Amazon to invest $13B in Australian AI data center infrastructure

Amazon is investing over $13 billion in expanding AI and cloud infrastructure in Australia, including new solar farms and data centers nationwide.

Online retail and cloud computing giant Amazon plans to invest more than $13 billion in Australia’s artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure, the company announced on Saturday.

Amazon plans to invest 20 billion Australian dollars ($13.4 billion) by 2029 to expand Australia’s AI and cloud capabilities, marking the country’s largest publicly announced technology investment to date by a global company.

The investment will go toward expanding, operating and maintaining Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers in the country.

“This is the largest investment our country has seen from a global technology provider, and is an exciting opportunity for Australia to build AI capability using secure, resilient infrastructure,” said Anthony Albanese, the prime minister of Australia, adding:

“The investment will generate economic opportunity for Australians, including skilled jobs and infrastructure that can support complex AI and supercomputing applications.”

Part of the $13 billion will be used to build three new renewable solar farms in Victoria and Queensland, bringing Amazon’s total renewable projects in the country to 11.

The solar farms are expected to generate about 1.4 million megawatt hours of carbon-free energy per year, roughly equivalent to powering 290,000 Australian homes.

Amazon first ventured into the Australian market in 2012 with the opening of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Asia Pacific in Sydney. In July 2024, the Australian government partnered with AWS to launch a “Top Secret” AWS Cloud for national security and defense purposes.

On June 11, Amazon partnered with Talen Energy to purchase nuclear energy to power the AWS servers and AI data centers in Pennsylvania through 2042.

The partnership came two days after Amazon announced plans to invest $20 billion into its AI infrastructure in Pennsylvania, as more and more tech firms are pivoting toward building AI capabilities.

AI, automation to add $400 billion to Australia’s GDP by 2030

The continued investment in AI services and automation stands to bolster Australia’s economy.

AI and automation–related developments are expected to contribute an annual $400 billion to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to the Government’s Department of Industry, Science and Resources.

Amazon invested over $312 million in Australian renewable energy projects from 2020 to 2022.