Amazon’s USD 33-billion Southeast Asia AI investment excludes PH

• IN PHOTO (From left): David Zapolsky, Amazon chief global affairs and legal officer ; and Dawn Tan (Photo courtesy of ATX SG).

Amazon said its planned investments in cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure across Southeast Asia are expected to exceed USD 33 billion by 2039, but the Philippines was not included among the countries identified for the major long-term infrastructure push.

In a statement released during Asia Tech x Singapore, Amazon said the investments will focus on Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, where the company has already established Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud regions and large-scale infrastructure operations.

The company said the combined investments are projected to contribute more than US$64 billion to the collective gross domestic product (GDP) of the four countries while supporting over 56,300 full-time-equivalent jobs annually in the local data center supply chain.

“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 Amazon Chief Global Affairs and Legal Officer David Zapolsky

According to Amazon, Southeast Asia is projected to become one of the world’s largest digital economies, with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) expected to emerge as the fourth-largest economy globally and its digital economy projected to reach US$560 billion by 2030.

Amazon noted that it currently operates AWS regions in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, which were launched between 2010 and 2025 as part of the company’s regional cloud expansion strategy.

Despite being one of Southeast Asia’s largest internet and social media markets, the Philippines was not mentioned among the countries receiving the planned multibillion-dollar AI and cloud infrastructure investments.

However, Amazon highlighted some of its activities in the Philippines, including the rollout of local Prime Video Originals and the use of AWS by UnionBank of the Philippines for generative AI-powered analytics systems.

The company also said it has trained more than 2.7 million individuals across Southeast Asia in cloud-related skills since 2017 as part of its workforce development initiatives focused on AI, machine learning, and cloud computing.

Beyond cloud infrastructure, Amazon said it is also expanding low Earth orbit satellite connectivity initiatives through Amazon Leo, aimed at improving internet access in remote and underserved areas across Southeast Asia.

The announcement comes as global technology firms continue racing to expand hyperscale data centers and AI-ready cloud infrastructure across Southeast Asia amid increasing enterprise demand for generative AI services, digital transformation, and sovereign cloud capabilities.