AI adoption among emerging-market venture capital and private equity firms rose to 71% this year (from 39% last year), yet over half have only limited deployments in selected business functions. Key barriers remain skills gaps and regulatory ambiguity. Success stories include CLPRAP's medical imaging platform deployed across 300+ applications globally, and fintech and semiconductor solutions enabling cost-efficient cross-border transactions and embedded intelligence. The opportunity lies in localizing AI to market conditions, languages, and customer needs—particularly for SMEs seeking productivity gains and cost reduction.