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Lazada Announces Suite of GenAI Features to Transform Shopping and Seller Experiences in Southeast Asia

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2 years ago

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The GenAI features will transform four key dimensions of eCommerce shopping, termed 4Ds, including discovery, dependability, deals, and decision making, to deliver a more personalised and interactive experienceLazada is also leveraging Alibaba’s newly-launched improved iteration of its AI translation tool, Marco MT, to support language localisation needs in the diverse region of Southeast AsiaIn parallel, Lazada has partnered with Kantar to launch its inaugural “Artificial Intelligence Adoption in eCommerce in Southeast Asia” whitepaper on consumer preferences, sentiments and behaviour towards AI

SINGAPORE, Oct. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Lazada, Southeast Asia’s pioneer eCommerce platform, today announced a major leap in online shopping with the launch of all-new GenAI-powered in-app features. These enhancements promise to revolutionise the shopping journey by offering shoppers a more personalised, engaging, and dynamic experience. Alongside this, Lazada also launched its Artificial Intelligence Adoption in eCommerce in Southeast Asia whitepaper, jointly developed with Kantar, to better understand AI awareness, trust and preferences, shopping behaviour, and consumer pain points in the region.

 

Lazada’s GenAI features include an AI-powered personal shopping assistant – AI Lazzie, smart recommendations, AI-generated product information, and even AI-generated models, which position the platform at the forefront of a rapidly evolving eCommerce landscape in Southeast Asia. Lazada is also leveraging Alibaba’s newly-launched improved iteration of its AI translation tool, Marco MT, to support language localisation needs in the diverse region of Southeast Asia. The AI translation tool is based on Alibaba’s proprietary model Qwen, and is designed to help sellers create product pages in the language of their target market. The improved version – Marco MT, is powered by large language models, with the ability to interpret contextual clues such as cultural and industry-specific terms.

As AI and GenAI continue to serve as major growth catalysts, Lazada is addressing the four critical dimensions (4Ds) that are transforming online shopping:

1.     Discovery: Enhancing Product Search and Shopping Inspiration

AI is reshaping how shoppers discover products by providing personalised recommendations and improving search efficiency. The whitepaper reveals that nine out of ten respondents in Southeast Asia believe that AI enhances their search efficiency when shopping online. Lazada’s AI tools, such as the personal shopping assistant, AI Lazzie, are designed to help shoppers not only find products, but also discover new ideas and lifestyle additions, offering 24/7 tailored assistance to enrich and elevate the shopping experience.

2.     Dependability: Building Trust and Loyalty through Tailored Experiences

With the new GenAI updates, Lazada will now be able to offer more dynamic and engaging content on its platform. For instance, AI-generated product descriptions and images can be tailored to different regions, languages, and cultural nuances, ensuring that shoppers feel a deeper connection with the products they are browsing. This capability is particularly valuable in Southeast Asia, where linguistic and cultural diversity are both varied and vast.

Insights from our whitepaper also revealed an exceedingly high level of trust towards AI-powered platforms, where a majority of shoppers trust and rely on AI for personalised recommendations (92%) and product summaries (90%). Here, Lazada’s GenAI features such as its AI-powered smart reviews and personalised product recommendations based on shopping habits and past purchases can enhance shopping experience by offering shoppers quick, comprehensive, and reliable product insights. These tools foster customer loyalty by enabling dependable and seamless interactions that build trust, while helping shoppers make more informed decisions.

Given the impact that AI delivers, we are witnessing a huge majority of shoppers using AI features on eCommerce platforms at least once a week (80%), with a high willingness to pay more for AI-powered shopping experiences (83%).

3.     Deals: Helping Shoppers Find the Best Value

The whitepaper highlights that approximately a third of Southeast Asian shoppers are price-conscious and actively seek out deals (41%). In fact, more than half of the respondents identify competitive pricing (54%) and the availability of vouchers and discounts (51%) as key factors that influence repeat purchases.

Lazada’s AI-curated offers, exclusive vouchers, and the integration of LazCoins as a rewards mechanic further ensure that shoppers can access the best value for every purchase. By leveraging AI, Lazada helps shoppers discover deals tailored to their personal preferences, habits, and interests to ensure that the best deal is secured.

Going above and beyond, the humanised aspect of GenAI means that Lazada is also able to gamify the shopping experience, by rewarding positive behaviour such as high user engagement rate with additional surprise discount voucher codes and bundle deals.

4.     Decision-Making: Smarter Shopping Choices

Lazada’s findings reveal that an overwhelming 88% of respondents in Southeast Asia make purchase decisions using AI-generated content and product recommendations, and over half (51%) indicate that product and seller reviews are key features they prioritise when shopping online. Harnessing this insight, Lazada’s GenAI update is designed to create unique content by harnessing product reviews, product key selling points, as well as tailored product recommendations to optimise the shopper research process and support their purchasing decisions with facts and data.

