03/09/2026

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | SEP 3, 2026

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OGX wins exclusive rights to market Axtraction AI solutions KUALA LUMPUR: OGX Group Bhd’s wholly owned subsidiary OGX Networks Sdn Bhd signed a distribution agreement with Axtraction AI Sdn Bhd to act as an authorised distributor for enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) platform driven solutions in Malaysia. The distribution agreement has an initial term of one year and may be renewed for successive three-year terms, subject to the achievement of mutually agreed milestones. Operating as “The Special Force for AI Automation,“ Axtraction AI utilises a high performance, forward-deployed engineering model. This approach tailors solutions to an organisation’s unique workflows and system environments, enabling faster deployment and seamless operational integration. OGX executive director and managing director Tan Suan Loong said the partnership with Axtraction AI is part of OGX’s continued efforts to strengthen its technology portfolio in line with evolving enterprise requirements. “With organisations increasingly adopting enterprise-grade AI to improve workflows and decision-making, this partnership enhances our ability to support customers with practical AI capabilities built for complex operating environments,“ he said. OGX is an information technology (IT) infrastructure solutions specialist operating under a brand-centric model. The partnership covers distribution of Axtraction AI’s core platform offerings, enabling organisations to analyse enterprise data, streamline operational processes, and support faster, more informed decision-making. These include Investigation Decision AI, developed for law enforcement and regulatory agencies to unify disparate intelligence streams into a single, connected view and accelerate critical analytical and tactical decision-making. Finance Operation AI is developed for large enterprises to automate critical workflows and transaction validation within tier-one ERP systems, optimising processing speeds while routing exceptions for human review. This partnership is expected to strengthen OGX’s technology portfolio by expanding into enterprise AI solutions, complementing the group’s existing network, cybersecurity and enterprise data centre offerings. The addition of enterprise AI solutions is expected to enhance OGX’s ability to support its customers seeking greater workflow efficiency, improved operational visibility and more informed decision-making as organisations continue to accelerate digital transformation and AI adoption initiatives.

nanoSkunkWorkX raises US$2m led by Tin Men

KUALA nanoSkunkWorkX (nSWX), a Malaysian deep tech startup engineering performance-critical interfaces for advanced packaging, green hydrogen and rapid diagnostics, has raised US$2 million (RM8.1 million) in a seed round led by regional technology venture capital firm Tin Men Capital. The startup engineers thin-film interfaces that improve how energy, heat and electronic signals move across the components in advanced devices and packaging. Its lead product nSD-I meaningfully reduces heat while carrying more current in AI chip packaging, ultimately reducing AI inference, build, and operating costs. nanoSkunkWorkX has built its core platform, three product lines, peer-reviewed semiconductor data and first revenue with less than US$1.5 million in cumulative external pre-seed capital. The funding will move the startup into semiconductor partner qualification, scale the company’s interface-engineering process platform, advance hydrogen validation and diagnostic programmes across Asia, and support strategic hires. nanoSkunkWorkX co-founder and CEO Iqbal Shamsul said the cost of building and operating AI infrastructure can be dramatically reduced through small efficiency gains at the process step level. “For us, the opportunity lies in improving how the copper inside the packaging carries current, heat, and signals. “This round will allow us to prove to industry partners just how transformative that small step can be,” he said. As AI chip packages grow denser, their ability to carry more current and shed more heat has become increasingly critical to global compute supply. nSD-I’s interface was designed to improve both without replacing copper or the surrounding manufacturing process. o New funding will help tech startup expand chip, hydrogen and diagnostic programmes LUMPUR:

From left: Tan, Amani, and nanoSkunkWorkX co-founder and CEO Iqbal Shamsul.

“At scale, performance breaks at the boundaries between materials. Heat, charge, and signals concentrate where one material meets another, and that is where many critical losses in modern systems occur. “Our thesis is that improving a small, critical interface can unlock much larger system gains while preserving the materials, equipment and manufacturing base already around it,” said Dr Amani, who is also the chief technology officer. Tin Men Capital co-founder and managing partner Jeremy Tan said the company has spent considerable time in Malaysia’s tech ecosystem and is delighted to make its first investment in a startup like nanoSkunkWorkX. “This is a rare team that understands the physics, has built with exceptional capital efficiency, and engages customers at the senior technical level required to actually deploy. “The backing assembled across Malaysia and Singapore shows what regional capital can do for frontier technology emerging from Southeast Asia,” he said. nanoSkunkWorkX was selected for the inaugural SemiconStart Malaysia cohort, led by MTDC with Silicon Catalyst UK, to advance package qualification and access to the global semiconductor industry. The company was also a finalist in the Baker Hughes Energy Ideas Generation Program Apac in 2025.

