The Google logo hangs outside one of its offices on August 31, 2021.
Sean Gallup | Good pictures
Google on Thursday said it will invest $2 billion in Malaysia as demand for AI and cloud services grows.
“This investment furthers our partnership with the Malaysian government to advance its ‘cloud first policy,’ which includes the best cybersecurity standards,” said Ruth Porat, president, CFO and CIO of Alphabet and Google, in a statement.
Borat added that this is Google’s biggest investment in its 13 years of operation in Malaysia.
The data center will run Google’s digital services such as search, maps and workspace, while the cloud zone will provide services to companies and organizations in the public and private sectors. Google also launched two AI literacy programs for students and educators in the country.
These investments and projects are expected to contribute more than $3.2 billion to Malaysia’s GDP and support 26,500 jobs by 2030.
The Malaysia cloud region is the latest addition to Google’s network of 40 regions and 121 zones around the world, the US technology giant said.
This comes after Microsoft said earlier this month that $2.2 billion investment in Malaysia To develop new cloud and AI infrastructure. It also announced investments in Indonesia and Thailand this year.
Tech giants like Google and Microsoft have committed billions of dollars to Southeast Asia to capitalize on the growing demand for AI and cloud computing services.
The AI boom has increased the demand for cloud computing services and data centers as large amounts of data are required to train AI models and the cloud provides access to vast datasets. Data centers are facilities that contain servers and other infrastructure necessary to store data and run applications or services.
“Google’s $2 billion investment in Malaysia will significantly advance our digital ambitions New Industrial Master Plan 2030,” YB Senator Tengku Datuk Seri Uthama Zafrul Aziz, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, said in a press release.
The minister added that Google’s investments will help manufacturing and service-based industries “move up the global chain” using AI and other advanced technologies.
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