According to reports, Sea (SE.US), the Southeast Asian e-commerce giant, has its founder Li Xiaodong expressing to employees that with the company joining numerous global tech firms betting on artificial intelligence for growth, its market value could reach $1 trillion — increasing nearly tenfold. In a memo sent to employees on Monday, Li Xiaodong likened the rapid development of AI to the revolutions of personal computers and smartphones, which expanded consumer access to products and services previously reserved for the wealthy. However, he cautioned that leveraging the value creation potential of AI is not easy. In this memo, released on Sea's eighth anniversary as a publicly traded company, Li Xiaodong stated, "This will require us to make the right decisions, execute excellently, maintain high discipline, and compete with full commitment. Such a technological transformation could enable Sea to become a $1 trillion company."

Compared to a year ago, Li Xiaodong’s tone in the employee memo has changed. At that time, he warned that the transition toward AI would face numerous challenges. Since then, Sea has increased its investments in this area, incorporating AI into daily operations such as customer service and game operations. Li Xiaodong also discussed the rise in the company's stock price, expressing concern that if external circumstances shift, the stock could rapidly decline — a reminder of the company's sharp drop at the end of 2021. He stated that compared to the past decade, the company's financial situation is now more robust, eliminating the need for external funding to support growth. He wrote, "Although external conditions are always difficult to predict, I now feel more assured about our future. Sea is currently profitable across all three of its business divisions. As a company that has been publicly traded for eight years, we understand better how capital markets operate and how to navigate them. So, even if the seas become turbulent again, we can better control our decisions and our destiny."

However, Li Xiaodong did not disclose Sea's future plans in the AI sector, nor did he indicate how the company would address intensifying competition. Sea is fiercely competing with robust global rivals, including TikTok Shop under ByteDance and Lazada under Alibaba Group. Emerging businesses like Shein and Temu are also trying to penetrate the Southeast Asian market, a burgeoning region with 675 million people and a growing number of consumers shifting to online shopping. The competitive landscape for Sea's next growth phase is increasingly forming — moving far from its home base, with competition in Brazil, thousands of miles away — as the Singapore-based company seeks to expand its Shopee online empire. The company is also banking on new initiatives across sectors such as digital finance and logistics to solidify its market dominance and reassure investors of its growth potential.