Listed firms going all-in on AI

MANILA, Philippines — Companies listed with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) are gearing up for a year where they expect the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to impact the health of their bottom line.

Xurpas Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. for instance, anticipate AI products to become growth drivers in 2024 as industries move to automate their operations to save up on expenses.

However, the bigger bet on automation comes from Xurpas, which projects that every single peso it will earn starting 2025 will originate from AI and related services.

Right now, Xurpas operates a unit called Xurpas AI Lab (XAIL) tasked to develop AI products for enterprises.

Xurpas chairman and CEO Joey Gurango said XAIL makes up about 20 percent of the business, but expects it to reach as much as 100 percent in 18 months.

By then, Gurango said the company projects earnings will be impacted by AI developments one way or the other. With this, Xurpas is investing in training its workers, making them adept in AI platforms and preparing them for the demand boom in the future.

On top of this, Xurpas is tying up with schools, particularly those in the regions like the Filamer Christian University in Roxas City, in developing future talents.

Gurango said XAIL is focusing its pitch of creating AI models to government agencies, banking on the Marcos administration’s push to transfer state transactions online.

For 2024, XAIL is hoping to bag the contracts for digital transformation from five state agencies and 16 local governments, with deals ranging from as simple as data collection to as complex as online migration.

Meanwhile, wireless giant Globe plans to expand the role of AI channels in its technology units. Globe’s e-wallet GCash relies on machine learning to determine the credit scores of its customers applying for loans through the app.

Likewise, 917Ventures is exploring ways on how it can use AI platforms to improve the viability of the startups it is supporting. 917Ventures is tasked to incubate startups that are trying to solve consumer pain points with their tech products and solutions.

Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu said one of the telco’s goals for the year is to widen the role of AI innovations in its backend network.

“The use of AI extends beyond customer interaction, playing a crucial role in backend operations, such as network optimization and operations automation, and this not only improves our service delivery, but also boosts the company’s operational efficiency,” Cu said.