VCI Global announced plans to launch a robotics-enabled workforce platform through a term sheet agreement with Youlife Group Inc. (YOUL).

VCI Global Limited (NASDAQ: VCIG) (“VCI Global” or the “Company”), a global technology and capital markets platform, today announced plans to launch a Robotics-Enabled Workforce Platform through a strategic term sheet agreement with Youlife Group Inc. (NASDAQ: YOUL) (“YOUL”).

The initiative represents a significant step in VCI Global’s expansion into robotics-as-infrastructure. The platform is intended to deliver guaranteed productivity through a hybrid human-robot workforce model, offered on a recurring, service-based subscription, rather than through traditional capital equipment sales.

Massive Market Opportunity Across ASEAN and Asia Pacific

The robotics and automation markets across ASEAN and the broader Asia Pacific region are expanding rapidly, driven by labor scarcity, rising wages, and accelerating Industry 4.0 adoption. According to Statista, the ASEAN robotics market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 9.37% from 2025 to 2029, reflecting increasing demand for automation and labor augmentation solutions in industrial applications. By 2029, the market is forecast to exceed US$2.1 billion, representing nearly double-digit growth.

At the global level, the service robots market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 16.5% between 2025 and 2031, reaching approximately US$112.5 billion by 2031, as enterprises increasingly deploy robots to address labor shortages and improve operational efficiency, according to Blue Weave Consulting.

These trends underscore a multi-billion-dollar addressable opportunity for scalable robotics and workforce solutions that enhance productivity, reduce labor risk, and support digital transformation across key industrial sectors.

Addressing Structural Labor Constraints Across ASEAN

ASEAN and emerging markets face persistent structural challenges, including labor shortages, rising minimum wages, increasing compliance costs, dependency on foreign workers, and productivity gaps in labor-intensive industries. The VCIG-YOUL platform addresses these issues by integrating AI-enabled robotics, automation systems, and human supervision into a single operational framework, enabling companies to scale output while maintaining regulatory compliance and workforce stability.

Human-Robot Hybrid Model for Sustainable Productivity

Rather than replacing workers, the platform is designed to elevate labor productivity by reallocating human workers into higher-value roles while automating repetitive tasks. Under the model, robots handle repetitive, hazardous, and precision tasks, while human workers are upskilled into supervisory, quality control, and technical positions. Clients subscribe to monthly productivity capacity, not hardware or headcount.

Phase One deployments will prioritize industries with urgent labor and productivity constraints, including food processing and packhouse operations, warehousing and logistics, light manufacturing and electronics assembly, and cold-chain and agricultural processing. Each deployment is structured under multi-year contracts, generating predictable recurring revenue while reducing operational risk for clients.

Introducing Workforce-as-a-Service (WaaS)

The platform establishes a new category, Workforce-as-a-Service (WaaS), offering enterprises:

Guaranteed daily or monthly production capacity

24/7 operational capability

AI-driven quality control and throughput optimization

Centralized monitoring, maintenance, and performance analytics

This model converts robotics from a capital expenditure decision into a scalable operating solution, accelerating adoption among small and mid-sized enterprises. Under the collaboration:

VCI Global provides capital allocation, regional expansion, governance, and market access

YOUL leads system architecture, AI software, robotics integration, financing structures, and on-site operations

“By combining robotics with structured workforce transition, we are upgrading, not eliminating blue-collar roles,” said Dato’ Victor Hoo, Group Executive Chairman and CEO of VCI Global. “This model creates higher-quality jobs while solving real productivity constraints faced by employers.”

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