Amazon.com Inc.'s cloud computing service unit said Friday it will invest about 2 trillion yen ($13.5 billion) in Japan to strengthen its cloud infrastructure by 2027, in an effort to cope with growing demand on the back of the generative artificial intelligence boom.
The funds will be used to expand the capabilities of its two data centers in the country, located in Tokyo and Osaka, the Japan unit of Amazon Web Services Inc. said. The new plan is in addition to the 1.51 trillion yen it invested in Japan between 2011 and 2022.
The move comes as momentum to utilize generative AI is growing among Japanese companies following the explosive popularity of ChatGPT, an AI chatbot developed by U.S.-based OpenAI.
Among the country's tech firms, NEC Corp. rolled out a generative AI platform for corporate customers in July last year, while Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. said it will launch a business-use generative AI platform in March.
Amazon has also launched Amazon Q, an AI service for corporate clients that can summarize texts and offer business advice utilizing their internal data.
