Google's $3 Billion Investment Boosts Cloud and AI Infrastructure in Southeast Asia

Google unveils $3B investment to tap AI demand in Malaysia and Thailand

The funds will go toward new data centers in both Asian markets, serving also as cloud regions, and supporting developments in artificial intelligence. Google has unveiled plans to invest a total of $3 billion in Malaysia and Thailand, where the US cloud vendor says there is growing demand for cloud and artificial intelligence (AI). The funds include $2 billion toward Google's first data center and cloud region in Malaysia, located in Sime Darby Property's Elmina Business Park in Selangor. Construction has begun on the site. Also: The future of computing must be more sustainable, even as AI demand fuels energy use The investment is expected to fuel in excess of $3.2 billion in "positive economic impact" and add 26,500 jobs for the Asian market by 2030, said Google in a statement Tuesday. It said the data center and cloud region will facilitate demand for its digital services, including Maps and Google Workspace. Also: AI arm of Sony Research to help develop large language model with AI Singapore The new facility will enable the manufacturing and services-based industries, in particular, small and midsize businesses (SMBs) to tap technologies, such as AI, said Malaysia's Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry, Utama Zafrul Aziz, at the launch, which also was attended by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Zafrul added that building the necessary skills will ensure the local workforce is ready for future AI-focused and tech investments flowing into the country. These include Google's commitment to drive workforce initiatives such as Gemilang and Future Skills for AI, he said. Also: How your inefficient data center hampers sustainability - and AI adoption The data center will tap water-cooling technology, which Google said will use some 10% less energy compared to air-cooled sites and result in 10% less carbon emissions. Google this week also announced a "multi-year" partnership with Malaysian IT services provider, Dagang NeXchange (DNeX), to provide sovereign cloud services in the country. The collaboration will support companies in regulated industries, such as healthcare, financial services, and energy, that must comply with data sovereignty, security, and privacy requirements. Also: Google joins collaborative efforts to build localized large language models DNeX will operate as an authorized managed services provider of Google Distributed Cloud, offering an air-gapped infrastructure to these organizations, the US vendor said. Its distributed cloud infrastructure runs within the customer's preferred environment and will not need to be connected to a Google cloud region or public internet, it added. The two partners are evaluating plans to establish an AI Center of Excellence to develop local AI applications and skillsets. Over in Thailand, Google said it has set aside $1 billion to expand its data center and cloud infrastructure in Bangkok and Chonburi, as part of efforts to meet growing cloud demand in Southeast Asia and worldwide. The investment also will support local initiatives to leverage AI opportunities, said Google, citing a study it released with Deloitte. It also will add a projected $4 billion to Thailand's GDP by 2029 and support 14,000 local jobs a year between 2025 and 2029, the cloud vendor said. Also: Microsoft Copilot to be integrated into Singapore's legal technology platform It also pointed to further plans to invest in AI skills development in the Asian nation, which it said will reach another 150,000 Thais by 2026. Google said it has trained more than 3.6 million in Thailand over the past five years, including educators, developers, and SMBs, where its skills programs include an AI Essentials curriculum and Gemini Academy.

Google to invest $1 billion in Thailand to build a data center and accelerate AI growth

An illuminated Google logo is seen inside an office building in Zurich, Switzerland. Google announced Monday it's investing 36 billion Thai baht ($1 billion) into Thailand for the creation of a new data center and expansion of the country's cloud infrastructure. The move marks a ramp-up of Google's expansion in Asia, putting artificial intelligence at the heart of its international push at a time when it's facing intense competition from companies like Microsoft and OpenAI. The investment would see the company create its first data center in Thailand, Google said in a post on its Thailand blog Monday. Data centers are the backbone of today's modern digital economy, fueling the rise of cloud computing technology which enables access to storage, compute, and analytics services via the internet. Google said that its debut Thai data center will be located in Chonburi, an eastern province of Thailand. The facility will "help support the growing demand for Google Cloud and AI innovations, as well as popular Google services such as Google Search, Google Maps and Google Workspace" in Thailand, Jackie Wang, Google's Thailand country lead, said in the blog post, according to an English translation taken via Google Translate. Beyond developing infrastructure, the $1 billion investment from Google into Thailand is "also about unlocking new opportunities for businesses, educators and all Thais," Wang said in the blog post. "As AI transforms industries, it is more important than ever to educate and upskill Thais to use this technology," she added. Thailand's digital economy is the second-largest in Southeast Asia and is expected to reach $50 billion by 2025, Google, Temasek and Bain & Company said in a 2023 report by e-Conomy SEA. Google is investing in the region with a focus on AI as it faces pressure from its rival tech giants when it comes to both AI and cloud computing. The internet giant currently dominates globally when it comes to its search engine technology. But the firm has increasingly come under threat from the surge of generative AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT. It's a technology that Google helped pioneer through its early research on so-called transformer models, which are the bedrock of many of the most popular generative AI models. However, today Google finds itself under threat from the use of generative AI products, like ChatGPT and Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine, to find information about things. Last week, Google filed an antitrust lawsuit with the European Commission accusing Microsoft of abusing its dominant position in the cloud industry to undermine competition.

