Next to the natural gas transmission pipeline of the low-carbon hub in Kuching, Sarawak, a cooperation spanning global capital, Southeast Asian digital ecology, and local energy resources has officially landed. SoftBank Grab and Sarawak Oil Company have jointly signed a framework agreement to jointly build an AI and digital infrastructure platform for Southeast Asia, transforming the region's abundant energy endowment into the core competitiveness of the AI industry.

Combining the advantages of three parties to form a complete AI industry chain

SoftBank will export its global technology reserves and AI industry ecosystem resources, providing professional support in areas such as AI infrastructure, high-performance computing, semiconductors, physical artificial intelligence, etc., to connect projects with cutting-edge technologies and industry resources worldwide. Grab relies on its digital ecosystem network that has been deeply rooted in Southeast Asia for many years, covering a massive number of local users and merchant scenarios such as travel, delivery, and finance, providing a real application soil for the landing of AI technology.

Sarawak Petroleum Company relies on the "Sarawak Natural Gas Development Roadmap" and its identity as the main developer of the Kuching Low Carbon Hub to provide stable low-carbon energy supply and local infrastructure support, linking the local supply chain to participate in project construction. The three parties' respective capability boundaries complement each other, from the supply of computing power and energy at the bottom level to the application of upper level scenarios, building a landing framework covering the entire AI industry chain.

New advantages of energy endowment transformation industry

Sarawak has abundant natural gas, hydropower, biomass and other diverse energy resources, and the electricity cost has remained low in the region for a long time, which can fully support the stable operation of large-scale AI computing power clusters. The local government has previously stated that it will no longer prioritize the layout of low value-added traditional data centers, but instead target high-value AI infrastructure and technology industries to avoid falling into the low-end production capacity trap of a "data warehouse".

This cooperation will simultaneously promote the cultivation of local talents and community development, explore landing opportunities in multiple directions such as the research and development of cutting-edge AI computing power intelligent services and robots, and create a large number of high value-added employment opportunities for the local area. The phased implementation roadmap of the project is currently being prepared, which will promote Sarawak to upgrade from a traditional energy export destination to a highly competitive AI computing and digital industry hub in Southeast Asia in the future. Keywords: AI computing power, digital infrastructure platform

Tropical sea winds sweep over the construction site of the low-carbon hub in Kuching. This land, once known for its energy resources, is now finding a new path for the coordinated development of energy and AI industries through a new paradigm of tripartite cooperation.Editor/Cheng Liting