TLDR:
- Oracle plans to invest $6.5 billion in a cloud services center in Malaysia
- The center will provide access to Nvidia chips for AI development
- This investment is part of a trend of major US tech companies investing in Southeast Asia
- Oracle aims to expand its cloud infrastructure business globally
- The investment includes deployment of Oracle’s public cloud services and AI products
Oracle, the US-based tech giant, has unveiled plans to invest $6.5 billion in building a cloud services center in Malaysia.
This move marks Oracle’s entry into the growing Southeast Asian market for cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The investment will establish a new cloud region in Malaysia, essentially creating a network of data centers to provide services to corporate clients.
The planned Malaysian cloud region will be Oracle’s 12th in the Asia-Pacific area. It will offer access to more than 150 infrastructure and software-as-a-service (SaaS) products, including Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and AI services.
Among the key features of this new hub will be access to Nvidia Corp. chips, which can be used to accelerate generative AI development.
Oracle’s Executive Vice President and General Manager for Japan and Asia Pacific, Garrett Ilg, highlighted the potential of this investment.
“Malaysia offers unique growth opportunities for organizations looking to accelerate their expansion with the latest digital technologies,” Ilg stated.
He also emphasized that this multi-billion dollar investment affirms Oracle’s commitment to Malaysia as a regional gateway for cloud infrastructure and SaaS.
The investment includes the deployment of Oracle’s public cloud services and AI products, which the company believes will boost the digital economy and fuel AI-driven innovation in the region.
Oracle will offer a range of products, including generative AI agents with retrieval-augmented generation capabilities. The company also plans to provide its VMware cloud products and Kubernetes engine.
One of the standout features of the planned facility is the OCI Supercluster, which Oracle claims is the “largest AI supercomputer in the cloud.” This supercomputer has the potential to employ up to 131,072 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs, working in conjunction with Nvidia’s products for the RoCE v2 internet layer protocol and liquid cooling for server racks.
Oracle’s move is part of a larger trend of major US tech companies investing heavily in Southeast Asia’s cloud and AI infrastructure. This region is quickly becoming a center for cloud services due to factors such as ample land, government support, and rapidly growing markets.
Other tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have also announced significant investments in the area.
Google recently revealed plans to invest $1 billion in building data centers in Thailand, adding to similar projects in Malaysia. Amazon unveiled a $9 billion investment plan in Singapore in May, while Microsoft has discussed spending around $4 billion on data centers and other infrastructure in the region.
These investments come as the global market for AI-related products is projected to reach $990 billion by 2027, according to estimates by Bain & Co. The widespread adoption of AI technology is expected to disrupt companies and economies, driving demand for advanced cloud and AI infrastructure.
Oracle’s investment in Malaysia is seen as a strategic move to expand its global cloud infrastructure business and compete for a share of the growing AI market.