Google Cloud unveils major infrastructure investment across Southeast Asia

Google has announced $1 billion investment into the construction of a data center in Thailand to help meet growing cloud storage and AI tool load demands in Southeast Asia (SEA). The news, per Reuters, comes hot on the heels of Google Cloud announcing a multi-year deal to provide sovereign cloud services to Malaysia this week, as well as a $2 billion investment towards the construction of a data center as its first inroad into SEA back in May 2024. The Thai data center will be based in Chonburi, while the cloud region (i.e. infrastructure dedicated to providing services to businesses and organizations) will be based in Bangkok. "Google's cloud and data center infrastructure in Bangkok and Chonburi will help meet growing demand for Google Cloud capabilities and AI innovations, and the company's popular digital services - such as Search, Maps, and Google Workspace," Google said in a statement, citing a study by Deloitte claiming 14,000 jobs would be created by the investment over the next five years. Meanwhile, in Malaysia, Google Cloud is partnering with local technology firm DAgang NeXchange Berhad (DNeX) to address growing cloud demands while also operating within the country's stringent data protection laws relating to residency and privacy. To this end, DNeX will run Google Distributed Cloud to provide "air-gapped" services - that don't have to connect to a Google cloud region - to Malaysian customers. It's unclear if this is just a temporary solution while Google's construction project gets underway, and in a joint statement, neither company gave a timeframe or valuation for the deal. Karan Bajwa, Google Cloud Asia Pacific's VP, did say, "Google Cloud and DNeX will empower organizations with the state-of-the-art distributed cloud infrastructure, developer tools, and AI services they need to drive digital transformation on their own terms." Both companies confirmed they were considering opening a facility for training up local talent in AI skills. Google isn't the only tech giant eyeing up SEA as a growth market for cloud, with Microsoft also announcing similar plans to open a Thailand-based data center in May 2024, citing demand and availability concerns, alongside spurring economic growth.

Google will invest $1 billion in Thailand to build new infrastructure for AI and cloud computing

Google plans to invest $1 billion to build digital infrastructure in Thailand, including a new data centre, the US tech giant has announced, saying the move would support 14,000 jobs in the kingdom. The new hubs in Bangkok and the industrial area of Chonburi are intended to help meet growing demand for cloud computing in Southeast Asia, the company said in a Monday statement. Google's investment comes after Microsoft announced in May that it would create Thailand's first data centre region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure. "These investments will empower Thai businesses, innovators, and communities to harness the power of cloud and AI technology," Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Google and its parent company Alphabet, said. The investment's details were unveiled after a Bangkok meeting between Porat and Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who hailed the move as proof Thailand was becoming a major digital hub in Southeast Asia. The data centre will be located in Chonburi, a major industrial area southeast of Bangkok, while the cloud facilities will be in the capital itself. Google's expansion in Thailand will add $4 billion to the kingdom's GDP by 2029 and support 14,000 jobs between 2025 and 2029, the company said, citing a report from consultancy Deloitte. The announcement comes a year after Shinawatra's predecessor Srettha Thavisin made a major push for investment from US tech giants during a trip to New York, seeking finance from Google, Microsoft and Elon Musk's Tesla. Thailand is Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, but its tech sector has lagged behind the likes of Singapore and Indonesia. The Thai economy, long focused on traditional manufacturing, agriculture and tourism, has struggled to bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic. The government hopes investment from Google, Microsoft and their ilk will diversify and modernise the kingdom's economy. Thailand's Office of the National Digital Economy and Society Commission has said the digital economy could contribute as much as 30 percent of GDP by 2027. Across the region, governments are vying for US tech dollars, with Vietnam making a drive to move up the value chain from its traditional base as a hub for producing shoes, clothes and furniture. Vietnam hopes to cash in on the US move to become less dependent on China for key resources including high-tech chips. And last week, Vietnamese state media reported that Musk's SpaceX plans to invest $1.5 billion in the communist country.

