SoftBank Group, Grab Holdings Limited and Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (PETROS) proposed US$1.85 billion in initial seed capital on Nov. 9 for AI infrastructure projects in Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.
For Sarawak, SoftBank would supply US$800 million of the proposed US$1 billion, while Grab and PETROS would each contribute US$100 million. SoftBank is to lead the project and hold a majority stake; Grab has an option to increase its interest. The Peninsular Malaysia project has US$850 million in proposed initial seed capital, with Grab providing US$650 million and leading development, and SoftBank contributing US$200 million.
The initial capital would be released in stages as the projects meet development and customer-contract milestones and satisfy closing requirements. Grab’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says the agreements create binding development and funding obligations. The projects’ operating arrangements and the parties’ investment terms still require definitive agreements and must meet specified conditions. For later expansion, the companies expect to use third-party equity and non-recourse project financing.
The announcements describe five-gigawatt capacity goals at different scopes. The Malaysia-wide release sets a long-term target of at least five gigawatts across the plan, while the separate Sarawak release gives the same target for that project. They do not say whether the two goals count overlapping capacity.
The companies cite rising demand for computing in Southeast Asia and globally as the rationale for the projects. They say public agencies and businesses would gain access to computing capacity, and expect the initiative to support engineering and other technical jobs. Those benefits are projections from the companies.
The agreements follow a framework the three parties signed in Kuching on Oct. 8 to assess AI and digital infrastructure development in Sarawak. The companies also plan to attract more investors and large cloud-computing providers as the projects advance. They gave no construction start date or customer names; development milestones, customer commitments and closing conditions are the next stated gates.
