Alphabet Inc.’s Google announced on Monday that it would invest $1 billion in Thailand to construct a data centre and cloud region in order to assist the development of artificial intelligence in Southeast Asia and meet the region’s growing demand for cloud services.
TakeAway Points:
- Google, a division of Alphabet Inc., announced on Monday that it will invest $1 billion in Thailand to establish a data centre and cloud region in order to boost the adoption of artificial intelligence in Southeast Asia and fill the growing demand for cloud computing services.
- The investment would create an average of 14,000 jobs annually until 2029, Google said, citing a study of the project by Deloitte.
- Google Cloud and Malaysian technology company Dagang NeXchange Berhad (DNeX) signed a multi-year agreement to offer sovereign cloud services in the nation.
Google to invest $1 billion in data centre and cloud infrastructure
In an effort to fulfil rising cloud demand and encourage the development of artificial intelligence in Southeast Asia, Alphabet Inc.’s Google announced on Monday that it will invest $1 billion in Thailand to construct a data centre and cloud region.
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 centre in Thailand as part of its efforts to boost cloud services.
“Google’s cloud and data centre 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 centre 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.
DNeX and Google Cloud entered multi-year deal to provide sovereign cloud services in Malaysia
Malaysian technology firm Dagang NeXchange Berhad (DNeX) and Google Cloud on Monday announced a multi-year deal to provide sovereign cloud services in the country.
The announcement comes as the Alphabet unit expands its footprint in the Southeast Asian country. Google said in May it would invest $2 billion to develop its first data centre and Google Cloud region in Malaysia.
The partnership was aimed at addressing demand for cloud solutions that meet strict data residency, security, and privacy requirements, particularly within regulated industries like public services, financial services, healthcare, and energy, the firms said in a joint statement.
Under the agreement, DNeX would be authorised to operate Google Distributed Cloud, which provides “air-gapped” solutions for Malaysian organisations—meaning it can operate without connection to the Internet or a Google Cloud region, they said. The firms did not specify a value or timeframe for the deal.
“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,” Vice President of Google Cloud Asia Pacific Karan Bajwa said in the statement.
DNeX and Google Cloud were also exploring the creation of an AI centre of excellence, a hub for nurturing local talent in artificial intelligence, the firms said.
