To strengthen Singapore as an Asia Pacific AI hub, Digital Realty plans to invest close to $5.5 Bn

The US-based data center platform Digital Realty declared on Thursday that it intends to invest a total of almost S$7 billion ($5.49 billion) in Singapore, highlighting the market’s vital role as an AI infrastructure hub for Asia Pacific.

More than S$4.3 billion ($3.37 billion) has been planned for new data center developments, building on previous investments, the company said in a statement.

“Singapore is emerging as a critical hub for AI inference in Asia Pacific,” said Serene Nah, Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific, Digital Realty.

“As organizations deploy AI in real-world environments, they need secure, highly connected infrastructure close to where data is created and consumed. This S$7 billion investment target demonstrates our confidence in Singapore’s role as the region’s AI infrastructure anchor,

“We’re not just expanding capacity—we’re building the operational capabilities, innovation facilities, and local talent base needed to support customers as AI enters production at scale,” she added.

The statement claims that in the last three years, Digital Realty has almost doubled its workforce in Singapore to over 300 workers, with plans to reach 400 by 2030. This could lead to the creation of more high-value jobs in digital infrastructure and emerging technologies.

The company has made significant investments in workforce development and long-term capability building, as evidenced by the fact that nearly 90% of its Singaporean employees are Singaporeans.

In order to accommodate this expansion, Digital Realty moved and expanded its Asia Pacific regional office in Singapore to IOI Central Boulevard in July 2025. Additional expansion is planned for 2026 in order to meet the region’s expanding demands.

In addition to its intended workforce growth, Digital Realty’s operational and innovative capabilities are bolstering Singapore’s ecosystem.

Singapore serves as the company’s Global Command Center, a round-the-clock monitoring and response center that upholds Singapore’s position as a reliable base for vital digital infrastructure operations.

With the goal of giving clients a fully supported environment to develop, test, and validate AI and hybrid cloud solutions before broader deployment, Digital Realty plans to open a Digital Realty Innovation Lab (DRIL) at its Loyang facility in the second half of 2026.

Organizations should be able to more confidently accelerate production AI rollouts thanks to this combination of innovation infrastructure and operational excellence.

Additionally, Digital Realty is making investments in the larger ecosystem of digital infrastructure in Singapore.

To get ready for the next frontier of computing, the company works with partners on early-stage quantum data center initiatives.

Digital Realty connected the next generation with the infrastructure driving cloud, AI, and digital transformation earlier this year by hosting a Digital AI Open House for students from Tembusu College of the National University of Singapore.

The firm claims that Singapore’s strategic positioning reflects the essential needs for deploying AI.

It stated that the need for low-latency infrastructure near users and data becomes crucial as businesses transition from experimentation to production, especially with inference workloads.

In contrast to geographically distributed AI training workloads, inference requires close proximity to users, networks, and data.

It further stated that for high-value, latency-sensitive AI applications, Singapore’s robust connectivity, reliable operating environment, and well-established data governance approach becomes increasingly strategic.

According to Digital Realty, it facilitates this evolution by integrating robust connectivity ecosystems across PlatformDIGITAL® with secure data center environments, allowing enterprises to balance sustainability, governance, and performance as they scale AI deployments.

Digital Realty stated that it is well-positioned to support Singapore’s development as a leading AI infrastructure hub for Asia Pacific, enabling the next wave of enterprise AI deployment throughout the region, due to its nearly S$7 billion ($5.49 billion) investment target, growing workforce, and developing innovation capabilities.