Amazon’s AWS has announced plans to invest approximately ¥33 trillion annually worldwide in AI data centers and expand external sales of its proprietary Trainium ASIC, while investing approximately ¥2.26 trillion in Japan over 5 years to develop high-density AI infrastructure and power and cooling infrastructure.
Globally, Amazon is simultaneously advancing AI data-center construction and the vertical integration of its proprietary semiconductors, with global capital expenditure estimated at approximately $220 billion, or around ¥33 trillion, per year. Operations at the ultra-large-scale Project Rainier cluster, investment in mega-sites across the United States and efforts to secure power are all progressing at the same time.
Development of proprietary ASICs is centered on Annapurna Labs, with Trainium positioned as the core platform for both training and inference. AWS is developing the software ecosystem, including AWS Neuron, to support expanded external sales, while technical challenges in closing the gap with CUDA compatibility have also been identified.
The Japan investment plan totals ¥2.26 trillion and is intended to strengthen Japan’s cloud infrastructure over the 5-year period from 2023 to 2027. Its main pillars are large-scale deployment of next-generation AI servers and proprietary ASICs, construction of environmentally conscious data centers, and network expansion including submarine cables.
Power procurement includes expanding renewable-energy PPAs, with efforts under way to secure stable supply through direct contracts with Japanese power companies and trading houses. Investment is concentrating in Japan as Amazon competes with other hyperscalers in the Japanese market under the government’s digital sovereignty and government cloud initiatives.