Equinix Fosters AI Development by Building a High Performance and Sustainable Data Center in Singapore

SINGAPORE – November 19, 2024 – In supporting Singapore’s Green Plan 2030¹, Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), the world's digital infrastructure company^®, today announced the company’s sixth International Business Exchange™ (IBX^®) in Singapore, to be named SG6. With an initial investment of $260 million, this new facility will be covered by renewable energy and provide liquid cooling capability to support compute-intensive workloads, including AI.

SG6 will be added to Equinix's global network of interconnected data centers, facilitating low-latency, high-bandwidth connections between AI resources and data sources, enabling efficient AI workflows across different geographic locations. This capability is particularly valuable for organizations with stringent latency requirements or those seeking to leverage AI at scale across diverse infrastructures.

Singapore aims to leverage AI to drive innovation and economic growth and be one of the first in the world to launch an AI governance framework.  The drive for technology leadership in the region also sees the nation making significant investments in quantum technology, blockchain, and edge computing. These technologies require substantial computing power and data processing resources, which has prompted the island-state to boost data center capacity with trusted and environmentally responsible suppliers to achieve these technology aspirations sustainably.

Equinix is taking significant steps towards sustainability, including the adoption of a renewable energy power purchase agreement (PPA) in Singapore with Sembcorp Industries. Other sustainability innovations include using lower carbon building materials, energy-efficient water-cooled chiller and cooling towers, rainwater harvesting capabilities and more. Equinix will offer liquid cooling technology in SG6, which is able to transfer heat more efficiently than air, to ensure effective cooling for high-power applications. The addition of this new data center will allow Equinix to support Singaporean businesses and the nation to handle AI and other high computational needs in a more sustainable manner.

Equinix is dedicated to driving private-public sector partnerships across Singapore and the APAC region, with the aim of paving the way for the long-term sustainability of data centers. For instance, Equinix collaborated with College of Design and Engineering at the National University of Singapore to assess various types of alternative power supplies and their reliability, cost, operating conditions and environmental impact, to help data center companies make an informed decision when implementing alternate fuel supply systems. The company also collaborated with IMDA and Dell Technologies to provide guidance and recommendations to modernize digital infrastructure deployment sustainably and to optimize the integration and utilization between hardware and software interfaces.

Aileen Chia, Deputy Chief Executive (Connectivity Development & Regulation), Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), said, “We welcome Equinix’s addition of SG6 to its data centre (DC) investments. As we sustain the momentum of Singapore’s digital economy which today contributes almost 18% to Singapore’s GDP, data centres are a foundational digital infrastructure supporting our Smart Nation 2.0 efforts. Equinix’s strong commitment to sustainability is aligned with our Green DC Roadmap, where we seek to accelerate DC energy efficiency and use of green energy to support the sustainable growth of Singapore’s digital economy. Singapore will continue to foster collaborations across the industry ecosystem to pioneer solutions for sustainable DC growth.”

Pei Sheng Goh, Vice President, Digital Industry Singapore (DISG)​, said, “Southeast Asia’s digital economy is expected to continue on its growth trajectory placing Singapore well for sectors such as finance, healthcare, and e-commerce. This presents immense opportunity for Generative AI advancement. We welcome Equinix’s continued commitment to Singapore as it will strengthen our capabilities to handle AI computational needs, and enhance data connectivity for both local and regional businesses to drive economic value in the region.”

Yee May Leong, Managing Director, Singapore, Equinix, said, “SG6 sets a new benchmark in our approach to driving digital and AI transformation. As compute-intensive workloads continue to grow, the demand for capacity will also rise, and Equinix is equipped to support these next-generation workloads. By integrating the latest sustainability innovations, our new AI-ready data center enables businesses to establish their digital infrastructure both responsibly and sustainably. We have always been a strong proponent of Singapore’s Green Plan 2030 and Smart Nation journeys, and grateful for the support from the government and our industry partners.”

Highlights/Key Facts

• Expected to open in Q1 2027, the 9-story facility is awarded as part of Singapore's pilot Data Centre - Call for Application ("DC-CFA") and will provide 20MW when fully built.
• Equinix data centers in Singapore have achieved 100% renewables coverage since 2020. Equinix is on track to achieve climate neutrality by 2030, with a strong focus on investing in clean and renewable energy sources throughout its worldwide operations. This initiative extends to all facilities, whether newly constructed or recently incorporated into the company’s portfolio.
• Today, the global footprint of Platform Equinix spans 268 data centers across 73 metros and 34 countries. In Asia-Pacific, Equinix currently operates 59 data centers in 15 key metros across Australia, China*, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. The company also announced its market entry in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

*Equinix operates four data centers in Shanghai through a strategic partnership

Additional Resources:

• Equinix Supports Singapore’s Green Plan by Entering a Renewable Energy PPA with Sembcorp [press release]
• Equinix to Extend its Digital Infrastructure Platform to the Philippines with Acquisition of Three Data Centers [press release]
• Equinix Releases Annual Sustainability Report, Highlighting Advancements in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Goals [press release]
• Exploring Liquid Cooling for Next-Gen Business Applications [blog]
• Singapore Elevates Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Beyond Data Centers [press release]

About Equinix
Equinix (Nasdaq: EQIX) is the world's digital infrastructure company^®. Digital leaders harness Equinix's trusted platform to bring together and interconnect foundational infrastructure at software speed. Equinix enables organizations to access all the right places, partners and possibilities to scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences and multiply their value, while supporting their sustainability goals. 

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from expectations discussed in such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, risks to our business and operating results related to the current inflationary environment; foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; increased costs to procure power and the general volatility in the global energy market; the challenges of acquiring, operating and constructing IBX^® and xScale^® data centers and developing, deploying and delivering Equinix products and solutions; unanticipated costs or difficulties relating to the integration of companies we have acquired or will acquire into Equinix; a failure to receive significant revenues from customers in recently built out or acquired data centers; failure to complete any financing arrangements contemplated from time to time; competition from existing and new competitors; the ability to generate sufficient cash flow or otherwise obtain funds to repay new or outstanding indebtedness; the loss or decline in business from our key customers; risks related to our taxation as a REIT and other risks described from time to time in Equinix filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, see recent and upcoming Equinix quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available upon request from Equinix. Equinix does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.

Media Contact (Asia-Pacific)
Equinix
Annie Ho
annho@ap.equinix.com

Media Contact (Singapore)
TEAM LEWIS
equinixSG@teamlewis.com

¹ https://www.greenplan.gov.sg/