Sea Ltd Becomes Southeast Asia's First to Deploy NVIDIA Vera Rubin: The AI Turning Point

Have you ever wondered what is really going on behind the "smart" product recommendations on Shopee, the smooth matches in Garena, or the surprisingly fast loan approvals from Monee? The answer lies in something few people see: AI computing infrastructure.

And recently, Sea Limited – the parent company of Shopee, Garena, and Monee – made an announcement that caught the attention of the entire Southeast Asian region: they will become the first business in Southeast Asia to deploy NVIDIA Vera Rubin, the latest generation AI computing platform succeeding the legendary Blackwell line.

This is not just a hardware procurement deal. This is a strategic declaration: Sea Limited is stating that they do not just want to use AI, they want to become a true "AI-native" company – where AI is the backbone and DNA of every business operation.

What is NVIDIA Vera Rubin and why is it so important?

To understand the significance of this deal, we need to understand what Vera Rubin is.

This is NVIDIA's next-generation AI platform, specifically designed for the era of agentic AI – where models do not just answer questions but autonomously perform complex tasks. Vera Rubin NVL72, the most powerful configuration, integrates 72 Rubin GPUs, 36 Vera CPUs, alongside the new generation NVLink 6 connectivity system, creating unprecedented computing power in a single rack.

The numbers are truly staggering:

• NVFP4 inference performance up to 3,600 PFLOPS – a figure that was almost unimaginable just a few years ago.
• 288 GB HBM4 memory per GPU, with bandwidth up to 22 TB/s.
• 10x energy efficiency compared to Blackwell per unit of energy when processing agentic tasks.
• Token cost reduced to 1/10 compared to the previous generation, while the number of GPUs needed to train MoE models is only 1/4.

What does this mean for Sea Limited? They will be able to train and deploy more complex AI models, at a lower cost, at a larger scale. That is a competitive advantage that money cannot buy – because not everyone can access the scarce Vera Rubin supply in the early stages.

How Sea Limited has been using AI

Sea Limited is no newcomer in the field of AI. In fact, they have quietly built their AI capabilities over the past few years, and what they are doing is truly impressive.

Garena: 1,300+ AI chatbots and in-game agents

At Garena, Sea Limited's gaming unit, teams have built over 1,300 AI chatbots, workflows, and agents, along with "in-game companions." These are not simple chatbots that answer questions. These are AI systems capable of interacting, supporting players, and even participating in the gaming experience in unprecedented ways.

Shopee: AI writes product descriptions, boosting conversion rates by 14%

At Shopee, AI tools are helping sellers write product descriptions and reach buyers more effectively. The results are incredible: purchase conversion rates increased by 14% year-over-year in the first quarter.

This means AI not only helps save time but also directly generates revenue. Every percentage point increase in conversion rate translates to millions of dollars in additional revenue on Southeast Asia's largest e-commerce platform.

Monee: AI fraud detection, boosting loan approval rates by 10%

At Monee – Sea Limited's financial services arm – AI is used for fraud detection and credit scoring. The latest credit risk models, built on transformer systems and trained on cross-platform operational data, have helped increase loan approval rates by about 10% while maintaining the same level of risk.

Think about that: AI is helping Monee serve more customers, expanding credit access to those who were previously turned down, without increasing risk. This is a perfect example of how AI can expand financial opportunities for the community.

Compass Max v3.5: Sea Limited's proprietary AI "brain"

But there is a detail even more important than Sea Limited buying NVIDIA hardware: they built their own large language model (LLM).

That model is called Compass Max v3.5 – a system with 245 billion parameters, specifically designed for Southeast Asian languages and e-commerce applications. This is extremely important: Compass Max v3.5 is not a general-purpose model "repurposed" from global LLMs. It was built from scratch for the Southeast Asian context, understanding the nuances of language, culture, and user behavior in the region.

And how well is it performing? According to Sea Limited, Compass Max v3.5 and its variants have been used directly in many AI features on Shopee, operating with higher responsiveness and at a fraction of the cost of other leading commercial LLMs.

