Selangor State Teams Up with Google Cloud for AI Innovations

In a groundbreaking collaboration, the Selangor state government in Malaysia has joined forces with Google Cloud to enhance public services through artificial intelligence (AI). This innovative initiative, known as Teraju AI Selangor, aims to empower local government agencies in areas like education, healthcare, tourism, and agriculture.

What is Teraju AI Selangor?

Funded by the Selangor state government and led by the Selangor Technical Skills Development Centre (STDC), Teraju AI Selangor will provide participating agencies with an AI innovation sandbox. This unique environment allows teams to experiment and develop AI solutions while leveraging Google Cloud’s advanced AI technology stack for a period of up to six weeks.

Cutting-Edge AI Technology

Participants in the program will have access to an impressive array of tools that include:

AI-Optimized Infrastructure: Fully managed infrastructure powered by Google’s tensor processing units (TPUs) and Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs), designed to efficiently train intricate AI models.
Vertex AI Development Platform: This platform boasts over 160 pre-trained AI models—including Google’s Gemini 2.0, Anthropic’s Claude, and Meta’s Llama—that can be customized and integrated without requiring extensive programming experience.
BigQuery: A robust data management and analytics platform that organizes multimodal data for training AI models.
Gemini Code Assist: An AI-powered coding assistant that provides personalized suggestions, expediting the development process.

Building Skills for the Future

The launch of the Teraju AI Selangor initiative was officiated by Selangor’s Chief Minister, Amirudin Bin Shari. He emphasized the importance of equipping agencies with the necessary tools and training to responsibly, and ethically harness AI technology, especially regarding data privacy and security amidst rising cyber threats.

To maximize learning, agencies will participate in a full-day workshop facilitated by STDC and Google Cloud. This hands-on training session is designed to help AI developers and practitioners understand use cases and create AI prototypes effectively.

From Prototypes to Promising Solutions

For six weeks, agencies will refine their prototypes with assistance from STDC, Google Cloud, and Cloud Space, a Google Cloud partner. The initiative will culminate in a demonstration where working prototypes will be evaluated by a panel of experts from the Selangor state government and the STDC. The best ideas will be showcased during the Teraju AI Selangor graduation ceremony later this year, with potential for further funding to implement the most impactful solutions at scale.

Serene Sia, Google Cloud’s country director for Malaysia and Singapore, highlighted Selangor’s strategic position to benefit from Google’s investments, including a new datacentre and cloud region in Elmina Business Park. She reiterated Google Cloud’s commitment to support the state’s development blueprint, Rancangan Selangor, by focusing on areas where AI can drive productivity, enhance decision-making, and deliver significant public services.

A Broader Vision for AI in Malaysia

The Teraju AI Selangor initiative follows Malaysia’s federal government’s efforts to equip 445,000 public officers with generative AI tools through the AI at Work 2.0 program. This initiative, a collaboration between the Ministry of Digital’s National AI Office and Google Cloud, aims to enhance the delivery of public services and enable civil servants to focus on more strategic tasks.

Selangor’s commitment to adopting and integrating AI into its governmental framework positions it as a leader within the region, striving to create more modern, efficient systems for its citizens.

As we witness these developments unfold, one thing is clear: the future of AI in Malaysia is bright, and Selangor is at the forefront of this technological revolution.

The AI Buzz Hub team is excited to see where these breakthroughs take us. Want to stay in the loop on all things AI? Subscribe to our newsletter or share this article with your fellow enthusiasts.