KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 5): Embattled Zetrix AI Bhd (KL:ZETRIX) has launched a digital identity service for artificial intelligence (AI) agents in partnership with China's Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), as it seeks to commercialise its AI-related investments following RM3.7 billion in development spending.
In a statement on Thursday, Zetrix AI said the know-your-agent (KYA) service introduces a framework that gives AI agents verifiable digital identities linked to individuals or organisations, allowing businesses, governments and digital service providers to verify who an agent represents and what activities it is authorised to perform.
The service also allows owners to set specific permissions, including access to services and information, transaction limits and spending authority, while keeping records of the agents' activities for accountability.
“AI is entering a new era where intelligent agents will increasingly make decisions, interact with businesses and execute transactions independently. Greater autonomy must come with greater accountability.
“The question is no longer just what AI can do, but who is responsible for what it does. Through Zetrix AI’s KYA service, we are working towards a future where every AI agent can be identified, every permission can be verified and every action can be traced to an accountable owner. This is fundamental to building the confidence needed for AI to operate at scale across businesses, governments and borders," Zetrix AI group managing director Wong Thean Soon, or better known as TS Wong, said in the statement that was also filed with Bursa Malaysia.
The launch comes after Wong told The Edge that Zetrix AI had incurred RM3.7 billion in development costs for its blockchain and AI-related products, with more than half spent over the past 18 months. The company spent RM900 million on development in the first half of this year alone.
Wong previously said most of the development spending went to laboratories in China involved in training personal AI agents, describing the process as costly.
The KYA service is built on the World Wide Web Consortium's Verifiable Credentials framework and incorporates AvatarLabs' Agentic Wallet technology to manage digital credentials and verify delegated permissions.
Zetrix AI and CAICT are also planning a cross-border pilot involving organisations from China, Asean, the Middle East and Africa to test whether AI agent identities and authorisations can be recognised across different jurisdictions.
According to the statement, they also plan to submit findings from their cross-border pilot to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to support the development of international standards for AI identity verification, permissions and accountability.
The launch announcement comes as Zetrix AI grapples with mounting financial and legal challenges following a sharp decline in its share price and the forced sale of shares pledged by Wong.
As at Oct 21, Wong's shareholding in the company had fallen to 1.84%, from nearly 30% in August. The selldown triggered a breach of a covenant under the group's RM2 billion sukuk wakalah programme, which requires Wong to remain its single largest shareholder. Zetrix AI said it does not have to immediately repay the RM2.16 billion sukuk and has kept up with all payments, with the next RM214 million payment due in March 2027.
MARC Ratings downgraded the sukuk programme to C on Oct 30, indicating a high likelihood of non-repayment, after the company failed to resolve the covenant breach or obtain an indulgence from sukukholders.
The rating agency also flagged liquidity pressures, uncertainty over funding sources and weaknesses in corporate governance.
Separately, Zetrix AI faces claims involving RM314 million in unremitted collections owed to the Road Transport Department (JPJ), while the government has filed a civil suit against its wholly owned subsidiary MyEG Sdn Bhd, seeking RM353.13 million in additional taxes.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook has also said that it will sue to recover the monies owed to JPJ.
On Oct 19, Zetrix AI withdrew its planned interim dividend of 0.25 sen per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2026 to preserve working capital amid unexpected operational expenses, saving about RM20 million. The company had RM541.6 million in cash as at June 30, 2026.
Shares in Zetrix AI were unchanged at six sen at Thursday's midday break, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM484.7 million.