Google to Spend $2 Billion on AI and First Data Center in Malaysia

There will be artificial intelligence (AI) literacy programmes for Malaysian students and teachers, as well as the building of Google’s first data centre and Google Cloud region to meet the growing demand for cloud services in Malaysia and around the world. Google announced on Thursday that it would be investing $2 billion in Malaysia.

The company said in a statement that the Malaysia investments will be in the Elmina Business Park in Greater Kuala Lumpur, which is owned by Sime Darby Property. The statement says that the Google data center will power Google’s well-known digital services, like search, maps, and workspace, which are used every day by billions of people and businesses around the world, including those in Malaysia.

It will also be very important for Google to be able to offer the benefits of Al to customers and users all over the country. When it’s ready, Malaysia will become one of 11 countries where Google has built and now runs data centers that serve users all over the world.

Large businesses, startups, and government agencies will all be able to get high-performance and low-latency services from the Google Cloud region. Customers of Google Cloud will be able to keep the highest security, data residency, and compliance standards, as well as specific data storage requirements, by using key controls.

Google Cloud’s existing Dedicated Cloud Interconnect locations in Cyberjaya and Kuala Lumpur will be added to the cloud region. These locations offer direct connections between an organization’s on-premises network and Google Cloud’s global network. The Malaysia cloud region will join the 40 regions and 121 zones that are already up and running around the world. Google’s President and Chief Investment Officer, Ruth Porat, said, ” 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. ”

Google said that as AI continues to change many fields, it is important for teachers to have the right knowledge and tools to prepare their students for the future. In line with the National Digital Education Policy of the country’s Ministry of Education (MOE), Google has started two programmes to help students and teachers learn more about AI.
These programmes are more examples of Google’s ongoing work to make digital skills easier for more people to get.

Enhancing AI Literacy and Economic Impact

Google  said that the Gemini Academy has helped more than 600 teachers in Malaysia since its pilot phase began in November 2023. Its goal is to help teachers use generative AI tools like Gemini in a safe and responsible way to increase productivity. It said that the MOE is now officially expanding the programme to more schools, with the goal of helping 15,000 teachers by the end of 2024.

Experience AI, which was launched last month in Malaysia by Google DeepMind, the Raspberry Pi Foundation, and the Penang Science Cluster, is meant to give teachers more knowledge and confidence in teaching 11–14-year-olds about AI by giving them in-person training and interactive lesson materials and tutorials.

Google says that the program’s first goal is to train 1,000 teachers so that they can reach 10,000 students in Malaysia. People may remember that in November 2023, the government of Malaysia and Google formed a strategic partnership to help more Malaysians and homegrown businesses grow by using Al and cloud technologies.

Google’s work in Malaysia will go even further with the investments and programmes that were announced on Thursday. According to an analysis paid for by Google and done by AlphaBeta (part of Access Partnership), they will add more than $3.2 billion to Malaysia’s GDP and create 26,500 jobs by 2030. Google said it was proud to help the country’s economy continue to become more digital, which is in line with the MADANI Economy Framework and NIMP 2030. Azmir Merican, Group Managing Director of Sime Darby Property Bhd, said, this project is expected to help Malaysia’s economy a lot.

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Louis Clarke

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