重塑全球增长格局的六大突破性商业模式+Six+Breakthrough+Business+Models+Reshaping+Global+Growth

Mckunsey

&company

Strategy&CorporateFinancePractice

Sixbreakthroughbusiness

modelsreshapingglobal

growth

SixbusinessmodelspilotedinAsiaofferlessonsforgloballeadersinany

market—andjustmightbethekeytothenextwaveofsustainablegrowth.

bySemyonYakovlev

withJohnDavis

March2026

Asiaissteadilyreshapingtheglobaleconomiclandscape.Theregionisonaplausible

trajectorytorepresentasmuchas60percentofFortune500companieswithinthenext

decadeandisalreadyemergingastheworld’sprimaryengineoftrade.1Itslargepopulation,

advanced-manufacturingdepth,andhighlevelsofdigitaladoptionandpublic–private

collaborationcreatefertilegroundforexperimentation.ButthesestructuraladvantagesdonotfullyexplainAsia’srisingglobalinfluence.Whattrulydifferentiatestheregionistheway

companiesbuildontheseconditionstocreatenewbusinessmodels—architecturesthatunlockasymmetricgrowthand,increasingly,incorporateAIintotheirdesign.

Overthepastthreetofiveyears,sixarchetypeshaverepeatedlysurfacedintheregionacross

markets,sectors,andcompaniesofvarioussizes(Exhibit1).Thesemodels—whicharebroadly

focusedonharnessingtrust,emotionalresonance,andpersonalization,withAIasan

accelerant—representstrategicchoicesmadebyleaders,notoutcomesuniquetoAsia’scontextandenvironment.Thus,globalleadersinanymarketcanapplytheselessons.Forexample,

creator-andnetwork-drivencommercehasdrivensuccessforbothmega-corporatessuchasDouyinandindividualcreators.ThefoundationsforsuchcommerceexistinWesternmarkets,butthepotentialremainslargelyuntapped.

Thisarticleoutlinesthestructuralenvironmentthathasfosteredthesemodels,thesix

transferablebusinessmodelarchetypes(withexamplesofbreakoutsuccessesineach,andtheassociatedlearningsglobalcompaniescantakeintotheirowncontexts.Thepotentialcanhardlybeoverstated:Usingthesemodels,companiesinAsiahaveachievedCAGRsabove15percent

andrapidlydoubledtheirgrossmerchandisevalue(GMV).Thefirstglobalmediaplatform,retailer,orfinancialinstitutiontoharnessthispotentialcoulddefinethenextfrontierof

differentiation.

Asia’sfoundationsforbreakthroughbusinessmodels

Theemergenceofthesenovelbusinessmodelsisnotaccidental.Acrossmarkets,four

structuraldynamicscreatedfertilegroundfortheirdevelopment—thoughtheyarenotrequiredforapplyingthem.

Scaleandspeed

Asianmarketscombinemassiveuserbaseswithhighlevelsofdigitaladoption.Alivestreamformat,productconcept,ordigitalservicecanreachtensofmillionsofusersalmostinstantly,enablingnewpropositionstobetestedatnationalscalewithindays.

System-levelcollaboration

Public–privatedigitalinfrastructurelowersfrictionandincreasesinclusion.Forexample,India’sUnifiedPaymentsInterfaceprovidesreal-timepaymentsforhundredsofmillionsofusers.Andthecountry’sOpenNetworkforDigitalCommerce(ONDC)—agovernment-ledinitiativeto

createanopene-commercenetwork—allowseventhesmallestmerchantstoaccessnationaldemand.Similarly,China’sdigitalidentityrails,Singapore’sGovernmentTechStack,and

Indonesia’sQuickResponseCodeIndonesianStandard(QRIS)networkreducemarginalonboardingcostsandraisedigitalparticipation.

1“

CEOimperativesinAsia,snewera

,”McKinsey,February3,2025.

Sixbreakthroughbusinessmodelsreshapingglobalgrowth2

Sixbreakthroughbusinessmodelsreshapingglobalgrowth3

Exhibit1

sixbreakthroughbusinessmodelshaveshapedthegrowthofAsiancompanies.

