Amazon has unveiled plans to invest AU$20 billion in expanding, operating, and maintaining its data centre infrastructure in Australia from 2025 to 2029, in what the tech giant claims is the largest publicly-announced global technology investment in Australia's history.

The initiative aims to bolster Australia's cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, aligning with the government's vision to enhance productivity and stimulate economic growth through AI innovation.

The investment will include the development of three new solar farms in Victoria and Queensland, which are intended to support the expanded local cloud infrastructure. Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been active in Australia since 2012, beginning with the opening of the AWS Asia Pacific (Sydney) Region. In 2023, AWS launched the AWS Asia Pacific (Melbourne) Region and the country's first AWS Local Zones in Perth.

AWS has trained over 400,000 individuals in Australia since 2017 to develop digital skills and plans to continue supporting generative AI programs. The AWS AI Spring Australia initiative is designed to accelerate AI adoption and capability across the nation, including programs such as the AWS Generative AI Accelerator and AWS AI Launchpad. AWS collaborates with educational institutions, industry partners, and the government to develop training programs for future jobs.

Amazon has invested an estimated AU$467 million in renewable energy projects in Australia from 2020 to 2022. The company is recognised as the third-largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy in Australia and the largest globally. AWS services are utilised by hundreds of thousands of organisations in Australia, including major banks, technology companies, and public sector entities.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, commented on the investment: "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 centres 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."

CEO of AWS, Matt Garman, said: "This planned investment deepens our long-term commitment to supporting the growth and development of Australian organisations of all sizes and helping them harness the enormous opportunity that generative AI offers. We’re proud to be expanding our world-class data centre 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."