Google is reportedly contemplating the establishment of a hyperscale data center near Ho Chi Minh City, driven by the burgeoning cloud customer base both domestically and internationally in Vietnam, as well as the nation’s continuously expanding digital economy.

Vietnam has emerged as one of YouTube's fastest-growing markets, further highlighting its strategic significance for Google.

If realized, Google’s investment in this hyperscale data center could have a profound impact on Vietnam’s digital infrastructure. According to sources, internal discussions are ongoing, and the center could be operational by 2027.

Hyperscale data centers represent the largest and most powerful in the industry, offering immense computing power, vast storage capacity, and extensive networking capabilities, with energy consumption comparable to that of a large city.

A report by real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle estimates that the cost of a 50MW hyperscale data center in Vietnam could range from $300 million to $650 million.

In Southeast Asia, Google currently operates only one data center, located in Singapore. The company selected Singapore due to its “ideal combination” of reliable infrastructure, a skilled workforce, and a transparent, business-friendly legal environment. In June of this year, Google completed the expansion of its data and cloud center in Singapore, with a total investment of $5 billion into the country's digital infrastructure.

In May, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported that Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba was also considering building a data center in Vietnam to comply with local data storage regulations.

Meanwhile, Google has already established a representative office in Vietnam and is recruiting dozens of personnel, including engineers and marketing specialists, according to job postings on LinkedIn.

A Google spokesperson stated that this team is intended to better serve customers in Vietnam and support the nation’s digital transformation.

During the launch of the "Building Vietnam's AI Future" program in July, Marc Woo, Managing Director for Vietnam at Google Asia-Pacific, remarked that Vietnam’s digital economy is projected to grow 11-fold by 2030.

In partnership with the National Innovation Center, Google is offering 40,000 scholarships to Vietnamese citizens across 10 courses, including AI-focused programs.

Du Lam

Source: finimize, devdiscourse