In August, I had the honour of attending the APEC 2025 Global Digital and AI Forum’s AI & Digital Ministerial Meeting in Incheon, South Korea. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to present findings from the first phase of our research in collaboration with Meta, and to join a group of esteemed panelists discussing the numerous pathways for open source AI to transform the region’s 21 member states in different capacities.

The conversations at the Forum were inspiring—filled with ambition, energy, and a clear recognition that open source will accelerate artificial intelligence, creating opportunities for economic growth and social transformation in APEC economies. Importantly, they set the stage for the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting held at the end of October in Gyeongju. Today, I’m even more excited that our comprehensive report, The Value of Open Source AI for APEC Economies, led by Anna Hermansen of LF Research and returning contributor Kirsten Sandberg, was published in tandem with this significant gathering of world leaders.

Our latest report is both a window into the potential of open source AI and a call to action. Drawing from industry data, academic research, open source ecosystem insights, and an unprecedented series of expert dialogues and SME interviews, the report provides an evidence-based foundation for policymakers, business leaders, and researchers to better understand the role that open source AI plays in regional development and innovation.

Open, productive, and powerful

One of the most compelling insights from our research is the scale of economic value that AI is projected to unlock for several APEC economies, ranging from billions to trillions of U.S. dollars through 2038. These gains stem from a combination of productivity increases, cost savings, and innovation in sectors like manufacturing, healthcare, education, and government services. When we overlay the benefits of open source, such as lower costs, fewer barriers to adoption, and reduced vendor lock-in, open source AI becomes an even more compelling tool for digital transformation.

Similar to what our global study on this subject revealed, across APEC economies, smaller businesses are adopting open source AI at a higher rate than large enterprises, a finding that underscores the democratizing power of openness. For SMEs especially, access to open models levels the playing field by enabling experimentation and deployment without the steep costs of proprietary systems.

Localization with a strategic edge

Another crucial dimension of the report focuses on how open source AI can help APEC economies build AI systems that reflect their own languages, norms, and values. This is especially important for countries navigating demographic challenges or working toward digital sovereignty. For example, aging societies like South Korea and Japan are leveraging AI to support elderly care—from wearable health monitors to robotic mobility aids. Open models make this possible by enabling local developers to adapt technologies to meet specific population needs.

Meanwhile, economies like Viet Nam and Indonesia are demonstrating what it means to leapfrog traditional development pathways. With digitally native populations and growing startup ecosystems, they are poised to lead in open source AI adoption and innovation, provided the infrastructure and support continue to grow.

Investing in open is investing in the future

APEC economies are not only adopting AI, they’re investing heavily in it. In the past decade, the U.S. has invested over USD 470 billion in AI through private capital, while countries like South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Canada have also directed billions toward R&D. Notably, South Korea leads the world in AI patents per capita, while Japan and Taiwan remain global strongholds in the semiconductor industry—an industry that AI is transforming with new productivity and quality enhancements.

These investment statistics reflect a regional commitment to shaping AI infrastructure in line with local values and economic priorities. Yet investment alone isn’t enough. The report recommends national AI strategies that embrace open models by default and support open source AI through procurement reform, developer training, and knowledge-sharing ecosystems across the APEC region.

Open source AI for public good

What struck me most at the APEC Forum was the shared sense that AI should benefit everyone, not just the largest firms or the most advanced economies. Our report reinforces this message. It shows how open source AI can improve disaster response, accelerate drug discovery, and help education systems personalize learning, particularly in resource-constrained settings.

In the public sector, governments are already using open source AI to streamline legal services, reduce paperwork, and improve citizen engagement. For example, Singapore’s open source legal tool now summarizes case law in minutes, helping lawyers save time and make faster decisions. Viet Nam’s legal virtual assistant, built on an open model, reduced workload by 30% in its first year. These case studies prove that public interest technology powered by open source AI is not a future ambition—it’s happening now.

A regional opportunity and a global imperative

The APEC region is home to some of the most dynamic digital economies in the world. It’s clear that open source AI can accelerate inclusive innovation at a regional scale. But the lessons here are shared with other regions, that the best regional technologies leverage global collaborative environments. Open source AI innovation enables collaboration across borders, allows emerging economies to avoid technological redundancy, ensures high quality innovation, and creates a platform for equitable participation in the AI era.

At the Linux Foundation, we believe the value of openness extends far beyond source code—it’s a mindset that fosters shared growth, trust, and resilience. Our research aims to help governments, industries, and civil society navigate the fast-evolving AI landscape by choosing paths that prioritize transparency, inclusion, and impact, and to double down on investments in them. The ROI on this investment, as upcoming research will reveal, is compelling!

As the conversations in Incheon made clear, APEC economies are not just adapting to AI—they’re shaping it. And when open source is part of that journey, the benefits are distributed more widely and felt more deeply.

Let’s keep building that future—together, and in the open.

Hilary Carter is the SVP of research at the Linux Foundation.