Amazon Bets Big On Australia With $13B Cloud Infrastructure Push To Support AI Boom

Amazon (AMZN) said on Saturday that it will invest AU$20 billion (nearly $13 billion) to expand its data center infrastructure in Australia, marking the largest investment by a foreign tech company in the country.

In recent months, Amazon has announced investments across various regions to keep up with soaring demand for cloud capacity fueled by the rapid rise of artificial intelligence.

Leading cloud providers, such as Microsoft and Google, are also racing to scale up their infrastructure to support external AI developers and their internal AI efforts.

Amazon is also investing in three new solar farms to support its expansion of data center infrastructure, according to a statement.

The investment "will set us up for the future, boosting our economy and productivity. This is a huge vote of confidence in the Australian economy," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a social media post on X.

Amazon's cloud investment announcements this year:

• India: $8.3 billion
• Thailand: $5 billion
• Taiwan: $5 billion
• U.S.: $20 billion in Pennsylvania and $11 billion in Georgia
   

The latest capacity expansion comes as Amazon faces a challenging business environment, with high inflation and U.S. tariffs weighing on its mainstay e-commerce business.

However, the company's forecast for the current quarter, which was stronger than expected when it was published in May, has given some confidence that the tech behemoth will easily navigate the headwinds.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Amazon shifted to 'neutral' late Sunday, from 'bullish' the previous day.

Amazon's shares have gained over 25% from their recent low in April. The stock is down 3.3% year-to-date.

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