KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 12): Hartamodal, the venture capital arm of boutique asset management firm Tradeview Capital, announced its strategic investment in NEUON AI Sdn Bhd, a Sarawak-based artificial intelligence (AI) solutions company that has successfully commercialised advanced AI technology across multiple high impact sectors.

According to its press release, the company was founded by three Sarawakian technologists with academic credentials in AI research, namely Dr Chai Kok Chin, Marcus Chai Koh Kiong and Dr Chang Yang Loong.

The company’s flagship AI model, ROADPLUS, which is a computer vision-powered road asset management platform, won the “Best Commercialisation Project” award at the MYHackathon 2020 Graduation Day, organised by Cradle Fund under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) and has recently received international recognition through the World Summit Award 2025 for digital innovation excellence.

ROADPLUS is now actively deployed by government agencies, including Jabatan Kerja Raya Sarawak (JKRS).

NEUON AI has signed a memorandum of understanding with Shenzhen Stock Exchange-listed Runjian Co Ltd, a leading provider of digital intelligent operation and maintenance services in China, to explore automated harvesting technology for black pepper crops and navigation satellite system in oil palm plantation.

As a graduate of the Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation’s (SDEC) Digital Village Accelerator (DiVA) programme with seed grant support, the company has also achieved proven deployments with major government agencies, including Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) and Institute Sukan Negara (ISN).

“KC (Kok Chin) and the team excel at translating high sophisticated academic AI research into real world, high impact solutions for the everyday economy at scale. Their proprietary technology applications in road asset management, forestry preservation and sports science clearly demonstrate this capability. Credit must be given to our industry adviser, associate professor Dr Miko Chang, the head of
school for ICT in Swinburne University Sarawak, for the investment in this enterprising startup,” said Tan Cheng Wen, executive director of Hartamodal.

“Securing institutional venture capital backing from Hartamodal represents a pivotal milestone in NEUON AI’s growth trajectory. By partnering with Hartamodal, whose expertise and long-term fundamental investment approach align closely with our mission, we are  accelerating the delivery of home-grown, world-class AI solutions that will redefine Malaysia’s most critical sectors,” said Kok Chin, co-founder and CEO of NEUON AI.

The investment in NEUON AI is made under Hartamodal’s maiden fund, the RM70 million Dana Impian. To date, the firm has deployed RM15 million investments across three technology start-ups.

One of the fund’s key objectives is to accelerate the commercialisation and nationwide adoption of AI industrial solutions, supporting the deployment of advanced technologies across critical sectors and driving broader adoption of practical, industry-ready innovations.

This investment follows its backing of healthcare platform Connect & Heal back in June last year, underscoring Hartamodal’s commitment to supporting Malaysian founders who aim to digitalise the country’s economy and improve living conditions for Malaysians through sustainable innovation and technology-driven solutions.