Only 20% of Asian firms monetise AI at scale

Most companies have yet to convert AI deployment into measurable returns.

Asian companies are scaling AI faster than they are capturing financial value from it, with many still stuck in pilots or limited deployments that have yet to produce enterprise-wide returns, according to Roland Berger.

Damien Dujacquier, Managing Partner for Southeast Asia and Australia at Roland Berger, said the pattern mirrors findings from an earlier European study.

“Companies are deploying AI effectively, but they are not reaping the financial benefit,” Dujacquier said.

The consultancy interviewed roughly 200 executives across Asia. About 20% were classified as “industrialisers” that deploy and monetise AI, while another 10% were “hyper-focused” adopters generating value from narrow use cases. The remaining 70% were either stalled after deployment or still running pilots without scaling.

Singapore performed better than the regional average, with 27% of executives surveyed falling into the “industrialiser” category. However, adoption remains concentrated in relatively simple applications. Around 90% of Singapore companies use AI for knowledge management, whilst only 33% are deploying agentic AI.

Dujacquier said Singapore companies are generally well organised on AI governance but remain cautious about wider agentic deployment.

For businesses, the main challenge is moving from pilots and isolated tools into scaled use cases that produce measurable commercial outcomes.

Dujacquier said stronger adopters tend to treat AI as an enterprise transformation rather than a standalone technology initiative. Roland Berger is applying the same approach internally by training consultants to use AI across daily processes and investing in Centra, which is developing interfaces between employees and intelligent AI systems.

For executives, the key issue is no longer whether to adopt AI, but how to convert deployment into repeatable financial value.

Dujacquier will also speak at the Singapore Technology Enterprise Summit 2026 on November 12 .