Google will invest $2 billion in Malaysia to develop its first data and cloud centers in the country, supporting some 26,500 jobs by 2030.
Google will build a data center and cloud “region” in Sime Darby Property’s Elmina Business Park in Greater Kuala Lumpur. The data center will power digital services including Search, Maps and Workspace, while the cloud region will be used by large companies, startups and public sector organizations to maintain security, data residency and compliance standards.
“Google’s first data center and Google Cloud region is our largest planned investment so far in Malaysia – a place Google has been proud to call home for 13 years,” said Ruth Porat, chief financial officer of Google’s parent company Alphabet in a statement. “This investment builds on our partnership with the Government of Malaysia to advance its ‘Cloud First Policy,’ including best-in-class cybersecurity standards.”
Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Aziz, minister of investment, trade and industry, said Google’s investment will advance the digital ambitions outlined in the country’s New Industrial Master Plan 2030. “We also value Google’s plan to help us develop a robust talent ecosystem by facilitating the growth of our people’s digital skills, businesses and careers.”
Google announced two programs to foster AI literacy for students and teachers and make digital skills more accessible to Malaysians. The first program, Gemini Academy, is designed to help teachers use generative AI tools such as Gemini. The second, Experience AI, will help them give lessons about AI to students from the ages of 11 to 14.
Last November, the government of Malaysia and Google entered into a collaboration to create growth opportunities for Malaysians and local companies using AI and cloud technologies.
Malaysian tycoons have also been developing data centers. Lin Yun Ling’s engineering and construction company Gamuda has won contracts worth 1.74 billion ringgit ($372 million) to build a data center at Elmina Business Park. Sime Darby Property joined forces with its partner Pearl Computing to build the data center on a 49-acre site in the 1,500-acre Elmina Business Park. Tycoon Francis Yeoh’s YTL Power partnered with billionaire Jensen Huang’s Nvidia to build an artificial intelligence-powered data center in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, north of Singapore.
