The So What from BCG How Asia Is Rising as an AI Superpower
Mar 25, 2026
Jeff Walters, Managing Director and Senior Partner at BCGX, leads tech and digital strategy across Asia Pacific. He discusses Asia's rapid generative AI adoption, drivers like mobile-first markets and youthful populations, and how innovation now runs in parallel with Silicon Valley. He highlights sector leaders such as consumer tech and manufacturing, the rise of dark factories, and what leadership must do to capture AI momentum.
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Reverse FOMO From Shanghai's On Demand Services
- Jeff Walters describes reverse FOMO in Shanghai where services arrive via QR-code lockers within 20 minutes.
- This daily convenience exemplifies how consumer digitalization underpins rapid AI experimentation and products.
Competition And Youth Drive Openness To AI
- Asia combines intense competition and a young population that is more open to AI, producing faster adoption and experimentation.
- Walters notes survey data showing AI use about 10 points higher in Asia and lower anxiety about societal harm.
Drive AI From The Top With Big Hairy Goals
- CEOs must apply a top-down, aspirational playbook to realise AI value rather than wait for bottom-up experiments.
- Walters stresses setting big transformation goals and driving them from the top to "show me the money."