This is Sea Limited's true competitive advantage. While many other companies rely entirely on APIs from OpenAI, Google, or Anthropic, Sea Limited has built internal AI capabilities with lower costs and higher customizability.

AI Centre of Excellence in Singapore: Long-term commitment

The Vera Rubin deal is not an isolated action. It is part of a much more methodical strategy.

Sea Limited has established an AI Centre of Excellence in Singapore, aiming to drive AI-native innovation and build internal capabilities. This is not just a research place, but also a hub for training and developing AI models for the entire Sea Limited ecosystem.

Sea Limited has also partnered with the biggest names in the global AI industry:

• Google – partnering to develop AI applications for Garena, Shopee, and Monee, including trials of agentic shopping on Shopee.
• OpenAI – partnering to expand AI access for Shopee users and sellers, as well as developing AI-powered commerce solutions.

Partnering with both Google and OpenAI – direct competitors of each other – shows that Sea Limited is pursuing a partner diversification strategy, not relying on any single AI platform. That is the mindset of a company that truly wants to master technology, rather than just being a technology consumer.

Regional Context: The AI race in Southeast Asia is heating up

Sea Limited's move does not happen in a vacuum. It is part of a wave of AI investment spreading across Southeast Asia.

Malaysia has seen massive investments in AI infrastructure. Projects like the AI data center in Johor with investment commitments of up to $6.73 billion will deploy NVIDIA Blackwell, Vera Rubin, and Rubin Ultra in phases. Another project in Indonesia plans to build an AI facility with 170,000 GPUs, utilizing Vera-Rubin, Grace-Blackwell, and Vera platform accelerators from 2027 to 2028.

In that context, Sea Limited becoming the first business in Southeast Asia to deploy Vera Rubin is not just a title. It is an advantage ahead of competitors in AI computing infrastructure – an advantage that could take years to bridge.

Why this story matters to you

You might be thinking: "I'm a consumer, why should I care about Sea Limited's AI infrastructure?"

Let me tell you, it is very relevant.

First, AI is changing your shopping experience. When you browse Shopee and see product recommendations that are eerily "tailored to your taste," that is AI at work. When you receive quick responses from support chatbots, that is AI. When you check out using automatically suggested methods, that is also AI. Vera Rubin will make these experiences faster, smarter, and more personalized.

Second, AI is changing financial opportunities. When Monee uses AI for credit evaluation, people who were previously rejected for loans due to lack of traditional credit history can be served more fairly. This opens up opportunities for millions of Southeast Asians who lack access to formal financial services.

Third, AI is changing the gaming market. When Garena uses AI to create "in-game companions," your gaming experience becomes richer and more personalized. You are no longer playing alone – you are playing alongside an AI that understands you.

And most importantly: the AI race in Southeast Asia will shape the economic future of the entire region. Companies and countries investing in AI infrastructure today will lead the digital economy tomorrow. Sea Limited is placing a huge bet on that future – and they are doing it ahead of all regional competitors.

When "AI-native" is no longer just a slogan

I have seen many companies claim to be "AI-first" or "AI-driven" over the years. Most only stopped at integrating a few APIs or hiring a few experts. But Sea Limited is doing something different: they build AI capabilities from the roots – from proprietary language models (Compass Max v3.5) to centers of excellence and the latest generation computing infrastructure (Vera Rubin).

That is a long-term commitment, not a marketing campaign. And in a region experiencing a booming wave of AI investment like Southeast Asia, Sea Limited being one step ahead can create a sustainable competitive advantage for years to come.

However, the bigger question remains open: Will other businesses and countries in the region keep up? And will Vietnam – with significant AI potential but many infrastructure challenges – find its place in this race?

What do you think about a Southeast Asian enterprise like Sea Limited pioneering the deployment of the latest generation AI infrastructure? Is it a bold move opening a new era for the region, or an expensive gamble when AI applications still hold many unknowns? If you are a Vietnamese business looking to apply AI, what will you learn from Sea Limited's strategy – and where will you start? Share your perspective below, because in this AI race, those who dare not place bets will forever remain spectators!