Over 20 firms interested in AI hub under Pax Silica

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May 19, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — More than 20 firms are interested in investing in the artificial intelligence (AI) industrial hub being developed in New Clark City under the United-States (US) led Pax Silica initiative.

The Philippine government said that the AI industrial hub will be open even to non-US firms and will be governed by Philippine law.

US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg told reporters during the ceremonial unveiling of the marker for the 4,000-acre AI hub yesterday that he is leading a delegation composed of 12 American companies that are interested in being part of the development.

“A lot of it focuses on sectors adjacent to manufacturing, but it’s still early days. We need to figure out and finalize the sectors that will get prioritized around an anchor tenant and based on that, we will build out an ecosystem of companies that contribute to the master tenant’s activities,” he said.

Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo told reporters that at least 10 companies have also expressed interest to participate in the AI hub.

These include five US firms engaged in robotics and AI, around three companies from Israel and two from the United Arab Emirates.

Last month, the US and the Philippines announced plans to develop the AI hub under the Pax Silica initiative.

The announcement was made after the Philippines joined Pax Silica, which aims to promote a secure and resilient supply chain for AI and semiconductors.

Apart from the US and the Philippines, other countries part of the Pax Silica are Australia, Finland, India, Israel, Japan, Norway, Qatar, South Korea, Singapore, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

BCDA president and CEO Joshua Bingcang told reporters that while the US requested for the hub to operate under US law and enjoy diplomatic immunity, the Philippine government did not agree to those terms.

“There are two laws that will govern the transaction here, the Investors’ Lease Act and then, the BCDA Law, which was confirmed by the Department of Justice,” he said.

“So it will be treated as a regular business development contract. No special treatment to be accorded to the US government,” he said.

Earlier, a Wall Street Journal report said that the hub will have diplomatic immunity and operate under US common law.

BCDA said it will extend a two-year grace period on lease payments, which will be treated as an unconditional in-kind contribution.