Investing in Thailand’s digital transformation with data centres

Thailand continues to invest in building data centres as it seeks to become Southeast Asia’s main digital hub.

The race to establish Southeast Asia’s central hub for data centres has been accelerating. Delays on Singapore’s new data centres in 2019 led tech companies to look towards Malaysia instead, solidifying the latter’s dominance in the industry. Data centres are also booming in Indonesia as it builds up Batam, one of its special economic zones, to serve as both the domestic data centre and as a digital bridge for Singapore. We have also seen Thailand as a competitor within ASEAN as its digital transformation strategy doubles as a growth pillar for its economy.

The National Board of Digital Economy and Society is expecting Thailand’s digital economy to expand by 4.2 per cent this 2026. Though slower compared to last year’s 5 per cent pace, digital output continues to expand twice as fast as the overall GDP growth of 2.4 per cent. With this, the value of Thailand’s digital GDP is expected to reach THB 5.6 trillion (USD 180 billion).

There is an expectation that Thailand’s data centre capacity will triple over the next three years with the surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. With recently approved data centre projects worth USD 3.1 billion, we see that further expansion will boost the country’s high-tech industries and position Thailand as a main data centre provider in the ASEAN region.

Investments on the rise

Thailand is not just competing against Southeast Asian peers. For instance, India recently announced a 20-year tax holiday for foreign firms that will tap local cloud and data centre services.

Despite this aggressive pivot, investments in related industries remain unaffected as Thailand offers unique advantages. These include an emphasis on service quality, efficient utilisation of water and electricity to run data facilities, as well as enhanced digital infrastructure and know-how that will benefit domestic businesses and Thai workers.

Investments for data centres are increasingly moving beyond Bangkok towards the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), which has emerged as ground zero for large-scale projects worth 100 megawatts or more to host AI and cloud computing systems. These two locations will serve different data centre capabilities. The capital city will be home to a smaller data centre servicing cloud services, banking, and high-speed online content. Meanwhile, the EEC – which includes Chachoengsao, Chonburi, and Rayong – will focus on large projects with high energy demand, with the potential to process bigger data and accommodate future innovations.

According to the Thailand Board of Investment, the digital segment has been receiving the biggest investment pledges, specifically towards data centre businesses. Of the THB 746 billion (USD 22.7 billion) investments into the digital sector in 2025, THB 728 billion (USD 22.85 billion) went into data centre projects. Looking at Graph 1, the skyrocketing investments towards the digital industry from 2024 to 2025 reflects the country’s fast-growing digital economy. Although the increase in total projects seems minimal, Thailand’s strategic location and domestic resources, on top of high-quality domestic data centres, will attract global attention.

Thailand has also lured foreign investors to set up data centres in the country. For one, China’s Galaxy Data Center has invested USD 2 billion to construct a data centre and power plant within the EEC area. Google Cloud has also committed USD 1 billion to build a data centre in Bangkok, which is expected to contribute THB 1.4 trillion (USD 44 billion) to the domestic economy.

Integrating AI

Thailand is positioning itself as a significant player in AI services and digital infrastructure within ASEAN. To do so would require implementing a comprehensive plan on AI governance and clean energy transition, on top of reliable data centre infrastructure to attract more foreign players if it truly wants to emerge as a global AI hub.

Thailand’s AI market value is estimated to reach THB 233 billion (USD 7.34 billion) by 2031. Enhancing productivity and competitiveness across sectors through AI integration is a critical mechanism for the country’s future economic advancement. AI is no longer just a trend – it is now necessary for businesses to adapt if they want to penetrate the global market.

Survey data from the Electronic Transactions Development Agency, however, show that Thai businesses are behind in terms of AI adoption: out of 580 Thai public and private organisations, only 17.8 per cent have embraced AI. For manufacturing firms, AI has brought about significant gains for logistics and supply chain management, process improvements, quality control, and maintenance safety. Small and medium enterprises have also experienced an increase in revenue attributable to AI. Based on a 2025 study, 95 per cent of Thai businesses utilising AI-powered chatbots managed to enhance customer experience.

Green data centre and healthcare

Data centres, although necessary to cultivate AI, are also notorious for carbon emissions and water-intensive operations for cooling hardware. To mitigate these risks while meeting sustainability goals, “green” data centres are a must. Last year, the Asian Development Bank extended a THB 900 million (USD 28.34 million) loan to a joint venture for the development of a green data centre in Thailand. Private lender UOB has also jointly arranged a THB 28 billion (USD 880 million) loan for a data centre to support the energy efficiency initiative.

Apart from the green energy sector, we also see positive spillovers in the healthcare sector. For instance, True Digital Group has partnered with King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital and Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine to launch a physical AI-powered medical robot to assist with inpatient care. As Thailand continues to attract investments towards data centres through its clean energy sector and export its expertise on AI in healthcare, we see that the country can solidify itself as the hub of data centres within the ASEAN region.

This original article has been produced in-house for Lundgreen’s Investor Insights by on-the-ground contributors of the region. The insight provided is informed with accurate data from reliable sources and has gone through various processes to ensure that the information upholds the integrity and values of the Lundgreen’s brand.