Businesses in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region are expected to nearly triple their spending on generative AI (GenAI) to US$3.4 billion in 2024, according to Infosys Research.

While APAC companies currently lag behind their North American counterparts in GenAI spending, the research forecasts a larger increase than in any other region - a staggering 140% in the next year.

The research is based on interviews with business leaders and AI practitioners, and a survey of 1,000 respondents from Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, India, and Singapore. China leads the region in GenAI investment, with expected growth of more than 160% to US$2.1 billion. Australia and New Zealand's growth is close behind.

ANZ investment is expected to grow by more than 150%, from US$60 million to US$151 million in 2024.

Australian companies are more likely to deliver business value from GenAI investments than their European and North American counterparts, and Infosys' report said they're spending more effectively. Yet they're also more cautious. Almost 10% of APAC respondents, for example, expect a negative impact on reputation versus less than 5% for North America and Europe.

The biggest obstacles to APAC adoption are caution around responsible AI, concerns about impact on reputation, and employee readiness.

More companies in APAC (30%) than North America (20%) and Europe (25%) expect GenAI to be effective for streamlining product development and design. APAC companies are also more likely to believe GenAI will transform content generation and creativity, with 22% of APAC firms holding this sentiment, versus 30% of Japanese respondents.

However, ANZ has the lowest level of employee readiness for generative AI, at 56%, compared to nearly 70% in other companies in the region. Firms in Australia and New Zealand are mostly looking to upskill their existing workforce to fill that gap.

"Generative AI is clearly a transformative technology. Although company leaders across APAC have been more cautious than companies in the rest of the world, they are set to outpace firms in other regions. Additionally, they are already delivering more value from their spending on generative AI,"said Andrew Groth, Executive Vice President, Asia Pacific, Infosys.

"To continue to make the most of this technology and to become AI-first organisations, they should focus on talent development and making AI more accessible through a platform ecosystem."