Amazon’s Planned Investments in Southeast Asia AI and Cloud Infrastructure to Reach Over US$33 billion by 2039

• Amazon’s planned investments in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand in cloud and Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure are expected to reach over US$33 billion by 2039, supporting over 56,300 full-time-equivalent jobs annually and add US$64 billion to the four countries’ collective GDP by 2039.
• Amazon has trained over 2.7 million individuals across Southeast Asia on cloud skills since 2017.
• In 2025 alone, Amazon invested more than US$3 billion – including infrastructure and employee compensation – across its various businesses including Stores, Amazon Web Services, Global Selling, Devices, and Entertainment in Southeast Asia.

Over the past three years, Amazon has announced a series of major investment plans in cloud infrastructure in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. When consolidated, these plans show Amazon’s investments into cloud and AI infrastructure across these four countries are expected to reach over US$33 billion by 2039.

According to Amazon’s economic impact assessments, once investments are complete, they are projected to contribute over US$64 billion to the collective gross domestic product (GDP) of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, and support more than 56,300 full-time equivalent jobs annually in the local data center supply chain.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with 11 member states, is set to become the world’s fourth largest economy with a digital economy valued at US$560 billion by 2030. Amazon is supporting Southeast Asia’s digital capabilities and expanding cloud and AI infrastructure that businesses and organizations are already using to grow and innovate in the region.

“Amazon has plans to invest more than US$33 billion across Southeast Asia through 2039. We’re building infrastructure, training local workforces, and enabling businesses across the region to compete globally,” said David Zapolsky, Chief Global Affairs and Legal Officer. “Governments across Southeast Asia deserve recognition for their bold leadership in shaping policies and economic conditions that are accelerating growth and attracting global investment in AI and technology at an unprecedented pace.”

Amazon in Southeast Asia

Amazon’s story in Southeast Asia began 16 years ago, with the launch of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Singapore Region in 2010 – one of the earliest infrastructure investments by a global technology company in Asia, followed by the launch of the Amazon.sg store in 2019.

Since then, Amazon has continued to deepen its commitment to Southeast Asian economies by creating employment opportunities, empowering digital transformation, and upskilling regional workforces in cloud and AI skills. Amazon has AWS Regions in Singapore (launched 2010), Indonesia (launched 2021), Malaysia (launched 2024), and Thailand (launched 2025). Today, Amazon has more than 3,000 employees and an extended workforce of more than 2,500 people across its sites in the region. In 2025 alone, Amazon invested more than US$3 billion – including infrastructure and employee compensation – across its various businesses including Stores, AWS, Devices, and Entertainment in Southeast Asia.

This foundation is enabling real impact. Enterprises, startups, and public sector organizations across Southeast Asia are scaling AI on AWS to accelerate productivity, drive digital transformation, and create economic value. Malaysia’s 123RF uses Amazon AI to analyze the visual content of millions of images, doubling search accuracy and cutting content discovery time by 90%. Union Bank of the Philippines has put generative AI-powered analytics into the hands of more than 200 business users, delivering answers 3–5x faster by building on AWS. Thailand’s Sansiri built an AI assistant on AWS that responds to homebuyers 30% faster and processes 50,000 invoices a month at 90% accuracy, halving manual paperwork. Singapore’s GovTech created MAESTRO, an AI tool that helps government agencies build cost-efficient generative AI solutions for their specific needs. Within nine months of launch, it was being used by 20 public sector organizations and over 300 data scientists and machine learning engineers.

Building an Inclusive, AI-Ready Workforce for Southeast Asia

Recognizing the role of an AI-ready workforce in building a country’s AI capacity, Amazon has initiated numerous skills training programs in collaboration with governments and local organizations in the region. Since 2017, Amazon has trained 2.7 million individuals on cloud skills across Southeast Asia, creating a foundation for enterprise AI adoption.

“AI and Cloud training and upskilling are the most important enablers and where most countries are underinvesting,” said Zapolsky. “We’ve trained 2.7 million people across Southeast Asia since 2017, but the pace needs to accelerate dramatically. Amazon is committed to expanding that reach, and we welcome partnership with every government to set ambitious national targets.”

