US-based Amazon has announced plans to invest $13 billion over six years to expand its artificial intelligence data centre infrastructure in Australia. The funding will enable the company to build additional data centres and expand existing facilities in Sydney and Melbourne.
This will be the largest investment in Australia by a global technology company, said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Amazon Web Services entered the Australian market in 2012 with the launch of a cloud region in Sydney. A second region was launched in 2023, located in Melbourne. In the same year, a local AWS zone began operating in Perth.
Last summer, AWS announced the construction of a data centre for the Australian government, which will process “top secret” data. The data centre and cloud system are being developed as part of a collaboration between AWS and the country’s authorities. The Australian government has committed to investing $1.3 billion in the new system over the next ten years.
The latest planned investments deepen AWS’s long-term commitment to supporting the growth and development of Australian organisations of all sizes and helping them leverage the tremendous opportunities offered by generative AI, said AWS CEO Matt Garman. He said AWS is bringing more renewable energy facilities online and supporting Australia’s vision as a global leader in AI.
Amazon new solar power plants
To support its cloud infrastructure, Amazon is also investing in three new solar power plants in the Australian states of Victoria and Queensland. These facilities will be deployed and operated by European Energy. Amazon has committed to purchasing 170 MW of electricity from these three facilities. They are expected to expand purchases from eight existing solar and wind farms in Australia, which were also funded by Amazon.
Once all 11 facilities are operational, they will generate more than 1.4 million MWh per year.
In early 2025, AWS announced plans to invest $5 billion in Mexico’s technological development over 15 years. The company has opened a new infrastructure division in the country.