To further expedite the decision-making process, AI Lazzie can answer shopper queries promptly to address concerns, which can result in increased order conversion rates, as well as enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty.

James Dong, Chief Executive Officer of Lazada Group, commented, “At Lazada, we have embraced GenAI as part of our customer-centric, long-term growth strategy to enhance customer experiences, as we stribe to stay ahead and steer into a new era of online shopping. We foresee that GenAI will accelerate an eCommerce revolution and reshape the way we currently shop, sell, and engage. Our goal is to make every experience sharper, more individual, efficient, and enjoyable. Through these innovations, we’re not only supporting our shoppers, but also empowering our sellers to make smarter, data-driven decisions, from product positioning to customer engagement.”

Dong added: “As Lazada implements AI at scale, we strive to create win-win scenarios for all eCommerce players, while maintaining the human touch that remains essential in fostering authentic, lasting relationships with our shoppers, sellers, and partners in the ecosystem. By embracing GenAI, we aim to create a more accessible, inclusive, and personalised shopping experience for all.”

About the Whitepaper

 

The Artificial Intelligence Adoption in eCommerce in Southeast Asia whitepaper is derived from the research conducted in partnership with Kantar in six Southeast Asian markets – Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines – which surveyed more than 6,000 eCommerce users between the ages of 18 and 60 in September 2024.

Download the Lazada app: Apple App Store | Google Play Store

About Lazada Group

Lazada Group is Southeast Asia’s pioneer eCommerce platform. For the last 12 years, Lazada has been accelerating progress in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam through commerce and technology. Today, a thriving local ecosystem links about 160 million active users to more than one million actively-selling sellers every month, who are transacting safely and securely via trusted payments channels and Lazada Wallet, receiving parcels through a homegrown logistics network that has become the largest in the region.

 

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SOURCE Lazada Group

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Chelsea FC announces multi-year sleeve partnership with Sokin, the business payments and FX platform

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11 minutes ago

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October 23, 2026

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Chelsea FC name fast-growing fintech platform as Principal Partner

LONDON, Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chelsea Football Club has today announced a multi-year partnership with Sokin, the embedded finance and payments company used by businesses worldwide. Sokin will be named a Principal Partner and Official Business Payments and FX Partner of Chelsea FC and Chelsea FC Women.

As a Principal Partner, Sokin will be represented on the sleeves of the Chelsea FC men’s, women’s and academy home, away, and third kits from the 2026/27 season.

The partnership brings together two ambitious London-headquartered organisations with worldwide reach – a club with millions of fans across the world and a fintech platform through which businesses move more than $11 billion a year. A club of Chelsea’s scale works in many currencies every day, with partners, competitions and supporters around the world, and needs a financial partner built to handle that.

Sokin gives finance teams business payments, multi-currency accounts, foreign exchange, checkout and treasury in one place, so they spend less time juggling banks and providers and keep more of what they move.

As Official Business Payments and FX Partner, Sokin will simplify how Chelsea FC sends, receives and manages money in the currencies the club operates in.

The Sokin logo will feature on the sleeve of the Chelsea shirt for the first time [when the men’s team host Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 24th October.]

Jason Gannon, President at Chelsea FC said:

“At Chelsea, we seek to partner with organisations that share our ambition and innovative mindset. Sokin’s expertise in business payments, and their focus on making both simpler for the businesses they serve, makes them a natural fit for the Club. We are pleased to welcome Sokin to the Chelsea family and look forward to working together in the years ahead.”

Vroon Modgill, CEO and founder at Sokin said:

“Chelsea plays on the biggest stage in world football, and its business runs in dozens of currencies. Sokin was built for that with regulated, multi-currency payments and foreign exchange for organisations that operate internationally. We’re proud to be the platform behind the business payments and FX of one of the most iconic teams in football. Sokin’s platform serves businesses in more than 170 countries. We’re thrilled to be partners for the season ahead. An organisation as sophisticated as Chelsea doesn’t leave its finances to chance.”

About Sokin

Sokin is the financial layer global business runs on. Businesses can transact, convert and hold money in 70+ currencies across 170+ countries. Some businesses use Sokin to manage global finance in-house. Others build it into their products to power financial experiences for their customers. Businesses move more than $9 billion a year on licenses Sokin holds in 36+ countries and infrastructure Sokin owns. Founded in 2019, Sokin has raised over $100 million from investors including Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital and Prysm Capital.

About Chelsea Football Club

Chelsea Football Club is one of the biggest, most successful football clubs globally and our men’s team are reigning world champions, having won the four-yearly FIFA Club World Cup in 2025. Our women’s team, Chelsea Women, are also multiple trophy winners.

