Avnet's Latest Research: Asian and Pacific Engineers Embrace AI Proactively, Seizing Opportunities Steadily and Navigating Challenges Confidently

China leads large-scale AI integration, driving an innovation wave across the entire Asia-Pacific region.

February 3, 2026, Shanghai, China — According to the fifth annual Avnet Insights report released by Avnet (NASDAQ: AVT), artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being integrated into the design of various products and solutions across the Asia-Pacific region. While engineers actively drive the implementation of AI applications, they also effectively address the challenges that arise. This study has consistently focused on how global engineers integrate AI technology in response to market changes.

Anfuli Insight: The Realistic Landscape of Artificial Intelligence

From a global perspective, engineers remain optimistic overall, with 77% of respondents indicating that the design environment for their products and solutions is improving. In the Asia Pacific region, the implementation process of AI applications is accelerating, and the differences in processes across regions reflect the different priorities of local markets for AI development. Among them, China is in a leading position in the large-scale deployment of AI, while Japan adopts a more cautious strategy, focusing on system reliability, product quality, and longer product lifecycle.

To gain a deeper understanding of the above trends, you can download the latest Avnet Insights white paper "The Reality of Artificial Intelligence" for a complete research analysis.

AI is accelerating its popularization and application in various regions

More than half (56%) of engineers worldwide indicate that their companies have started delivering products integrated with AI technology to customers, an increase of 33% compared to last year. In China, the application penetration rate of AI is significantly higher than the global average, and engineers are widely applying AI technology to multiple industries such as automotive, industrial automation, and intelligent manufacturing. Japan and other Asia Pacific markets are also steadily advancing the implementation of AI, and prioritizing the development of practical application scenarios that can improve efficiency, reliability, and sustainability.

The focus of AI applications in the Asia Pacific region is consistent with global trends, with the most popular AI applications including process automation (42%), predictive maintenance (28%), and fault and anomaly detection (28%), which are also the most common AI application functions. Meanwhile, engineers are increasingly valuing the integration and collaborative application of Edge AI and Machine Learning (ML), with 57% of respondents globally stating that both are equally important, reflecting the growing importance of multimodal AI in the Asia Pacific and global markets.

Dong Hua, President of Anfuli China, said, "The openness and forward thinking of Chinese engineers have enabled them to quickly advance AI from the concept verification stage to the large-scale deployment stage. The use of AI is now widely embedded and integrated into various products, and today's industry is facing the reshaping, innovation, and even disruption brought by AI. AI has given birth to professions that were not possible in the past, enabling applications that were previously impossible or unimaginable. With the support of AI technology, enterprises are actively providing more scalable solutions to meet the rapidly changing market demands

Regional advantages complement each other and enhance innovation capabilities in the Asia Pacific region

China leads in speed and scale, while Japan and other Asia Pacific markets bring complementary advantages. Japanese engineers pay more attention to high-quality deployment, data integrity, and product lifecycle management to ensure that AI solutions are robust and sustainable. The development paths of different regions complement each other, jointly strengthening the overall strength of the Asia Pacific region in responsible innovation and large-scale AI applications.

Locking in design and operational challenges

In the Asia Pacific region, the challenges faced by engineers are largely consistent with global trends. Research shows that data quality (46%) remains the primary consideration in the product design phase, followed by integration with existing tools (38%) and cost pressure (37%). At the operational level, the importance of continuous learning and maintenance (54%) and sustainability (43%) functions is increasingly prominent, which is closely related to the requirements of AI products in terms of power consumption and full lifecycle management.

To successfully achieve large-scale deployment of AI, a balance needs to be struck between speed and reliability. Chinese engineers are actively addressing these challenges and continuing to promote the widespread application of AI in various industries such as industry, consumer goods, healthcare, and automotive, from product design, manufacturing, to enterprise operations. Undoubtedly, Chinese engineers and enterprises have greatly consolidated China's leading position in the field of AI applications through a series of open and forward-looking measures, "Dong Hua added.

The influence of AI continues to expand

From a global perspective, engineers are constantly tapping into the full potential of AI and emerging a series of diverse emerging trends. According to research data, 'efficiency improvement' (11%) is considered the most significant impact brought by AI, followed by real-time collaboration and AI based simulation technology (both at 9%). In the Asia Pacific region, engineers are actively enhancing their technical expertise to master various skills that can strengthen AI model optimization (17%), improve data analysis (16%), and AI/ML understanding ability (14%). This trend highlights the need to strengthen talent development to support continuous innovation.

Anfuli is committed to researching the latest cutting-edge semiconductor technologies and how to achieve product development and applications that integrate with AI. In China, we have a broad customer base in various industries and have dedicated technical personnel responsible for AI related semiconductor products to support the companies we serve in developing more market leading and competitive intelligent products. We will continue to build a professional team, work closely with enterprises, and jointly transform the AI strategic vision into practical and feasible market-oriented solutions, "Dong Hua concluded.