Amazon's $4.4 Billion Investment in New Zealand Boosts AI and Cloud Infrastructure

Amazon Invests $4.4 Billion In New Zealand Cloud Infrastructure, Bolsters Global Expansion - Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Amazon.com Inc. AMZN is set to invest NZ$7.5 billion ($4.4 billion) in expanding its cloud computing infrastructure in New Zealand, marking a significant regional expansion. AWS To Make New Zealand A Key Cloud Services Hub The investment will transform New Zealand into a regional hub for Amazon Web Services, the company announced on Monday. The new AWS Region in New Zealand will allow local customers like Xero and Kiwibank to run artificial intelligence workloads, manage data, and provide digital services with greater efficiency. Check out the AMZN stock price over here. "The new AWS Region in New Zealand will help serve the growing demand for cloud services across the country and empower organizations of all sizes to accelerate their digital transformation," said Prasad Kalyanaraman, vice president of infrastructure services at AWS. The project is projected to generate more than 1,000 jobs and add around NZ$10.8 billion ($6.33 billion) to New Zealand's economy. It will run on renewable energy supplied by the country's largest wind farm, situated about 150 kilometers north of Wellington. See Also: Bitcoin Gets Its First State-Backed Conference In El Salvador's Capital -- Max Keiser, Jack Mallers Among Speakers Amazon pours $50 Billion Into Asia-Pacific Digital Growth Amazon is significantly increasing its investments in the Asia-Pacific, committing more than $50 billion to strengthen digital infrastructure across Australia, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, according to Forbes. The company's investment in New Zealand follows a series of similar moves in the Asia Pacific region. In June, the tech giant announced a $13 billion investment to expand its data center infrastructure in Australia, marking the nation's largest global technology investment in history. This was followed by a $10 billion investment in North Carolina to support AI and cloud computing technologies. AWS Slowdown Stems From Capacity Constraint, Not Demand Issues Amazon's stock dropped after second-quarter earnings, but the slowdown in AWS was due to power-related capacity constraints, not weak demand, according to CEO Andy Jassy. The company reported a record $195 billion backlog, up 25% year-over-year, highlighting strong demand that exceeds current capacity. CEO Jassy said the main constraint is power, along with challenges in chips and server components, and cautioned the shortage won't be resolved in just a few quarters. Benzinga's Edge Rankings place Amazon in the 76th percentile for momentum and the 92nd percentile for growth, reflecting its strong performance in both areas. Check the detailed report here. Read Next: AWS CEO Says Firing Junior Staff For AI Is The 'Dumbest' Thing He's Ever Heard -- Warns Companies Risk Having No Talent Pipeline In 10 Years Image via Shutterstock Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. AMZNAmazon.com Inc$226.94-0.90%Stock Score Locked: Edge Members Only Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Unlock RankingsEdge RankingsMomentum77.12Growth92.05Quality60.06Value51.27Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewMETAMeta Platforms Inc$732.78-0.80%PLTRPalantir Technologies Inc$153.78-1.87%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Amazon to Invest $4.4 Billion in New Zealand Data Centers

Amazon.com plans to invest about US$4.4 billion in New Zealand on the construction and operation of data centers, supporting the launch of a new cloud services region in the country. The U.S. company said Monday that its investment of 7.5 billion New Zealand dollars, equivalent to US$4.43 billion, would support over 1,000 full-time jobs and add about NZ$10.8 billion to New Zealand's gross domestic product. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the Amazon Web Services investment in the country is the largest announced by any global technology company. "I think that investment is immense and it is historic. It will have a significant impact on our GDP," Luxon said. "We are open for business and we are obsessed on growth, growth, growth above everything," Luxon said. "The new AWS Region in New Zealand will help serve the growing demand for cloud services across the country," said Prasad Kalyanaraman, vice president of infrastructure services at AWS. As part of its commitment to contribute to the development of digital skills, AWS will hire and develop local personnel to operate and support the new cloud region, the company said. AWS said it has plans for three more AWS regions in Chile, Saudi Arabia and the AWS European sovereign cloud. Amazon set out plans this year for multibillion-dollar investments in parts of the U.S. and countries including Australia and the U.K. Most of those outlays seek to bolster the company's data-center network to meet booming global demand for AI computing.