The tech giant said Monday it plans to construct a data center in Chonburi province near Bangkok and establish a Google Cloud region center in the capital city to meet the growing demand for cloud services and AI innovation in Southeast Asia.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra welcomed the investment, stating it "perfectly aligns" with Thailand's 'Cloud First' policy and will "accelerate the development of innovative digital services and ultimately unlock economic opportunities."
Google emphasized that this investment could create an average of 14,000 jobs annually in Thailand by 2029.
The move is part of a broader trend of major tech companies increasing their investments in Southeast Asia to reduce dependence on China. Microsoft recently announced plans to build data centers and provide cloud and AI infrastructure in Thailand, while also investing in Malaysia and Indonesia.
The investment race in the region includes Amazon Web Services planning to invest $8.87 billion in Singapore's cloud infrastructure, and Google's completion of its fourth data center in Singapore, bringing its total investment there to $5 billion. These developments highlight the growing importance of Southeast Asia in the global tech landscape.