The rise of Cyberjaya as a global tech hub
26 Mar 2023
Cyberview Sdn Bhd is considered a pioneer tech hub developer in Malaysia. Since its humble beginnings as a landowner in Cyberjaya in 1996, the company has had a vision to drive the development of a global tech hub in Malaysia. This has kept the team focused over the years to support the country’s economic prosperity and promote sustainable living through technology and innovation.
For a decade, Cyberview established the basic infrastructure in Cyberjaya to enhance its attractiveness and increase the community’s quality of life. Then, it took on a more active role as a facilitator of selling and leasing of land, construction of buildings and supporting government-certified information and communications technology (ICT) companies via the development of Cyberjaya.
In 2011, it took on greater responsibilities as the smart city manager driving the growth of Cyberjaya as a premier ICT hub in the country. Then in 2015, the company became a technology hub enabler with the commitment to further strengthen the position of Cyberjaya from being the nucleus of a Malaysian digital hub to becoming a global technology hub.
Through this role, Cyberview had the responsibility to ensure that a potent and holistic technology ecosystem, which forms the foundation for the global technology hub, was put in place. Given its outstanding performance and contribution, the company was mandated by the government to spearhead the development of Cyberjaya.
Today, Cyberjaya has flourished as a thriving global tech hub that is fully equipped with infrastructure, resources, knowledge workers and many other key ingredients necessary to create an attractive and viable tech ecosystem for companies of various levels of maturity to build on. Based on the growth of the smart city, Cyberview has made a name for itself as the leading technology hub developer in the country.
Cyberjaya is now a highly sought-after address for established tech names and ambitious start-ups both locally and from abroad, thanks to the smart-city initiatives ticking all the boxes for a conducive tech platform that stimulates ideas and fosters growth.
Besides being the capital of Malaysia’s largest tech community with 140,000 residents, 400 start-ups, 40 government offices and government-linked companies, 400 Malaysia Digital Companies and 900 other business entities, Cyberjaya is also a vibrant and liveable city. It comes with excellent amenities, facilities and transport networks that enable businesses and residents to easily access resources and services. This has led to the growth of many tech-driven companies in the area, making it a hub for innovation and smart living.
Cyberjaya’s new master plan
To further strengthen its position as a global tech hub, Cyberjaya is divided into four zones — North, South, West and Downtown. Each zone has its unique characteristics that complement each other and work in harmony towards the singular aim of turning Cyberjaya into a world-class tech hub.
West Cyberjaya is the centre for industry-academia collaboration to produce skilled talent for South Cyberjaya, which requires high-value and skilled human resources for R&D and innovation projects.
South Cyberjaya is the district for innovation, where the focus is on smart mobility, smart healthcare and digital creative. The solutions are commercialised and deployed in North and Downtown Cyberjaya when they have been fully developed.
North Cyberjaya is dedicated to being a global business district, the centre for smart city solution manifestation in a sustainable and advanced city, while Downtown Cyberjaya will be the centre for the adoption of technology for commercial activities and its integration into community lifestyles.
It is worth highlighting that the three revolutionary clusters of South Cyberjaya — smart mobility, smart healthcare and digital creative — are making significant progress and contributing to the next development phase of Cyberjaya as a global tech hub in Malaysia.
The smart mobility cluster leverages digital technologies as a testbed for the creation of mobility solutions that will be scaled nationally. For example, the implementation of Malaysia Autonomous Vehicle (MyAV) Phase 1 led by Futurise Sdn Bhd kicked off its test route in Cyberjaya in November 2020. The total trial distance of MyAV Phase 1 was 901km as at July 2022. The expansion of MyAV Phase 2 is expected to be operational by 3Q2023.
There is also the first drone testing zone in Malaysia, which was approved by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia, in South Cyberjaya. There has been more than 1,500 flight hours for drone testing so far and more than 1,200 remote pilots have been professionally trained in this zone.
The digital creative cluster will be a leading one-stop centre for creating successful products and services in the digital domain, such as Upin & Ipin by Les’ Copaque. It was the first fully produced Malaysian animated series that Disney Channel Asia picked up. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed by Cyberview and Les’ Copaque to allow the former to assess the development of the Upin & Ipin interactive theme park in Cyberjaya.
As for the smart healthcare cluster, it will be a hub for the creation of new and innovative healthcare solutions such as medical robotics, healthcare analytics, tele-health and smart hotel management as well as preventive devices and platforms that address the needs of Malaysians. An example of this cluster’s progress is the completion of Hospital Cyberjaya in November 2022.
Cyberview is actively seeking partners for its smart healthcare development to accelerate innovation along the healthcare supply chain, particularly in diagnosis, healthcare services and emerging trends in preventive and habilitative care.
The new multifaceted master plan of Cyberjaya has been designed to provide dynamic synergies between companies from various industries and entire value chains through five key elements — Facilities, Community, Activities, Experience and Incentives. With the new master plan in place, the smart city is expected to contribute RM250 billion in gross domestic product, create 87,000 jobs for the Malaysian economy and attract 1,200 companies by 2045.
Cyberview is committed to creating a sustainable and high-value comprehensive business launch pad and is strengthening Cyberjaya’s position as a global technology hub. With excellent infrastructure to support growth across all areas, a ready talent pool, attractive incentives and a supportive and involved community, Cyberjaya is the perfect home for global tech powerhouses and promising start-ups.
Source: The Edge Markets