BusinessmodelDescriptionExamplecompanieskeymetric

1

2

3

Emotion-firstproducts

Network-drivencommerce

Microsegmentsandproducers

Gearproductsto

leverageanticipation,identity,community

Harnesstrustfromcreatorsand

communities

Makeproductionhypergranularandtunetodemand

PopMartHYBE

Douyin

TikTokshop

shein

Indianmicroproducers

utilizingtheopenNetworkforDigitalcommerce

(ONDC)

$50billion

MarketcapitalizationachievedbyPopMart,makingitthelargest

companyinitspeergroup

540%

Douyin'sfive-yeargrossmerchandisevalueuplift(2020-24)

65%

shein'stwo-yearrevenueuplift(2022-24)

4

5

6

Theknowledgeeconomy

conglomerates3.0

Al-nativeconsumerplatforms

Buildtrustthroughnoncommercially

motivatedchannels

orchestrate

ecosystemswithshareddigitalrails

Deliverservices

primarilythroughAl

zerodha

Groww

ITCLimited

pingAnReliance

zuoyebangyuanfudao

42%

IndianstockbrokingcombinedmarketshareforzerodhaandGroww

66%

Reliance'ssix-yearrevenueuplift(2018-24)

120%

yuanfudao'syear-over-year

devicesalesgrowthinthird-tiercities

source:MukulManchanda,"Growwwidensleadoverzerodhainoctdespitemarketslowdown,"Entrackr,Nov11,2025ffyuanfudao,"sacra,accessedFeb4,2026;JiaxingLiandcaseyHall,"PopMartseesrevenuehittingover$4blnthisyear,tolaunchminiLabubus,"Reuters,Aug20,2025;JuliennaLaw,"could

DouyingiveTmall,JDarunfortheirmoney?,"JingDaily,June24,2021;"Douyinhit$490bGMVin2024,30%higherthanpreviousyear,"TechinAsia,Feb14,2025;Davidcurry,"sheinrevenueandusagestatistics(2026),"BusinessofAPPs,Jan7,2026;"sheinrevenueandusagestats,"Backlinko,Jan16,2026;

MckinseyvalueIntelligence

Mckinsey&company

Sixbreakthroughbusinessmodelsreshapingglobalgrowth4

Depthofdigitalservices

Super-appecosystems—whichhosthundredsoreventhousandsofminiapps—embed

payments,identity,logistics,messaging,andcreditintoasingleinterface.Thislowersthecostofaddingnewservicesandfundamentallychangeshowusersinteractwithmedia,services,

frauddetection,underwriting,fulfillment,products,andmore.

Regulationascatalyst

RegulatorsinseveralAsianmarketsencouragedigitalizationwhileestablishingclearrailsfor

datauseandidentitysecurity.Thishasenabledfastandresponsiblescalingofdigitalservices,withexamplesrangingfromfinancialinclusiontohealthcaretriageandlogistics.

Sixbreakthroughbusinessmodels

Acrossmarketsandsectors,sixarchetypeshavehelpedspurgrowthforAsiancompaniesofvarioussizes,resultinginCAGRsthatfaroutpacetheunderlyingmarket(Exhibit2).

Emotion-firstproducts:Turningaffinityintorecurringdemand

Emotion-firstproductsareengineeredfrominceptiontocreateanticipation,identity,and

community.Ratherthantreatingemotionasabrand-buildingby-product,thesecompaniestreatitasacoreeconomicdriver.

AcrossAsia,companieshaveindustrializedthemechanicsofemotionalengagement:scarcity,

drops,fanrituals,collectionloops,livecocreation,andrichnarrativesfortheirintellectual

property(IP).PopMartisaleadingexample.Itsblind-boxcollectibles—especiallytheMonstersline,whichfeaturestheplushLabubutoys—successfullytranslateanticipationintocommercialsuccess.Inthefirsthalfof2025,PopMartgenerated$1.9billioninrevenue,withitsMonsters

IPaccountingformorethanathirdofthat.2Asaresult,thecompanygrewtobecomethelargestcompanyinitspeergrouponthebackofa180percenttrailing12-monthrevenueCAGR.3

TheK-popecosystemillustratesasimilarlogic.HYBE,anagencybestknownforrepresentingboybandBTS,surpassed$1.6billioninrevenuein2023bybuildingcommunitiesthatspan

offlineconcerts,digitalcontent,livestreams,andfan-to-artistinteractionsonWeverse.4Fans

participateinrituals,cocreatecontent,andexperienceasenseofbelongingthatleadstohighlypredictablerecurringspendingacrossmerchandise,albums,digitalitems,andtickets.