Google announces $1 billion investment in new data centers in Thailand

Sept. 30 (UPI) --Google said on Monday that it will spend $1 billion on new data centers in Thailand in another huge win for Asian Pacific countries in attracting tech work. Google, a subsidiary of the tech conglomerate Alphabet, will build facilities in Bangkok and Chonburi by 2029, the company said, supporting as many as 14,000 jobs. The addition has the potential of adding some $4 billion to the Thailand economy over the next five years once fully staffed, officials said. "We are investing in cloud regions, data centers and subsea cables across the region, building on our many years of work to bring cloud infrastructure closer to the people and organizations here," Alphabet Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat, said in an email, according to Yahoo. "This region holds great potential." Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Nvida have spent billions in Thailand, along with Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore before Google's announcement in a push to speed up its artificial intelligence data center development. Data centers are the lifeblood of the current tech scene in need of ever-enlarging cloud computing technology storage and online analytics services. The two new data centers proposed for Thailand are expected to allow Google to meet its expected future demand for state-of-the-art Cloud and AI technology. The facilities are also expected to accommodate the growing needs for already massively popular Google services such as Google Search, Google Maps and Google Workspace, according to CNBC.

Google to Spend $1 Billion in Thailand to Speed Up Asia AI Push

Alphabet Inc.'s Google plans to invest $1 billion to build data centers in Thailand, joining global tech companies in adding cloud and AI infrastructure in Southeast Asia. The company will add facilities in Bangkok and Chonburi, a province southeast of the capital. The outlay could help add $4 billion to Thailand's economy by 2029 and support 14,000 jobs annually over the next five years, Google said Monday, citing a Deloitte study.

Google to invest USD1 billion in Thailand

BANGKOK (AFP) - Google plans to invest USD1 billion to build digital infrastructure in Thailand, including a new data centre, the US tech giant has announced, saying the move would support 14,000 jobs in the kingdom. The new hubs in Bangkok and the industrial area of Chonburi are intended to help meet growing demand for cloud computing in Southeast Asia, the company said in a Monday statement. Google's investment comes after Microsoft announced in May that it would create Thailand's first data centre region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure. "These investments will empower Thai businesses, innovators, and communities to harness the power of cloud and AI technology," Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Google and its parent company Alphabet, said. The investment's details were unveiled after a Bangkok meeting between Porat and Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who hailed the move as proof Thailand was becoming a major digital hub in Southeast Asia. The data centre will be located in Chonburi, a major industrial area southeast of Bangkok, while the cloud facilities will be in the capital itself. Google's expansion in Thailand will add USD4 billion to the kingdom's GDP by 2029 and support 14,000 jobs between 2025 and 2029, the company said, citing a report from consultancy Deloitte. The announcement comes a year after Shinawatra's predecessor Srettha Thavisin made a major push for investment from US tech giants during a trip to New York, seeking finance from Google, Microsoft and Elon Musk's Tesla. Thailand is Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, but its tech sector has lagged behind the likes of Singapore and Indonesia. The Thai economy, long focused on traditional manufacturing, agriculture and tourism, has struggled to bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic. The government hopes investment from Google, Microsoft and their ilk will diversify and modernise the kingdom's economy. Thailand's Office of the National Digital Economy and Society Commission has said the digital economy could contribute as much as 30 percent of GDP by 2027. Across the region, governments are vying for US tech dollars, with Vietnam making a drive to move up the value chain from its traditional base as a hub for producing shoes, clothes and furniture.

Google to invest $1B in Thai data center, cloud infrastructure - VnExpress International

The investment would create an average of 14,000 jobs annually until 2029, Google said, citing a study of the project by Deloitte. In May, Microsoft said it would launch its first regional data center in Thailand as part of its efforts to boost cloud services. "Google's cloud and data center infrastructure in Bangkok and Chonburi will help meet growing demand for Google Cloud capabilities and AI innovations, and the company's popular digital services - such as Search, Maps, and Google Workspace," the company said. Its data center would be located in an industrial estate in Chonburi, while the Google cloud region, which consists of hardware and software dedicated to providing services to private and public sector entities, would be in the capital Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said Google's investment was "perfectly aligned" with the country's Cloud First Policy.