Thai Energy Billionaire Steps Up Data Center Push to Tap AI Boom
- Tycoon Sarath, partners to spend $271 million to add capacity
- Tech firms are expanding AI, cloud services in Southeast Asia
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Energy billionaire Sarath Ratanavadi, Thailand’s second-richest person, is accelerating his push into data centers to tap a booming market fueled by rising demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
His energy company, Gulf Energy Development Pcl, and its partners plan to spend an additional 10 billion baht ($271 million) to double their outlay on a data center facility in suburban Bangkok. The expansion will increase the center’s energy consumption to 50 megawatts from a previously announced 25 megawatts, with completion expected in March, Gulf Energy Chief Financial Officer Yupapin Wangviwat told reporters Thursday.