The Southeast Asia 500’s fastest growing company can thank the AI boom for its rapid rise. Generative AI has driven an investment surge into data centers, which provide the infrastructure for storing, processing and distributing data, key to running AI applications.
Malaysia has garnered a significant share of this investment, attracting multi-billion deals from the likes of Google, Oracle and Microsoft over the past 18 months.
And some of that hype has boosted the fortunes of some of Malaysia’s companies, including NationGate, an electronics manufacturing services provider.
The company generated 5.27 billion Malaysian ringgit ($1.6 billion) in revenue last year, high enough to place it at No. 243 on the Southeast Asia 500. Even more staggeringly, the company grew its revenues by more than 720%, making it the fastest-growing company in terms of revenue on this year’s list.
NationGate also earned $342 million in profits, a respectable 163% increase from the year before.
The company’s data computing segment drove much of its revenue, contributing 88% this year compared to 17% in 2023. NationGate also works with the automotive and telecommunications sectors.
More than half of Nationgate’s revenue comes from Malaysia; another third comes from Singapore. The two countries are arguably Southeast Asia’s data center hubs.
One of NationGate’s key businesses is assembling AI products. And it has a key advantage in this space, as Nvidia’s only original equipment manufacturing partner in Southeast Asia. That means NationGate is the only company in the region that assembles Nvidia’s highly-sought-after graphics processing units (GPUs) into AI servers. Nvidia’s GPUs are by far the most used in high-performance AI applications.
NationGate sees “immense potential” in AI, and that its entry into AI server manufacturer will help it tap into “double digit” annual growth in data center investments in both Southeast Asia and globally.
But the AI boom brings risks too.
Both Malaysia and Singapore have faced scrutiny due to allegations that both countries are channels for controlled U.S. chips to make their way to China. In particular, U.S. officials are reportedly examining whether DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup, circumvented U.S. export control measures with the help of third parties in Singapore.
In March, K Shanmugam, Singapore’s Law and Home Affairs Minister, said servers containing chips controlled under U.S. export controls appeared to have been sent to Malaysia. Following that allegation, Malaysia trade minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said officials were investigating and vowed to take necessary action against local companies engaging in fraud.
More broadly, countries in Southeast Asia were subject to possible U.S. rules that would cap the number of AI chips they could buy. (The Trump administration scrapped this proposal last month.)
Nationgate has distanced itself from the subject and has clarified that it was not involved in the investigations. But investors are still spooked. NationGate’s shares are down by some 40% this year.