Forglobalcompanies,theimplicationisclear:Emotionalengagementcanbedesigned,

measured,andmonetizedatscale.Dataonuser-generatedcontentvelocityorcommunitysentimentcancomplementtraditionalbrandmetrics,andthisIPcanbecomeamultiproductgrowthengineratherthanamarketingasset.

Network-drivencommerce:Scalingtrustthroughcreatorsandculture

Thesecondarchetypeturnstrust—particularlytrustincreatorsandcommunities—intoaprimarydistributionchannel.InAsia,thismodelhasevolvedfarbeyondinfluencermarketingtobecome

2JiaxingLiandCaseyHall,“PopMartseesrevenuehittingover$4blnthisyear,tolaunchminiLabubus,”Reuters,August20,2025.

3“PopMartInternationalGroup(POPMF)RevenueTTMCAGR:177.89%(TTM),”FinanceCharts,accessedFebruary4,2026.

4LeeJae-Lim,“HYBEpostsrecordrevenueof2.18trillionwonwithhugeyearforstars,”February26,2024.

Exhibit2

Sixbreakthroughbusinessmodelsreshapingglobalgrowth5

NewbusinessmodelshaveallowedcompaniestoachieveCAGRsupto52percentagepointsabovetheunderlyingmarket.

BreakoutAsianbusinessgrowthcomparedtounderlyingmarket,approximateCAGR,%

BreakoutAsianbusiness

underlyingmarket

2

3

4

5

6

Network-drivencommerce12023yearoveryear

Microsegmentsandproducers22021-24

Theknowledgeeconomy2022-24

conglomerates3.02020-24

Al-nativeconsumerplatforms3

51

10

50

12

HYBE

koreanmedia

ByteDance

chinae-commerce

14

34

shein

Globalfastfashion

65

13

Groww

Indiastockbroking

5

N/A

RelianceIndiaGDP

'ByteDancedoesnotpubliclyreportfinancials;growthrateisestimatedbasedonreportsofByteDanceGrouprevenue,notisolatingDouyin.2sheindoesnotpubliclyreportfinancials;revenueestimatedbasedonreportsfromDaxueconsulting,Forbes,andReuters.

3Noadequatedatagiventhenewnatureoftheplatforms,andinsufficientpublicdataforcomparableorganizationsandindustries.source:MckinseyvalueIntelligence

Mckinsey&company

acompleteretailsystemwhereconsumershaveembracedshoppingwithinchat,livestreams,andshortvideotonormalizecreator-ledcommerce.

LivestreamcommerceinChinaillustratesthepotentialopportunity.Douyin’se-commerceGMVgrewapproximatelysevenfoldinfiveyears,fromanestimated$75billionin2020to$490

billionin2024,withconversionratesandaverageordervaluesthatoftenexceededtraditional

productpages.5SoutheastAsiamirrorsthistrend:TikTokShop’sregionalGMVgrewnearly

fourfoldinayear,from$4.4billionin2022toapproximately$16.3billionin2023.6Livestream

hostssellinlocaldialects,embedculturalcontext,answerquestionsinrealtime,and

demonstrateproductexpertise—developingapersonaltouchbeyondwhatinfomercialchannels

5JuliennaLaw,“CouldDouyingiveTmall,JDarunfortheirmoney?,”JingDaily,June24,2021;“Douyinhit$490bGMVin2024,30%higherthanpreviousyear,”TechinAsia,February14,2025.

6LauraDobberstein,“TikTok’sAsiane-commercehaulquadrupledinasingleyear,”TheRegister,July17,2024.

Sixbreakthroughbusinessmodelsreshapingglobalgrowth6

inpreviousdecadescouldhaveachieved.Thiscreatesanenvironmentthatfeelsmorelikecommunitysupportthanadvertising.

