Amazon plans to invest AU$20 billion in Australia between 2025 and 2029 to expand, operate, and maintain its cloud infrastructure through Amazon Web Services (AWS).
The company says this is the largest publicly-announced tech investment in Australia to date.
The investment is aimed at meeting rising demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence services and supporting national efforts to strengthen AI capability.
It will enhance AWS infrastructure across the country, building on earlier expansions such as the launch of the AWS Asia Pacific (Melbourne) Region in 2023 and a high-security cloud partnership with the Australian Government announced in July 2024.
The announcement comes alongside the rollout of AWS AI Spring Australia, an initiative designed to accelerate the use of generative AI across sectors.
It includes programs such as the AWS Generative AI Accelerator and AWS AI Launchpad, which help early-stage startups and large enterprises adopt AI technologies.
AWS has trained more than 400,000 people in Australia since 2017 and said it will continue supporting workforce development through initiatives like the Work-Based Learning Program and the AI Ready initiative.
Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia said,
“I am pleased to join Matt Garman to announce AWS’s investment of AU$20 billion over five years to further develop and expand its data centers in Sydney and Melbourne. This is the largest investment our country has seen from a global technology provider, and is an exciting opportunity for Australia to build AI capability using secure, resilient infrastructure.
This is exactly the kind of economic investment in our nation that we want to see, and creates opportunities for continued innovation and growth. The investment will generate economic opportunity for Australians, including skilled jobs and infrastructure that can support complex AI and supercomputing applications.”
Matt Garman, CEO of AWS said,
“We’re proud to be expanding our world-class data center infrastructure, bringing more renewable energy projects online, and supporting the country’s vision to be a global AI leader.
AI is a once-in-a-generation transformation, and Amazon is pleased to be empowering all Australians to innovate at scale through this investment.”
