DBS Gathers Global Leaders At Inaugural Asia Future Forward Conference As AI Rewrites The World

• Shou Chew, Lip-Bu Tan, Hock Tan and Jenny Johnson among influential figures examining the forces reshaping business, investment and growth

• Some 700 senior business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors expected at DBS' new flagship conference

DBS announced on October 2 the launch of the DBS Asia Future Forward Conference, a new flagship conference that will bring together global leaders in technology, business and investment to examine the forces shaping the region's future. To be held in Singapore on 12 October 2026, the inaugural edition will place artificial intelligence (AI) at the centre of the agenda. It will explore how the technology is transforming industries, business models and the nature of work; changing where value is created and capital flows; and reshaping the choices facing leaders across the region.

The conference is expected to welcome some 700 DBS corporate and wealth clients, including senior business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors navigating how AI will affect their industries, businesses and investment decisions.

Tan Su Shan, CEO of DBS, said: "AI is transforming industries, business models and the nature of work at unprecedented speed. Asia has the talent, capital and ingenuity to lead in this new era. Turning these strengths into lasting advantage, however, will depend on the choices we make now. If trust creates the conditions for AI to scale, intention will determine where that capability is directed, how its value is realised and who ultimately benefits. At the DBS Asia Future Forward Conference, we are bringing together the people shaping these decisions to challenge assumptions, widen perspectives and examine how the region can move forward with greater clarity and purpose."

A world being rewritten by AI

As AI moves rapidly from experimentation into widespread adoption, the debate is shifting from what the technology is capable of towards how it should be deployed and the value it should create. Central to the inaugural DBS Asia Future Forward Conference is the idea of "intentional AI", which includes deploying AI with a clear and specific purpose and ensuring the technology creates useful, measurable impact.

The conference will bring together leaders influencing every layer of the AI economy – from the platforms, semiconductors and physical infrastructure powering it, to its adoption across enterprises and the capital supporting its next wave of development.

The day-long programme will address some of the most consequential questions arising from the next phase of AI adoption, including:

• A one-on-one dialogue featuring Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and DBS CEO Tan Su Shan.

• Shou Chew, CEO of TikTok, will join Shee Tse Koon, Group Head of Consumer Banking and Wealth Management at DBS, for a fireside discussion on unlocking human potential in an AI era.

• Richard Tong, CEO and Co-founder of TNE.ai and Dr Sara Hooker, CEO and Co-founder of Adaption, will join Derrick Goh, Group Chief Operating Officer at DBS to discuss what will define AI leadership as the technology advances.

• Yifan David Li, CEO and Co-founder of Hesai Technology and Co-founder of Sharpa, will demonstrate what becomes possible when AI moves beyond software and takes physical form through robotics and intelligent machines.

• Salim Ismail, Chairman of OpenExO, will explore how AI could rewrite the corporation.

• Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Intel, and Hock Tan, President and CEO of Broadcom, will join Tan Su Shan to discuss where the next trillion dollars of AI value could be created.

• Pandu Patria Sjahrir, Chief Investment Officer of Danantara Indonesia; Jenny Johnson, CEO of Franklin Templeton; Jenny Lee, Senior Managing Partner of Granite Asia; and Timothy Adams, President and CEO of the Institute of International Finance, will examine how capital flows are changing in the age of AI. The discussion will be moderated by Han Kwee Juan, Group Head of Institutional Banking at DBS.

From deploying AI to enabling its growth

DBS brings to its Asia Future Forward Conference extensive experience applying AI at scale and enabling its development across the wider economy. The bank has invested in AI for more than a decade, beginning with building its data and machine-learning capabilities. This foundation is now supporting the growing use of generative and agentic AI across the bank.

The bank finances digital infrastructure underpinning AI's growth, including more efficient next-generation data centres. It connects AI innovators with investors and broader pools of capital, helping promising ideas move from development to deployment. DBS also supports businesses in identifying practical ways to adopt AI and translate its potential into tangible outcomes at scale.

Across its consumer banking and wealth management business, this ranges from generative AI-powered conversations that will help retail customers make more informed investment decisions through digiWealth, to AI-enabled onboarding processes that have halved turnaround times across the affluent-to-UHNW spectrum.

Within the bank, AI is being deployed to create more personalised experiences for customers, while giving employees greater capacity for higher-value work. In 2025, DBS deployed more than 2,000 AI models across over 430 use cases and generated approximately SGD 1 billion in economic value from data analytics and AI/ML. Its AI-enabled tools are reshaping customer and employee journeys, while enterprise-wide initiatives are redesigning complex workflows around human-AI collaboration. These efforts are guided by robust governance and controls to ensure AI is deployed safely and responsibly.

DBS was named the inaugural World's Best AI Bank by Global Finance in 2025 and Asia's Best Digital Bank by Euromoney in 2026. Its vision to be an AI-enabled bank with a heart reflects its conviction that enduring AI leadership will require technological capability to be matched by trust, empathy and a clear sense of purpose.