(Bloomberg) — Microsoft Corp. will invest $2.2 billion to build digital infrastructure in Malaysia, the latest in a series of big bets on Asia’s growing importance as a technology market.
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The company plans to spend the money over four years to build infrastructure for its cloud computing and artificial intelligence services, CEO Satya Nadella said during a visit to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. It will also train 200,000 people in Malaysia in AI and work with the government to strengthen the country’s cybersecurity capabilities.
Microsoft competes with Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to conquer companies in Southeast Asia, a region in full digitalization with more than 650 million inhabitants. Tech companies are expanding operations in Malaysia and neighboring countries like Singapore, diversifying beyond China to reduce geopolitical risks amid tensions between Beijing and Washington.
“We are committed to supporting the AI transformation in Malaysia and ensuring that it benefits all Malaysians,” Nadella said at the end of a whirlwind tour of three countries in the region. In Kuala Lumpur, he met Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim before addressing business leaders and property developers at a corporate event.
This investment is the largest made by Microsoft in its 32 years of operation in Malaysia and highlights Microsoft’s efforts to become a winner in Asia. Nadella pledged at least $7 billion to expand the company’s services from Japan to India, while touting AI as an engine for growth and urging countries to increase investment in the technology.
In Malaysia, the southern region of Johor Bahru – connected by a causeway to Singapore – is emerging as one of Asia’s growing AI data center hotspots. Last year, Nvidia Corp. has partnered with local utility YTL Power International Bhd. to build a $4.3 billion AI data center park in the region.
AI adoption is still in its infancy in Southeast Asia, but it could potentially add around $1 trillion to the region’s economy by 2030, with Malaysia capturing around $115 billion. dollars, according to a report from consulting firm Kearney.
Microsoft announced this week that it will train a total of 2.5 million people in AI skills in Southeast Asia by 2025. Around 680,000 developers in Malaysia have used Microsoft-owned coding platform GitHub, in 2023, an annual increase of 28%.
Earlier in his trip, Nadella announced a $1.7 billion investment in Indonesia and an undisclosed amount in Thailand as part of similar efforts to develop AI’s cloud and digital infrastructure. As part of the Thai spending, Microsoft plans to invest around $1 billion in a new data center in Thailand, the Bangkok Post reported.
–With the help of Ram Anand.
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