Inthesemarkets,starhostscancreateoutsizereturns.Onthefirstdayofthe2023Singles’Dayshoppingfestival(anunofficialChineseholidayforpeoplenotinarelationship,observed

annuallyinNovember),LiJiaqi,aChineseinfluencer,droveanestimated9.5billionrenminbi($1.3billion)inGMVinasingleday7—morethan13percentoftotalonlineBlackFridaysalesintheUnitedStatesforthesameyear.8

Forgloballeaders,thelessonisnottoreplicateAsia’screatorsbuttoreplicatetheirtrust

architecture:transparentclaims,liveQ&A,localculturalcues,fulfillmentclarity,andauthenticity.SpecificaspectsoftheAsianmodelcouldalsobeadopted—forexample,shiftingbudgetfrom

upper-funnelsponsorshipstoconversion-linkedonesandusingSKU-levelcontributionmargins(post-returns)forhostcommissionsandeventcalendars.

Microsegmentsandmicroproducers:Personalizationatindustrialscale

Themicroproductionarchetypeisaboutmatchingsupplywithdemandatanextremepace.

CompaniesacrossAsiacandeliverpersonalizedorsmall-batchproductsatunitcostspreviouslyassociatedwithmassproduction.

Sheinexemplifiesthismodel.Thecompany’srevenuehasbeenincreasingatapproximately29percentperannumbetween2022and2024—roughly$23billionin2022,$32billionin2023,and$38billionin2024—whileremainingprofitable.9Sheinhasaproductionmodelthatenablesittotestnewdesignsinbatchesof100to200units,versus300to500fortraditionalfast

fashionbrands,suchasZara.10Asaresult,thecompanycanquicklyreorderitemsthatperformwell,anddesignscanmovefromconcepttoproductioninasfewasfivedays.11Sheinlists2,000to10,000newSKUsperday,offeringupto1.3millionnewstylesannuallywhileminimizing

unsoldinventory—comparedtoH&MandZara,whichdeliveranestimated20,000to25,000stylesannually.12

India’sONDCdemonstrateshowdigitalinfrastructureenablesmicroproducerstoscale

nationally.Thecompany’smonthlytransactionsincreasedthreefoldwithinayearofitslaunch,risingfromaboutfivemillionin2022to15millionin2023.13Withmorethan700,000sellers,ONDCshowshowlocalartisans,homebusinesses,andsmallretailerscanaccessnational

demandthroughsharedidentity,payments,andlogisticsrails.14

CompaniesoutsideAsiacanadoptthismindsetbymodernizingsupplychainsaroundsmall-

batchexperimentation,payingparticularattentiontonicheswherepersonalizationcangenerateincrementaldemandandmargin.

7TianruiHuang,“LivestreamerLiJiaqidoes25billioninsinglesdaysales,sparkingnationwidedebate,”RADII,November15,2023.

8InaSteiner,“BlackFridayonlinesalesup7.5percentperAdobeAnalytics,”EcommerceBytes,November25,2023.

9DavidCurry,“Sheinrevenueandusagestatistics(2026),”BusinessofApps,January7,2026;“Sheinrevenueandusagestats,”Backlinko,January16,2026.

10“Ouron-demandbusinessmodel,”Shein,accessedFebruary4,2026;LindaCalabreseandJiayingTu,“TheChinesedigitalplatformsreshapinggarmentmanufacturing,”ODIGlobal,January7,2025.

11“TimetoSHEIN,”CKGSBKnowledge,December17,2021.

12TomChapman,“SHEINandfastfashion’ssupplychainproblem,”SupplyChainDigital,January14,2025;“ThecostofShein’sfastfashiondisruption,”AlJazeera,November25,2022.

13“WhyPMModicallsONDCagame-changerforentrepreneurship,”TICE,January2,2025.

14“WhyPMModicallsONDCagame-changerforentrepreneurship,”TICE,January2,2025.

Sixbreakthroughbusinessmodelsreshapingglobalgrowth7

Theknowledgeeconomy:Usingeducationtobuildtrustandreducecustomer-acquisitioncosts

InAsia,somecompaniestreateducationnotascorporatesocialresponsibilityormarketingbutasagenuinepointofdifferencetobolstertheacquisitionchanneltowardtheircoreproduct

offerings.Theyusefree,high-qualityknowledgetobuildtrust,reducecustomer-acquisitioncosts,anddeepenengagement.

