Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has announced plans to launch a second data center in South Korea by the end of June, accelerating its multibillion-dollar push into artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
According to a company spokesperson, the new facility is part of Alibaba’s broader 380 billion yuan (approximately $52.9 billion) investment in AI and cloud infrastructure, which was announced earlier this year.
The company stated that the expansion comes in response to growing demand from South Korean businesses for advanced cloud and AI solutions.
Global tech giants race to build AI infrastructure
Alibaba Cloud entered the South Korean market in 2022 with a data center in Seoul, serving customers including AI solutions provider Univa and Naver subsidiary Snow that already use Alibaba Cloud’s foundational AI models.
Alibaba, China’s largest cloud provider, currently operates 87 availability zones across 29 global regions. The company’s latest expansion efforts come as it faces intensifying competition in its home market and accelerates its pivot toward artificial intelligence.
In February, the firm’s chief executive officer, Eddie Wu, said that artificial intelligence is now the company’s “top priority.” Moreover, Alibaba has launched several large language models, including its newest Qwen3 series.
The company’s move into South Korea aligns with the growing trend in the tech ecosystem, where other global cloud business giants are adding infrastructure to the country.
For example, SK Telecom Co. and Amazon Web Services Inc. announced that they will invest in building a 103-megawatt AI data center in the southern city of Ulsan.
In August of this year, they will break ground on a facility with 60,000 graphics processing units, intending to grow it into the biggest AI-focused center in the nation.
OpenAI revealed plans for a new data center in the Asia-Pacific region
The Asia-Pacific hosts more data centers than any region worldwide, and it has capacity expansion plans from Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Meta Platforms Inc.
Last month, OpenAI revealed that it is looking at the Asia-Pacific region for new data center sites as the race heats up to build out infrastructure in the region.
The announcement came after OpenAI agreed to work with the United Arab Emirates to build a huge data center project in Abu Dhabi.
Jason Kwon, chief strategy officer for the ChatGPT-maker, revealed plans to visit the region to meet with officials from the government and potential private-sector partners to talk about AI infrastructure and how OpenAI software may be used.
Kwon was scheduled to visit Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, and Singapore, said a person familiar with the plans, who wished to remain anonymous as the talks were private.
The tour was part of a larger initiative unveiled earlier that month. OpenAI planned to work with governments to develop AI systems based on democratic principles and open markets.
The startup will also assist countries in customizing OpenAI products for local languages and needs, and it intends to concentrate on 10 partnerships worldwide initially.
However, OpenAI’s plans faced criticism from Washington due to worries about sharing advanced technology and hardware with other countries, especially in places like the UAE with close connections to China.
As a result, the US and UAE governments discussed the details of an AI agreement that includes measures concerning China.
In the meantime, over 30 countries have contacted OpenAI to discuss its work on building AI infrastructure worldwide, according to Chris Lehane, the company’s chief global affairs officer.
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