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global technology giant google has announced plans to invest us$1 billion to build an advanced data center in thailand to strengthen its cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure in southeast asia.

google's data centers will be located in bangkok and chonburi. the investment is expected to create 14,000 jobs in thailand annually over the next five years and could contribute up to $4 billion in growth to the thai economy by 2029, according to deloitte research.

google's investment plan, announced jointly with thailand's new prime minister paetongtarn shinawatra, shows the southeast asian government's efforts to attract foreign technology companies. southeast asia, a region with a population of about 675 million, is quickly becoming a new battlefield for technology giants. apple, microsoft,nvidiacompanies such as amazon and amazon are also investing aggressively, plowing billions of dollars into construction in places like thailand, malaysia, singapore and indonesia.aidata center.

ruth porat, chief investment officer of google parent company alphabet, said in an email: "we are investing in cloud service areas, data centers and submarine cables across the region as part of our multi-year effort to bring cloud infrastructure closer to there is huge potential for growth in this area with local people and organisations.”

google has announced billions of dollars in investment plans in malaysia and singapore this year. amazon announced a $9 billion investment plan in singapore in may, while microsoft ceo satya nadella toured southeast asia, unveiling a plan involving about $4 billion in spending to build data centers and other infrastructure.

governments around the world are trying to find a balance between maintaining digital sovereignty and attracting foreign investment. their goal is to leverage the investment and expertise of global companies to develop artificial intelligence and technology while protecting citizen data and nurturing local technology businesses.cloud computinginfrastructure.

the new data center in thailand will support google's artificial intelligence services, including search engines, mapping services and workspaces. since google entered the thai market 13 years ago, it has trained more than 3.6 million students, educators, developers and small and medium-sized enterprises in the past five years to help them improve their digital skills.

paetongtarn said in a statement that google's investment is in line with thailand's cloud policy and will "accelerate the development of innovative digital services, thereby stimulating economic opportunities."