Founded in 1905, Chelsea is London’s most central football club, based at the iconic 40,000-capacity Stamford Bridge stadium. Nicknamed the Blues, the club lifted the Champions League for the first time in 2012 and domestically has won the Premier League five times, the FA Cup eight times, the Football League Cup five times and the Football League Championship once, in 1955.

The Chelsea Women’s team have enjoyed a huge amount of success and in 2025 won the FA Women’s Super League for a sixth consecutive year and the eighth time overall. The Women’s FA Cup has been won on six occasions. We have also captured the FA Women’s League Cup four times as well as reaching the UEFA Women’s Champions League final in 2021. In two seasons, 2020/21 and 2024/25, a domestic treble of trophies was secured.

The Chelsea Foundation boasts one of the most extensive community initiatives in sport, helping to improve the lives of children and young people all over the world.

Media Contacts:

Taina Biggs
taina.biggs@sokin.com 

Nerissa Chesterfield
nerissa.chesterfield@chelseafc.com 

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Amy Johnson Appointed President of GDIT

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October 23, 2026

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RESTON, Va., Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) announced today that Amy Johnson has been appointed as president of GDIT, effective November 3.

Johnson is a 27-year veteran of General Dynamics Mission Systems, where she held increasingly senior roles in engineering, engineering management and business leadership across cybersecurity, defense electronics, space and intelligence systems, most recently as vice president and general manager for Space, Cyber and Intelligence. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science and computer systems engineering. 

“Amy has a proven track record of leading teams to solve complex and highly technical challenges for our customers,” said Phebe Novakovic, CEO of General Dynamics. “I am confident that her dynamic leadership, operational rigor and deep commitment to our values and culture will deliver value to our customers, employees and shareholders.”

GDIT delivers digital modernization, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and software development solutions to the U.S. federal government, defense, intelligence agencies and other customers. It is a business unit of General Dynamics, a global aerospace and defense company that offers a broad portfolio of products and services in business aviation; ship construction and repair; land combat vehicles, weapons systems and munitions; and technology products and services. General Dynamics employs more than 120,000 people worldwide and generated $52.6 billion in revenue in 2025. More information is available at gd.com.

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SOURCE General Dynamics

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Yazan Al Homsi Invests US$500,000 in Toronto Drone Maker Arcanus Aerial Systems

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11 minutes ago

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October 23, 2026

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Private investment comes as Arcanus builds out Canadian manufacturing capacity for autonomous aerial systems

DUBAI, UAE, Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Yazan Al Homsi, a UAE-based investor and managing partner of Catalyst Communications DMCC, has invested US$500,000 in Arcanus Aerial Systems Inc., a Toronto-headquartered developer and manufacturer of unmanned aerial systems for defence, public safety and critical infrastructure customers. Al Homsi is an investor only and holds no operational, advisory or board role with the company. Other terms were not disclosed.

Arcanus is a Canadian-controlled company. It currently lists more than 15 platforms across heavy-lift, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), cargo, strike and counter-drone missions. According to the company, its published line-up includes:

AB 516e: a long-endurance vertical take-off fixed-wing aircraft rated for three hours of flight.AE 401: a counter-drone interceptor with a top speed of 300 km/h.AC 5250: a cargo platform with a 250 kg payload and a range of more than 2,300 km.

Alongside defence, Arcanus markets its systems for wildfire detection, search and rescue, Arctic sovereignty, border and maritime patrol, and pipeline and power line monitoring.

The company has spent 2026 assembling its domestic production base. In April, Arcanus signed a binding term sheet with Portugal-based Beyond Vision, granting it rights to manufacture, commercialize and support Beyond Vision’s unmanned aerial systems in Canada.

In June, Arcanus announced a five-year agreement appointing FeralX Systems Inc. as a non-exclusive Canadian contract manufacturer for several of its platforms.

“Canada has the engineering talent to build these systems at home, and recent years have shown how much depends on having that capacity domestically,” said Yazan Al Homsi. “What stood out to me about Arcanus was the manufacturing groundwork already in place: licensing, a production partner, and a range of aircraft that serves wildfire crews and search-and-rescue teams alongside defence customers.”

About Yazan Al Homsi

Yazan Al Homsi is a UAE-based investor and managing partner of Catalyst Communications DMCC, which he founded in Dubai in 2018. He was previously based in Vancouver, where he founded Founders Round Capital in 2017 and built a track record of investments in early-stage and small-cap companies. He earned a finance degree from McGill University in 2004 and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Before turning to investing, he spent more than a decade with PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Middle East, rising to director and focusing on transaction due diligence and valuation.

Media Contact
Catalyst Communications DMCC
catalyst-wire@protonmail.com

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SOURCE Yazan Al Homsi

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