ConsiderZerodha,whichbecameIndia’slargeststockbrokerin2019,justtenyearsafterit

launched.15Thecompanyhasaccruedmorethan16milliontotalcustomerstodate,16including

sevenmillionactiveusers.17ThecompanybuiltitsgrowthengineonVarsity,acomprehensive,

free,ad-freeeducationalplatformcoveringmarketsandinvesting.Bytappingintothetrendof

self-educationandmakinganaturallinktothecompany’sbrokingplatform,Zerodhawasabletocapturealargeportionofhigh-valuecustomerswhowerealreadyinterestedinpersonalfinanceandinvesting.

In2024,GrowwovertookZerodhaasmarketleaderforactiveretailclients,withmorethan12millionusers(approximately27percentshare).18LikeZerodha,Growwreliesoneducationandtransparenttools,withpublicfilingsindicatingthatroughly80percentofcustomersfindthecompanyorganically19andthatcustomer-acquisitioncostsrepresentonly12to13percentofrevenue—comparedwith20to23percentforcompetitorAngelOne.20

InSouthKorea,Tossusesfreefinancialtools—suchascreditmonitoring,budgeting,andinvestmenteducation—tobuildtrustbeforemonetizingthroughfinancialproducts.

Thistrendisnotjustforfinancecompanies.Forexample,theIndia-basedconglomerateITC

Limitedconnectswithfarmersdirectly,bypassingtraditionalchannelssuchasthird-party

brokers,throughitse-Choupalinitiative.Formorethan20years,e-Choupalhaspublisheddailypricestomaintaintransparencyacrossagriculturalcommoditiesandsharedusefulagronomy

adviceandbestpracticesviatheinternet.Withanetworkacross35,000villagesinIndia,e-

Choupalcurrentlyservesfourmillioncustomers.21Thecompanyhasalsolaunchedaflagship

extensionprogram,ChoupalPradarshanKhet,whichdemonstratesthelatestfarming

technologytohelpfarmersenhanceproductivity.The34,000farmerswhoadoptedthe

recommendedpracticessawtheirincomesdouble.22Thee-Choupalinitiativeisasignificant

factorinthecontinuedsuccessofITC,whichisoneofthe20largestcompaniesinIndiaby

marketcapitalization,23andhasbeenacanonicalexampleofhowtouseknowledgeandmarketaccesstoimprovefarmeroutcomesandprocurementeconomics.

Theimplicationforglobalmarketsisthateducationisemergingasadifferentiatedacquisitionchannel,particularlyintrust-sensitivesectorssuchasfinance,utilities,healthcare,and

insurance.Companiescantreateducationasastrategicgrowthassetandmonetizeadjacentservices,ratherthancontentitself.

15“Zerodhacasestudy2025:SuccessstorybehindIndia’slargeststockbroker,”DevEngine,accessedFebruary4,2026.

16NikitaVashisht,“ReachedRs6-trnAUMwithoutads:NithinKamathon16mnZerodhaclients,”BusinessStandard,January21,2025.

17MukulManchanda,“GrowwretainsleadinstockbrokingamidfallinguserbaseinSeptember,”Entrackr,October13,2025.

18MukulManchanda,“GrowwwidensleadoverZerodhainOctdespitemarketslowdown,”Entrackr,November11,2025.

19SparshBansal,“Growwsettosurge19%?MotilalOswalreveals3reasonswhyitisa‘Buy’now,”TheFinancialExpress,January7,2026.

20TanmayTiwary,“Top3factorspoweringGroww’sdominanceinretailbroking;findouthere,”BusinessStandard,October29,2025.

21ImranSkandAnmolGiri,“E-Choupal:Anoverview,”JustAgriculturee-newsletter,Volume5,Number7,March2025.

22“e-ChoupalinitiativebyITC,”NITIAayog,2020.

23“LargestIndiancompaniesbymarketcapitalization,”CompaniesM,accessedFebruary4,2026.

