Their long-term goal is to establish at least 5 gigawatts of data center capacity across Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, the companies said in a joint statement.
SoftBank will provide $1 billion in seed capital for the two projects, while Grab will contribute $750 million and Petroleum Sarawak $100 million.
“AI infrastructure will power the next wave of growth, and Malaysia has the talent and ambition to help lead it,” SoftBank chairman and CEO Son said. “Together with Grab, we will build the capacity needed to support Malaysia’s digital ambitions and accelerate AI innovation across Southeast Asia.”
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SoftBank chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son. Photo by Reuters |
Son is Japan’s second-richest tycoon, with a real-time net worth of $48 billion, ranking behind fashion retailer Uniqlo billionaire Tadashi Yanai with $69.8 billion.
Malaysia has become a major digital infrastructure hub since Singapore tightened restrictions on new data centers, according to Forbes.
The country’s data center capacity is projected to rise to 6.8 gigawatts by 2030 from 1.3 gigawatts as of June this year, making it one of Asia’s largest data center hubs, according to property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield.
“Southeast Asia is one of the world’s fastest-growing digital economies, and Grab is at the forefront of developing AI solutions for the region,” said Anthony Tan, Grab’s co-founder and CEO.
“With SoftBank Group, we plan to build critical AI infrastructure in Malaysia, where Grab began, for all of Southeast Asia. This infrastructure will allow us to accelerate the development of localized AI solutions for our communities.”
The Malaysian venture follows separate setbacks for SoftBank’s and Grab’s expansion plans. Last week, China blocked SoftBank’s proposed acquisition of ABB’s robotics unit, which has facilities in mainland China.
In October, Taiwan rejected Grab's proposed $600 million takeover of Foodpanda's local business.
Grab, founded in 2012, operates in eight countries and has expanded from taxi booking and ride-hailing into food delivery, digital payments and financial services.