heat across their surface more than twice as effectively as the copper baseline. Follow-up tests also found that the material retains its performance advantage after use in pre-qualification test components, presenting a promising case for reducing throttling and cooling overhead, improved compute per watt, and lower AI inference costs. In green hydrogen, nanoSkunkWorkX is improving charge transfer and reducing reliance on platinum-group metals. In diagnostics, their work is advancing through joint R&D with US Navy Namru Indopac under a paid agreement for biosensors. Co-founders Dr Amani Salim, a former Nasa principal investigator, and Iqbal Shamsul, an MIT-trained computer scientist and former Morgan Stanley commodities vice president, returned to Malaysia to build the company on the conviction that the country’s materials base, manufacturing depth, and sovereign appetite for deep tech could support genuine frontier hardware work. Malaysia handles around 13% of the world’s chip assembly, testing, and packaging and ranks as the sixth-largest semiconductor exporter. Through its Dana Impak mandate, Khazanah Nasional Bhd has made an initial RM1 billion allocation for strategic investments, including in AI and semiconductor technologies.

Tan said the partnership strengthens OGX’s role as an IT solutions provider while creating more opportunities to serve its existing customers. D&O Technologies targets RM1b FY26 revenue, eyes FY27 growth Peer-reviewed work has shown that nSWX’s graphene-copper films can move

KUALA LUMPUR: D&O Green Technologies Bhd is targeting revenue of about RM1 billion for FY26, although growth in FY27 is expected to be modest at around 2% year-on year, according to Public Investment Bank Bhd (PublicInvest). Despite the softer revenue outlook, sales volume is projected to rise to 4.97 billion from 4.85 billion, reflecting a shift in product mix and a larger contribution from newer LED products. PublicInvest said automotive LED sales have improved from about RM65 million a month in the first half of 2026 to between RM72 million and RM75 million currently. Sales reached RM85 million in July, suggesting automotive demand may be gaining momentum.

The research house remains constructive on D&O Green’s prospects, supported by rising Smart LED penetration, exposure to high volume EV platforms and increasing LED content per vehicle. However, inventory-related provisions and legacy issues are expected to continue weighing on earnings in the near term, with these matters likely to be resolved by the second quarter of FY27. Still, ongoing cost optimisation and improving automotive LED sales should support a gradual recovery in profitability. PublicInvest maintained its Outperform call on D&O Green, with an unchanged target price of 48 sen, based on 18 times FY27 earnings per share.

expected between the second and third quarters of that year. The in-house chip could reduce supplier dependence and lower costs over time. The group also intends to monetise the patent through royalty income. PublicInvest expects Smart LED products to account for about 18% to 19% of FY26 sales, up from around 15% previously. Meanwhile, D&O Green’s design ins increased 10% quarter-on-quarter, while design wins rose 5%, pointing to healthy customer engagement and a growing pipeline of future programmes. PublicInvest said these developments could support revenue growth when the broader automotive cycle recovers.

Conventional displays typically use about 60 to 80 LEDs, compared with around 1,000 LEDs required for newer full-width automotive displays. This could help support revenue growth even if global vehicle production remains subdued. D&O Green also continues to hold a dominant position in the global Smart LED market, with the group estimating its share at about 75% to 78%. Demand is currently driven by BMW, South Korean customers and selected Chinese automotive players. To reduce concerns over reliance on a single chip supplier, D&O Green is developing its own chip. Commercialisation is targeted for Q4’27, following production trials small

Production is also expected to be seasonally stronger in the fourth quarter of 2026. A key growth driver is demand for D&O Green’s Smart LED products, particularly for BMW’s Neue Klasse platform and its new iX3 model. The group said orders for the platform are on track to reach 100,000 units, while European battery electric vehicle deliveries rose 38% year on year in Q2’26. D&O Green’s RCL/Spiceplus 2520 business is also exposed to high volume electric vehicle models, including Xiaomi’s SU7 and YU7, as well as the AITO M9. PublicInvest said the structural rise in LED content per vehicle remains an important long-term growth driver for the company.