Singapore-based telecommunications giant Singtel has revealed a strategic partnership with Nvidia to establish purpose-built AI infrastructure across Southeast Asia. As part of this initiative, Singtel is set to upgrade its existing datacenter fleet to host Nvidia GPU clusters and develop dedicated AI facilities under a newly launched datacenter brand named Nxera.
Nxera, pronounced as “nex-zeh-ra,” will oversee the operation of Singtel’s seven current datacenters. The telecom company plans to construct three new AI-focused datacenters, including a 58MW facility in the Tuas area of Singapore, expected to be operational in early 2026. Additionally, Singtel has projects underway for AI datacenters in Indonesia and Thailand.
The new datacenters are designed to offer a standardized experience for customers across multiple countries, ensuring consistency and speed to market for those with multi-country operations. Singtel has signed four Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) related to this datacenter expansion. The MOUs cover AI development with Nvidia, growth in renewable energy partnerships, the creation of a sustainable tech testbed, and initiatives to drive talent development.
As part of the sustainability efforts, Nxera plans to establish a test liquid and immersion cooling platform at the Singapore Tuas datacenter, aiming for one of the lowest power usage effectiveness ratings in Asia, projected at 1.23 at full load. Red Dot Analytics, a local firm, will contribute to this effort by developing a smart IoT and digital twin platform to monitor the datacenter. The partnership aims to address challenges posed by high rack power density and air-liquid hybrid cooling.
Singapore Polytechnic, a partner in the talent pipeline MOU, emphasized the environmental impact of datacenters, revealing that Singapore’s approximately 70 datacenters consume seven percent of the country’s total electricity. Singapore is a key player in the APAC region, hosting 60 percent of its datacenters, including those of major US companies like Digital Realty, Equinix, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, and Verizon.
Given the rising demand for datacenters driven by AI applications, Singtel’s collaboration with Nvidia and the establishment of Nxera signal a strategic move to address the evolving needs of the digital landscape in Southeast Asia.
