Thailand’s $16 Billion Data Center Boom: Powering AI and Cloud Growth in 2025

Thailand is experiencing a significant boom in data center investments driven by the surging demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. In the first half of 2025 alone, Thailand attracted investments worth approximately US$16.1 billion from 28 new data center projects, representing a substantial increase compared to previous years. This inflow includes six newly approved projects totaling about US$3.57 billion with a combined IT load capacity of around 740 megawatts (MW), indicating both the scale and sophistication of Thailand’s digital infrastructure expansion.

Key projects include major investments from companies such as Stratus Technology, Vistas Technology, Bridge Data Centres III, Digital Edge DC, and Galaxy Peak Data Center, predominantly located in Eastern provinces like Rayong and Chonburi. These projects are all designed to meet Tier 3 standards, ensuring high reliability and efficient operation of data centers tailored for modern digital demands.

Behind this surge is Thailand’s strategic positioning as a regional hub for data centers. Thailand’s favorable attributes include abundant power supply, strong government support through policies like the Thailand 4.0 strategy, and significant backing from the Board of Investment (BOI). The BOI emphasizes its focused strategy on high-tech sectors, noting that the robust growth in digital service demand will sustain and further enhance investment momentum throughout 2025.

The AI boom globally is a strong catalyst for this expansion, as AI workloads require massive data processing capacities. Major international tech firms are accelerating their investments in Thailand, contributing billions of dollars for infrastructure tailored to AI and cloud computing workloads. For instance, Google announced a $1 billion investment to build its first data center in Thailand’s Chonburi Province, aimed at supporting AI innovations and cloud services. Similarly, Amazon Web Services committed a $5 billion investment over 15 years, and Microsoft plans to establish its inaugural regional data center in the country.

Additionally, Galaxy Data Center, a global sustainable digital infrastructure provider, revealed a landmark $2 billion investment to create a hyper-scale computing power hub powered by green energy. This project aligns with Thailand 4.0 ambitions and aims to position Thailand as a world-class green digital industry hub, fostering further AI-related technological growth.

Projections suggest that Thailand’s data center capacity will triple within the next three years, rising to about 1 gigawatt by 2027 from the current 350 megawatts in 2024, fueled by roughly $6.5 billion in future investments. This anticipated capacity growth is critical to meet the rapid expansion of AI and cloud demands from both domestic and international markets.

Thailand’s data center and digital infrastructure ecosystem development have attracted attention and commitments from numerous leading companies, including TikTok, which aims to launch a $3.8 billion data hosting service, and other regional powerhouses such as GDS International with a $1 billion investment plan for hyperscale data centers. These movements mark Thailand as a key player in Southeast Asia’s digital economy, driven by both private sector confidence and proactive government initiatives.

In sum, Thailand’s data center investment boom is a direct response to AI-driven cloud service demands, positioning the country as a burgeoning digital infrastructure hub with strong international backing, sustainable investment projects, and government-led strategic growth plans. This trend is set to continue, fostering technological and economic advancement in the region through 2025 and beyond.