Sixbreakthroughbusinessmodelsreshapingglobalgrowth8

Conglomerates3.0:Ecosystemsconnectedbyshareddigitalinfrastructure

Next-generationconglomeratesareecosystem-basedorganizationsthatmovebeyondpoolingcapital,commonbrands,andsharedmanagementexpertise.Conglomerates3.0integrate

multipleverticalsthroughshareddigitalassetssuchasidentity,payments,data,andloyaltytocreateagenuineincentiveforcustomerstochoosetheirproductsovercompetitorswith

singularoroutdatedofferings.

PingAnexemplifiesthismodelbymakingcross-sellingasystemicpartofhowitdoesbusiness.Thecompanytracksandreportscustomercontractswithinitsecosystem,whichspansfinancialservices,healthcare,autoservices,andsmart-citysolutions,allintegratedthroughaunified

identityanddataplatform.Aquarterofretailcustomersholdfourormorecontracts.PingAn

hasalsomadeaclearefforttoinvestintechnologicalinnovation;thecumulativenumberof

patentapplicationswasabout55,000by2024,reflectinga10percentincreaseyearoveryearforatleastthepasttwoyears.24ManyoftheseapplicationsareinAIanddigitalcapabilities,

allowingthegrouptocreateasysteminwhichcustomersmoveseamlesslybetweenservices,witheachinteractionenrichingthedatasetthatpowerspersonalizedrecommendations,risk

assessments,andserviceautomation.Thishasresultedinbothanincreaseinthenumberof

customers(242millionasoftheendof2024,up11percentsince202025)andstrongretention(about72percentofcustomershavebeenwithPingAnforfiveormoreyears,andtheyear-to-yearretentionrateisabout95percent26).

AnotherexampleisRelianceinIndia,whichhasbuiltamultifacetedecosystemacross

telecommunications,content,commerce,payments,andofflineretail.Itsdigitalassetsenablecross-verticalbundlingandpersonalizedloyalty.Reliancenearlydoubleditsannualrevenuesoverthepasteightyearstomorethan$100billion,becomingoneofthelargestcompaniesintheworld.27Similarly,Thailand’sCPGroupusessharedlogistics,data,andloyaltynetworkstoscaleservicesacrossagri-food,retail,andadjacentcategories.

ForleadersoutsideAsia,thelessonistounderstandwhensharedcustomersacrossdifferent

partsofthebusinessprovideshareddigitalassetssuchasdata,attention,andaccess—notjusttraditionalphysicalsharedassets.Theseassetscanthenbeusedtofurtherimproveexperiencewhileallowingforcross-sellingintootherpartsofthebusiness.

AI-nativeconsumerplatforms:Servicesbuiltwithouthumanlaborconstraints

Acrosseducation,entertainment,commerce,andcustomerservice,AsiaisleadingtheshifttoAI-nativeconsumerplatforms—servicesdeliveredprimarilyorentirelybyAIratherthanby

humanlabor(seesidebar,“AIasanaccelerantandenabler”).

AItutorsaremainstreaminmarketssuchasChina,India,andSouthKorea.PlatformssuchasTencentEducation,Yuanfudao,andZuoyebangoffermillionsofpersonalizedpracticesessionsdaily,withZuoyebangalonereportingmorethan170millionmonthlyactiveusers.28Yuanfudao—valuedatmorethan$15billionin202029—iscontinuingtoexpand,growingdevicesalesby

120percentyearoveryearinthird-tiercities.30Thesesystemsadjustdifficulty,

24PingAnsustainabilityreport2024,PingAn,2025.

252020annualreport,PingAn,2021;“PingAnreportsstablegrowthinoperatingprofitattributabletoshareholdersoftheparentcompanyin2024,netprofitattributabletoshareholdersoftheparentcompanysurges47.8%YoY,”PingAn,March19,2025.

26“Annualresults,”PingAn,March20,2025.

27McKinseyValueIntelligence.

28ManishSingh,“ChineseonlinelearningappZuoyebangraises$750M,”TechCrunch,June29,2020.

29NatashaMascarenhas,“ChineselivetutoringappYuanfudaoisnowworth$15.5billion,”TechCrunch,October22,2020.

30“Yuanfudao,”Sacra,accessedFebruary4,2026.

