Bridge Data Centres plans up to $5 billion AI investment in Singapore

The global race to build AI infrastructure is fuelling an unprecedented boom in data centres. Read more at straitstimes.com.

SINGAPORE – Bridge Data Centres (BDC) plans to invest as much as $5 billion in artificial intelligence technology development in its home market of Singapore, seeking to accelerate its growth across Asia.

The closely held firm will invest in research initiatives and facilities focused on advanced power architectures, next-generation cooling systems, AI-enabled operations and energy optimisation for high-density computing environments, according to BDC chief executive Eric Fan.

The Bain Capital-backed company, which aims to deliver as much as three gigawatts of global capacity by 2030, is developing AI infrastructure technologies in partnership with several firms. It is one of a slew of data centre operators expanding in markets from India to South-east Asia, tapping rising demand from AI developers. 

“Singapore is the primary focus of this initiative,” Mr Fan said. “We will also recruit technical and R&D talent to support AI-related facilities and innovation.”

A global race to build AI infrastructure is fuelling an unprecedented boom in data centres, as tech giants and investors pour hundreds of billions of dollars into facilities packed with advanced chips and cooling systems.

Yet the pace of construction has also sparked concerns that the investments could fail to deliver enough real economic returns to justify the enormous expense.