Top executives on AI, crypto and global trade

The sessions get underway at 9:40 a.m. Singapore time (9:40 p.m. ET), with Britain’s David Cameron poised to discuss advancements in AI, the tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and the notion of American exceptionalism.

Talabat CEO Tomaso Rodriguez will take part in a session focused on how to speed up global supply chains later in the morning, while Ferrari’s Vigna will discuss the outlook for the luxury Italian carmaker shortly after 1 p.m. local time.

Alongside HashKey Capital CEO Chao Deng, Binance’s Teng is scheduled to discuss the Trump crypto boost from around 2:40 p.m. local time.

— Sam Meredith

“Humans who don’t embrace AI in a company will be replaced by humans who embrace AI,” the Malaysian businessman told CNBC’s Christine Tan at CONVERGE LIVE in Singapore on Wednesday.

The company, which is Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing and super app, has incorporated AI into training platform Grab Academy, while Tan himself has a personal AI coding assistant. “I can’t code myself, but I use it to build my own projects, for research, for Grab,” he said.

“If you were to embrace it, it not only makes you superhuman, it makes your company superhuman,” Tan said of AI adoption.

Read the full story here.

— Sawdah Bhaimiya, Ernestine Siu, Lucy Handley

Tech leaders weighed in on the future of artificial intelligence, a hot topic at CNBC’s CONVERGE LIVE in Singapore on Wednesday.

Alibaba‘s chairman Joe Tsai talked about the impact of Chinese AI Start-up DeepSeek’s open-sourced R1 model in January and said that it has led to a “proliferation of applications.” 

“I think the so-called DeepSeek moment is really not about whether China has better AI than the U.S., or vice versa. It’s really about the power of open source,” he said.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff questioned investments in data centers due to AI such as DeepSeek. “What you just saw with DeepSeek, and also with Alibaba, with their Qwen model is that you don’t need this kind of technology. So I think it has to be rethought. Exactly what are you doing and why are you doing this?” he said of multi-billion dollar investments in data centers.

Meanwhile, Dean Carignan, AI innovations lead at Microsoft, said AI can take away drudgery, “and allow the human to provide the things that only a person can do: creativity, innovation, coalition building, inspiration, motivating others,” he said.

Trust is a key consideration for Cisco, according to SVP Guy Diedrich. “You don’t get access to data [for AI] unless you’re trusted, and the way that you’re trusted … is to provide security and be transparent,” he told the CONVERGE audience. In a “couple” of years, AI will be “embedded in everything we do,” he added.

Ganesha Rasiah, chief strategy officer at HP, said that some jobs will be “eliminated” by AI. “But we don’t foresee a world in which there’s a significantly elevated level of unemployment,” he said.

Read the full story here.

— Dylan Butts, Lucy Handley

U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs are a major concern among U.S. and international business leaders, with industry titans warning of trouble ahead.

Speaking at CNBC’s CONVERGE LIVE in Singapore, Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio said on Wednesday: “Tariffs are going to cause fighting between countries … I’m not necessarily talking about military. But think about U.S., Canada, Mexico, China … There will be fighting, and that will have consequences.”

Trump’s 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel imports took effect Wednesday, while U.S. markets have been in turmoil over the duties this week.

Meanwhile, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff described reciprocity between countries as “good” if they treat each other the same way. If you can’t put the what and the how in a consistent, clear and meaningful way, then you could end up with high levels of volatility and conflict,” Benioff said.

Read the full story here.

— Lucy Handley

Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong kicked off proceedings at CNBC’s inaugural CONVERGE LIVE.

On an action-packed first day, Gan said that many in Asia were “watching with anxiety” as U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports came into effect. He added, however, that the region remains a “beacon of growth opportunities.”

U.S. hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio warned America’s mounting debt problems could lead to “shocking developments,” underlining the issue is of “paramount importance” for the world’s largest economy.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said the cloud software giant intends to invest an additional $1 billion in Singapore over the next five years. The investment is designed to accelerate the country’s digital transformation and the adoption of Salesforce’s flagship AI offering Agentforce.

For more highlights, take a look back at CNBC’s extensive coverage of the event’s first day.

— Sam Meredith