Amazon is working with governments, educational institutions, and industry partners to accelerate AI adoption and build digital talent pipelines for highly skilled roles such as cloud architects, AI/ML specialists and data engineers in Southeast Asia:

• Amazon’s AI Spring program, in alignment with Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0, is focused on advancing AI capabilities across the public sector, workforce, enterprises, startups, and research communities. Amazon has partnered with institutions like the National Institute of Education and Temasek Polytechnic to train 5,000 Singaporean learners annually through 2026.Amazon also collaborated with students and teachers from 21 high schools across West Java, Indonesia, in a hands-on generative AI skilling program where over 2,600 participants created 10,821 unique generative AI applications in a single day – setting a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® title for ‘The Most Apps Made In An On-site Generative AI Event.
• The Skills to Job Tech Alliance is a coalition of technology companies, workforce development organizations, and educational institutions working together to create standardized, interoperable frameworks that map skills to job opportunities across industries. Currently active in Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, the Alliance leverages shared data standards and AI-driven matching to close the skills gap and help workers across Southeast Asia navigate career pathways more effectively.
• Amazon has also rolled out an ‘AI Ready’ initiative, offering more than 30 free AI and generative AI courses in Vietnamese to date to help learners gain in-demand skills and access career opportunities.

Photo by AWS

Expanding Connectivity in Southeast Asia Through Low Earth Orbit Satellite Technology

According to a recent report by Access Partnership, more than 150 million people across Southeast Asia still lack reliable and affordable connectivity, particularly in rural and remote areas. Archipelagic geography, mountainous terrain, and dispersed populations make traditional fiber and wireless deployment prohibitively expensive.

Access Partnership estimates that closing this connectivity gap could unlock US$47.8 billion in annual economic benefits and create up to 3.8 million jobs across the region.

Amazon Leo is designed to bridge these gaps – making real-time applications like telemedicine, digital payments, and distance learning viable in locations where they were previously unavailable. As the network scales, it will extend high-speed connectivity to communities across the region that need it most.

Helping bring Southeast Asia products and content to the World

Amazon is helping Southeast Asia’s entrepreneurs and storytellers connect with hundreds of millions of customers worldwide.

Photo by Amazon

Through Amazon Global Selling, thousands of businesses across Southeast Asia, many of which are small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), can reach Amazon customers across more than 200 countries and territories. Amazon empowers businesses in Southeast Asia to provide millions of innovative products globally every year, including homegrown brands from Singapore across health & personal care, baby, home, and beauty, as well as local manufacturers from Vietnam in furniture, home décor, kitchen, and apparel.

Amazon is bringing Southeast Asian stories and voices to global audiences through Prime Video. The company recently unveiled seven local Originals in the Philippines which feature some of the country’s best creative talents. By investing in local content, Amazon is championing the region’s creative industries.

Promoting Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship in Southeast Asia

To meet AWS’s water positive goal by 2030, Amazon is increasing the use of reclaimed water in its data center operations in Southeast Asia. In Singapore, all Amazon data centers run on recycled NEWater, Singapore’s branded high-grade reclaimed water. Amazon also recently collaborated with Air Selangor on Malaysia’s first large-scale reclaimed water initiative in the State of Selangor.

Photo by AWS

Amazon also invested in water replenishment in West Java, partnering with Habitat for Humanity to improve water access through household connections and treatment facilities across four villages. To date, Amazon has built nine clean water facilities and installed hundreds of connections, benefiting 1,394 households, aiming to return an estimated 200 million liters of water annually to these communities.

To meet Amazon’s net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 goal, the company is also investing in renewable energy in Southeast Asia. In Singapore, Amazon has invested in two renewable energy projects, together generating enough renewable energy to power nearly 20,000 Singaporean homes each year. And in Indonesia, Amazon partnered with utility provider PT PLN on a first-of-its-kind, 210-megawatt green tariff agreement that enabled corporate purchasing of renewable energy in the country.

Amazon aims to be a trusted partner in Southeast Asia’s digital future

Amazon’s commitment to Southeast Asia includes active partnerships with governments to help build policy frameworks that will underpin the region’s long-term success.

Amazon has consistently supported high-standard digital trade rules under the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), including provisions enabling trusted cross-border data flows and regulatory interoperability. Beyond advocacy, Amazon is helping Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) prepare for implementation through programs on trusted cloud adoption, cybersecurity, and responsible AI governance.

Addressing the regions technologists and policymakers at Asia Tech x Singapore, Zapolsky spoke about AI sovereignty and governance: “Sovereignty means different things in every country. For us, it’s dependent on technology and operational controls, rather than the nationality of the provider. You decide where your data sits, who can access it, and which models you use,” said Zapolsky. “Amazon’s cloud is sovereign-by-design and built into every layer of our AI stack, so customers have full choice across compute, models, and applications. When you have control and choice, you can increase confidence and accelerate adoption. That’s how sovereignty and openness work together.”

As Southeast Asia cements its position as one of the world’s most dynamic digital economies, Amazon remains committed to investing in infrastructure, skill building, business empowerment, content creation, and working closely with governments across Southeast Asia to ensure the opportunities of AI are shared widely across the region and built to last.