【Red Horse Paints a Prosperous Scene】In the Year of the Horse, Malaysia races to catch up with its neighbors—when will Malaysian unicorns “gallop in a stampede”?

(Kuala Lumpur, Feb 15) In mythology, the “unicorn” is a symbol of purity and strength. In today’s tech landscape, it represents a startup valued at over USD 1 billion—an elite badge many founders strive for. As the Year of the Horse approaches in 2026, the themes of speed and breakthrough are sparking renewed attention on whether Malaysia’s innovation ecosystem is ready to accelerate.

Against this backdrop, Oriental Finance interviewed Lee Khai Chong, co-founder of the Petaling ASEAN–Technology Innovation Hub (HATI) and Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya, to discuss how Malaysia can leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and regional collaboration to help local companies scale further.

Lee noted that Malaysia already has unicorns—CARSOME is one example—but building a “pure AI unicorn” remains challenging due to gaps in key enabling conditions, particularly talent constraints.

He described AI as a central arena in great-power competition, where the United States and China are likely to produce more unicorns. For Malaysia to capture meaningful opportunities, Lee said the country must “borrow strength” through collaboration—especially with ASEAN—by focusing on unique, high-impact use cases where Malaysia can build differentiated advantages.

Lee added that compared with Vietnam, Singapore, and even Indonesia, Malaysia’s unicorn count is still far from sufficient, reflecting weaker innovation intensity and a less mature resource ecosystem. He suggested Malaysia learn from other countries’ unicorn-building playbooks, including how Chinese tech firms localize technologies, and position Malaysia as a launchpad for solutions that can scale across ASEAN and beyond.

On how AI could help traditional finance and the real economy “grow wings,” Lee said the question is broad because AI will reshape nearly every sector. He warned that AI’s impact is borderless, and businesses that do not adopt AI risk losing competitiveness and being disrupted.

“If you don’t use AI, you will be eliminated,” he said, urging companies to study how AI is changing their industries and how it can be used to move faster and further than competitors.

At the end of the interview, Lee extended festive greetings to readers, wishing prosperity, peace, and success in the Year of the Horse, while also expressing hopes for national stability and a more supportive growth environment for SMEs in Malaysia.