it as such.
- They’re backing the infrastructure: Not the hype, but the systems that support real deployment.
- They’re choosing co-investment and direct access: Sitting on boards, partnering with founders, building context—not just writing checks.
- They’re aiming for durability: AI companies with business models that can endure cycles, not just tech headlines.
And in many cases, it’s the next generation driving these allocations. Principals in their 30s and 40s are more familiar with how these technologies work—and more comfortable underwriting them.
Final Word
For years, Asia’s family offices focused on real estate, private equity, and cash-flowing businesses. That hasn’t changed. But around the edges, a new core is forming—and AI sits at the center of it.
Not as a buzzword. Not as a bet. But as a belief: that AI is quietly reshaping how the world works, and that the time to build exposure is now—before the rest of the capital follows.
They’ve seen this before—with the internet, with mobile, with cloud. And the lesson is the same: those who move early and quietly tend to do well.
That’s the playbook we’re watching unfold.