The Penang government has set aside RM4.5 million in its 2027 budget to support technology startups, speed up digitalisation among small and medium enterprises and widen the use of artificial intelligence across the state economy, Bernama reported.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the money, channelled through state agency Digital Penang, is meant to strengthen the state’s startup scene and help businesses go digital. He spoke at the closing of the AI Future Makers Bootcamp 2026 at SEGi College Penang in George Town on 7 Nov.
Chow said the startup community backed by the initiative has already produced 310 companies and about 1,720 jobs. “In (the state’s) Budget 2027, the state government has set aside RM4.5 million for Digital Penang; it will support technology start-ups, help small and medium enterprises go digital, and use AI across our economy,” he said.
The bootcamp drew 20 finalist teams, each pitching an AI-powered project to industry judges after four weeks of workshops and building, according to Buletin Mutiara, the state government’s news publication. Void Breakers took the RM3,000 champion prize, Chit Ko Ko won RM2,000 and PiEP took RM1,000. Four creativity awards of RM750 each and two teamwork awards of RM500 each also went out.
Chow said AI is already reshaping how people look for work and how companies hire. “It is a timely challenge because AI is already changing how people look for work and how employers look for people,” he said. Job seekers use it to polish a resume in minutes, he added, while many companies use AI to sort the same resumes before a person reads them.
Penang’s startup scene holds about 354 companies, the second largest in Malaysia, and the state wants 500 by 2030, The Star quoted state digital committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari as saying. The sector is estimated to bring RM340 million in revenue and 2,600 high-income jobs.
On skills, 675 graduates and working professionals have been through chip design training at the Penang Chip Design Academy, with 85 per cent of them finding work. The Penang Talent Focus Group, launched in June under the Penang Workplace initiative, brings industry players, universities and human resource practitioners to one table so that talent and opportunity meet faster. The state’s STEM plan will also take AI learning to rural schools through mobile programmes.
Chow urged employers to look past conventional qualifications and give young job seekers a chance through interviews, mentoring and industry engagement. “Good ideas still need someone willing to give them a chance,” he said, asking business owners to offer an internship, an hour of mentoring or simply a conversation.
Prizes at the final came to RM10,000 in total. The state did not say how the RM4.5 million would be split across startup support, digitalisation and AI programmes.