Sixbreakthroughbusinessmodelsreshapingglobalgrowth9

AIasanaccelerantandenabler

BeyondtheAI-nativeplatformsdescribedinthesixtharchetype,AIcanbeacross-cutting

accelerantandenabler.Forexample,inemotion-firstproducts,toolsthatgeneratetextandimagescancompresscreativecyclesbyprototypinganditeratingcharacterdesigns,narratives,and

campaignsmorequicklythanhumanscan.Inmicrosegmentsandmicroproduction,AIpattern

recognitionanddataprocessingtoolscansenseemergingmicrotrendsbasedonchangesin

customerdemandandinterest,generatingdesignvariationsandforecastingdemandinrealtime.AItransformspersonalizationatscalefromcostprohibitivetopotentiallyubiquitous.

AItoolsinthesebreakoutmodelscanalsoenableacapabilityorofferingthatwaspreviously

impossible.Foremotion-firstproductsandnetwork-drivencommerce,companiescanharness

personalizedfandomthroughAI“companions”andindividualizedengagement.Brandsare

experimentingwiththeseofferingstoemulatethevoiceandstyleofartists,characters,orinfluencerswhilegeneratingbespokecontentandmaintainingcontinuityacrossfaninteractions.

WhilegloballeaderscanuseAItoacceleratetheapplicationofthesemodelstotheirbusinesses,thetruedifferentiatormightbeinharnessingAIforacompletelynewmodelthatwasnotpossiblewith

traditionaltoolsandlabor.

explanationstyle,andcontentbasedonstudentbehavior,approximatingone-to-onetutoringatnear-zeromarginalcost.

Anotherformofnative-AIserviceshasalsogainedtraction.“Virtualhumans”—AI-generated

digitalentertainersthatlookandactlikehumancelebrities—arebecomingincreasinglypopular.China’sA-SOULandSouthKorea’sMAVEattractmillionsoffollowersandproduceabundant

contentthatcanbemonetizedthroughmerchandise,concerts,andcollaborations.31OnDouyinandXiaohongshu,AIinfluencersdrivemeaningfulGMVthroughshortvideos.AI-generated

hosts,suchasAlibabaCloud’sDigitalHuman,canmaintainconsistentpersonasandadapt

scriptsbasedonaudiencesentiment.AIconciergesembeddedinlivestreamscananswer

productquestionsinstantly,recommendbundles,andprovidesizingorusageadvice;algorithmscansequenceproductshowcasesbasedonreal-timeengagement,andpersonalizedfollow-upsreplicatethetoneandstyleofeachviewer’spreferredhost.Forbrands,thisapproachenablesnuancedmessagecontrol,unlimitedoutput,andnoreputationalriskfromhumanbehavior.Buttheapproachcanalsocreatedistanceandalienateconsumers,sobrandsneedtofindtherightbalancebetweenAIandhumaninteraction.

Theeconomicsofthisarchetypearepowerful.Foranear-zeromarginalcost,businessesgetinfinitescalabilityandtheabilitytopersonalizeforeveryuser.Forglobalcompanies,AI-native

31DengZhangyu,“Virtuallyreal,”ChinaDaily,November17,2021.

Sixbreakthroughbusinessmodelsreshapingglobalgrowth10

frontlineservices—whethertutors,advisers,stylists,representatives,orinfluencers—couldrapidlybecomeacompetitivenecessity.Asianfirmsareensuringtheyhavethecompute

requiredtosupportthiswaveofAIusebybeingattheforefrontofbuilding,planning,andfundingdatacenters.

Lessonsforcompaniesintherestoftheworld

WhilethesearchetypesevolvedinAsia,theirmanysuccessstoriessuggestthattheyare

transferable.LeadersinotherpartsoftheworldcandrawfivelessonsfromAsia’ssuccesses.

Customer:Buildtrustthroughcreators,community,andeducation

Customersrespondtoauthenticvoices;culturalfluencyandtransparencyinthesaleschannelcanhelpcompaniesscalefarmoreeffectivelythanreach-basedmarketingapproaches.Andincategorieswherecustomershavemuchlessinformationthanproviders—suchasfinance,

healthcare,andenergy—free,high-qualityeducationalcontentcandriveacquisitionandloyaltymoreeffectively