Google Invests $1Bn In Thailand, Boosting AI And Cloud Infrastructure In Southeast Asia

Google has announced a $1 billion investment in Thailand to build a new data center and expand the country's cloud infrastructure amid fierce competition from Microsoft and OpenAI.

On Monday, the U.S. tech giant, citing a Deloitte study, revealed plans to establish facilities in Bangkok and Chonburi, an eastern province of Thailand, to address the growing demand for cloud computing in Southeast Asia. This move is expected to boost Thailand's economy by $4 billion and generate 14,000 new jobs annually over the next five years.

The investment deal was unveiled by Google and new Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, with an aim to position Southeast Asia as a thriving tech hub and attract investments from foreign tech firms. Earlier this year, the search engine giant announced billions of dollars in investment in Malaysia and Singapore.

Tech giants are pouring significant resources into Southeast Asia, which was once considered an IT underdog. Companies like Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Amazon are building AI data centers in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, Bloomberg reported.

"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," Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Google and its parent company Alphabet, said in a statement.

"This region holds great potential."

Google's latest announcement comes on the heels of Amazon's $9 billion investment in Singapore and Microsoft's $4 billion roadmap for data centers and infrastructure. As this growth unfolds, regional governments face a dual challenge: attracting foreign investment for tech growth while ensuring digital sovereignty, data protection, and local innovation.

Regarding the planned data center in Chonburi, Google's Thailand country lead Jackie Wang said in the blog post that 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."

Wang further said that Google's investment in Thailand is "also about unlocking new opportunities for businesses, educators and all Thais."

"As AI transforms industries, it is more important than ever to educate and upskill Thais to use this technology," she added.