[PRESS RELEASE] AirAsia and Tenaga Nasional Berhad Win 2026 ASEAN Enterprise Innovation Award for AI-Driven Fuel Efficiency and Critical Infrastructure Protection
Kuala Lumpur, 08 July 2026- From 32 nominations in 2017 to 122 this year, the annual ASEAN Innovation Business Platform (AIBP) Enterprise Innovation Awards recognises Southeast Asian organisations successfully adopting innovative technology to digitally transform their businesses.
More than half of this year's submissions featured artificial intelligence or machine learning, with a shift towards agentic and autonomous systems that act on data rather than simply report it. Southeast Asia continues to emerge as an AI powerhouse, and the regional build-out is substantial: Malaysia alone has drawn around US$30 billion in approved data centre and cloud investment since 2021. As deployment costs fall and capabilities mature, enterprises across financial services, energy, and aviation are putting AI to work in day-to-day operations.
AirAsia and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) emerged as the winners from Malaysia for the Open and Data & AI categories respectively, and received their awards at the AIBP Conference and Exhibition, held on 8 and 9 July 2026, at W Kuala Lumpur.
Endorsed and supported by the Ministry of Digital and the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), the event spotlighted advancements in Malaysia's digital landscape while addressing the challenges faced by local enterprises and public service organisations in adopting digital transformation.
From Left: Mohd Al Hafiz bin Isahar (Tenaga Nasional Bhd); Ir. Muhammad Hilmi bin Zainuddin (Tenaga Nasional Bhd); Aina Sofeah binti Yusoff (Tenaga Nasional Bhd); Raihanah binti Lukman (Tenaga Nasional Bhd); Ir. Ts. Muhammad Al Jundi bin Abdullah (Tenaga Nasional Bhd); (Tenaga Nasional Bhd); Ir. Tan Siew Hwa; Honey Hong (Air Asia); Farhana Maisarah Binti Mohd Fairos (Air Asia); and Ernest Ho (Industry Platform)
AirAsia's winning project, Tail Assignment, introduced within its SkyIQ platform, gives flight planners intelligent decision support that evaluates thousands of aircraft-to-flight combinations and identifies the most fuel-efficient configurations before daily operations commence, while respecting maintenance schedules, airport restrictions, and safety requirements. Now in production across AirAsia Malaysia, the system pairs a predictive fuel model reaching 95% accuracy with adoption across roughly 90% of planning cycles, strengthening fuel efficiency and reducing carbon emissions while keeping planners in control of fleet deployment. AirAsia operates one of Southeast Asia's largest low-cost networks, flying to more than 140 destinations across Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, and the Philippines.
"Innovation is most meaningful when it solves real operational challenges. Tail Assignment demonstrates how AirAsia is applying AI and optimisation to improve decision-making at scale, assigning the right aircraft to the right flight while reducing fuel burn, cost, and carbon emissions. We are honoured by this recognition from AIBP, which validates our commitment to building smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable airline operations from within," said Wan Yussman, Chief Technology Officer, AirAsia Group Berhad.
TNB's winning project applies Agentic AI to the prevention of illegal cryptocurrency mining, a form of energy theft that drains an estimated RM640 million a year across nearly 14,000 identified cases and threatens grid stability for legitimate consumers. Recognised as Malaysia's first agentic-AI defence system for critical infrastructure, the solution deploys a coordinated network of autonomous agents, spanning satellite imagery, thermal signatures, social media intelligence, and historical theft patterns, to predict likely mining locations before operations are established, shifting enforcement from reactive detection to intelligence-led deterrence. In field validation the system achieved a 40% on-site hit rate and projects RM14 million in revenue protection from deterrence activities, with a roadmap to scale from its Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Perak pilot to nationwide coverage. Incorporated in 1990, TNB is Malaysia's largest electricity utility, employing approximately 31,000 people and carrying a market capitalisation of around US$18 billion (~RM84 billion) as of July 2026.
"This award from AIBP represents the incredible cross-functional collaboration within TNB. Illegal crypto mining has cost TNB nearly RM5 billion since 2020, numbers that represent real strain on our customers and infrastructure. With this capability, we're no longer reactive. We identify risk before it materialises, and this is just one step in TNB's broader journey toward becoming an AI-driven organisation," said Ir. Ts. Muhammad Al Jundi bin Abdullah, Lead (Analytics), Tenaga Nasional Berhad.
AirAsia and Tenaga Nasional Berhad join the list of illustrious past Malaysian winners, including IOI Corporation Berhad, PETRONAS, Maybank and Sarawak Energy, among others.
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About ASEAN Innovation Business Platform (AIBP)
The ASEAN Innovation Business Platform (AIBP) is an initiative focused on enabling innovation and strategic partnerships across public and private organisations in Southeast Asia. Through curated engagement activities, AIBP supports the growth of regional government agencies, enterprises and solution providers in navigating key themes such as innovation, digital transformation, and sustainability.
Learn more at www.aibp.sg
