Pranav Hotkar
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - May 12, 2026 - Equinix plans to invest more than USD 190 million to develop a new International Business Exchange (IBX) data center in Kuala Lumpur, expanding its digital infrastructure footprint in Malaysia as regional demand for AI and cloud capacity accelerates.
The new facility, known as KL2, will be located in Cyberjaya, less than one kilometer from Equinix’s existing KL1 site. The company said the project is designed to support growing requirements for AI workloads, cloud services, and high-performance computing infrastructure across Southeast Asia.
When fully built out, KL2 is expected to provide capacity for more than 2,200 cabinets and will feature advanced liquid cooling technologies to support high-density AI deployments. The facility is also intended to strengthen Equinix’s interconnected ecosystem of network providers, enterprises, and cloud platforms operating in Malaysia.
The project marks Equinix’s fourth data center deployment in Malaysia, adding to its existing Kuala Lumpur and Johor operations. The company has been steadily expanding across the country in recent years as Malaysia emerges as one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing digital infrastructure markets.
“Malaysia is strategically positioned at the heart of Southeast Asia’s digital economy,” said Jeremy Deutsch, President, Asia-Pacific at Equinix, adding that the new investment is intended to help enterprises scale AI and cloud deployments while improving regional interconnection capabilities.
Equinix said the Cyberjaya location offers strong connectivity advantages due to its proximity to existing cloud, telecom, and enterprise ecosystems. The company also noted that nearby land remains available for future expansion as long-term demand for AI-ready infrastructure continues to rise.
The expansion comes amid an ongoing data center boom across Malaysia, particularly in Cyberjaya and Johor, where hyperscalers and colocation providers have announced billions of dollars in new investments over the past two years. Industry analysts view Malaysia as increasingly attractive due to its geographic proximity to Singapore, competitive land costs, and growing regional connectivity ecosystem.
However, the rapid pace of development has also raised concerns around electricity and water availability, with authorities closely monitoring resource allocation for large-scale AI infrastructure projects. Recent geopolitical pressure surrounding AI chip exports into Southeast Asia has further increased scrutiny of regional AI data center expansion.
Equinix has been aggressively expanding its global AI infrastructure footprint through new IBX facilities, hyperscale xScale developments, and strategic partnerships aimed at supporting enterprise AI adoption. The company currently operates more than 260 data centers globally across 33 countries.
The KL2 development reinforces Malaysia’s growing role within ASEAN’s digital infrastructure landscape as operators race to deploy AI-ready capacity capable of supporting next-generation cloud, inference, and high-performance computing workloads.
